Texas Children's Houston Open

Memorial Park Golf Course



Instruction

Improve your stability and contact with this simple step drill

Do you feel lost in your backswing? Do you get stuck on your back foot? To the untrained eye, it might appear that you’re overswinging. However, Golf Digest Teaching Professional Erika Larkin explains that it’s more likely that you’re actually "over-rotating." By learning how to shift back and through, you can increase your power and consistency.



Use Larkin’s simple Step Drill to rehearse a better transition into your downswing and start hitting better shots.




“When we make a backswing, we go right to go left,” Larkin says. “We don’t go right to stay right, or we’re going to get stuck there and have no leverage or power to push off of.”

RELATED: Here's why most beginning golfers lack power—and here's how to fix it

Practice making a proper weight shift by getting into your setup and bringing your feet together. Then, with your back foot, take a step to your trail side and make your backswing. As you get to the top, let your weight fall onto your front foot. This step forward triggers you to stop rotating and start your downswing.


“That way, you feel resistance against the [back] leg, but you’re not actually losing your stability,” Larkin explains.

Once you've rehearsed Larkin's Step Drill a few times and feel comfortable with your weight shift, hit a few shots with that feeling. Larkin says a good swing thought is to load against the back leg, not through it.


With this drill and swing key, you’ll clean up your impact and create consistent contact every time.

For more help shedding the big numbers you see on your scorecard, check out “Game Changers,” Erika Larkin’s newest series in Golf Digest Schools. Her game-improvement guide will help you understand what’s going wrong and give you the tools you need to fix your faults and start shooting lower scores.