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Calling all skiers: This top teacher's swing thought will improve your backswing weight shift
Trillium Rose, one of the Golf Digest Top 50 Teachers in America, grew up in Vermont so it’s not a total shock that she’s been posting golf tips while in her ski gear. If you’re a multisport athlete, sometimes comparing a motion in the golf swing to a similar motion in another sport can help you get the move right. On her skis, Rose demonstrates how it should feel to load your weight to your trail and set up a powerful transition.
You’ve probably been told to load your weight into the instep of your trail foot (for righties, that would be your right foot). If you’re struggling to get into that position, and are a skier, Rose’s tip could be your breakthrough moment.
“I liked the parallel with skiing because the edges of skis are so clearly visible and important on snow. Great skiers "use their edges" when making turns and I saw a similar concept with golfers using their "inside edge" at the top of the backswing,” Rose said.
When you’re thinking about how to load your weight into your instep, think about how you’d find the edge of your ski to make a turn. It’ll ignite the muscles necessary to start a powerful downswing.
“Without a strong understanding of how you use your legs and lower body, you may be giving up power," Rose said. "Just about the time the backswing finishes, and the forward swing begins (the transition) you'll want to feel like the inside of your right or trail foot has the pressure - not the outside.”
If your weight shifts too far over, to the outside of the trail foot, you’ll become unstable. That takes away power, and therefore, distance.
“The inside of your trail foot has a job to push off towards the target,” Rose said. “That sets the lower body, and pelvis, in motion to initiate the forward swing so that you'll be on your lead foot by impact. When that foot has a strong feeling of balance and stability, it can contribute significantly to a powerful forward swing motion lead by the pelvis.”
If you’re a skier, this thought of ‘setting your edge’ in the backswing might be exactly what you need to get in the correct position to make a powerful transition, and add some distance to your drives.