Good Golfers All good golfers change their weight from their left foot to the right foot with a distinctive one-two move, also called a zigzag movement. The first move of this one-two action is so common that it has a name. This is the forward press, which I have described in Chapter One. From this forward bend of the right knee and the forward press of the hands, there is an easy natural opportunity, a natural impetus to make move 2, which is to reverse the knee positions, and through this reversing of the knees, transfer or shift the weight to the right foot. (All during Steps 1 and 2, the club head remains on the ground and so do the heels of both feet.) This Step 2 is actually the key move to good golf, because it opens up the way and makes it possible to raise the club to the top of the swing in an easy natural way. Before leaving Steps 1 and 2, let me issue a warning. Do not let the importance of these two steps (the forward press and the reverse press) lead you to any exaggeration because an overemphasis of these first two moves can produce a reverse effect; instead of the weight being shifted to the right foot on Step 2, an exaggeration will cause the weight to reverse itself back to the left foot. This, of course, would make things very difficult, in fact, impossible. With good players, Steps 1 and 2 are done with such nicety and finesse that, to an untrained eye, these moves can and do go by unnoticed. In Step 3, the player raises the club to the top of the swing. As a result of making Step 2, he will find himself balanced on his right foot with the club thrown more or less into the right hand, because the reverse press moves the hands back to a point where they are more or less opposite the right knee. With the weight on the right foot and with the club under the influence of the right hand, it is perfectly easy and natural to raise the club to the top of the swing in exactly the same way that one would wind up to throw something. With an action that originates in the right hip, the entire right side from hip to shoulder is drawn back—and it is with this action of the right side that the player naturally contracts his right arm. This contraction of the right arm raises the club to the top of the swing. Don't try to keep the right elbow locked in tight and close to the body but let it go free and natural as one would do in throwing a ball. A reverse action of the left side (which, incidentally, is Step 4), an action which originates in the left hip and involves the entire left side, contracts the left arm, and it is this contraction that pulls the club down into and through the ball.
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