This will likely be the major theme of the upcoming MCS Golf Swing video.

We all know that there are many different ways to swing a golf club, from the optimal motion to everything in between that and “dead wrong.”

Unfortunately for the golfing world at this moment, the Modern Golf Swing with the traditional lower back twist and restricted hip turn is “dead wrong.”

I cannot even think of a worse way to swing than in this manner. 

No, Just… No

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Another variation of the Modern Golf Swing, the Stack & Tilt type of swing which does have a hip turn but puts all of the weight on the leading side and leg at the top:

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… is little better.

While you don’t have the restricted hips and lower back twist, you do get a very crunched lower back coming down into the impact zone, because if the weight doesn’t transfer to the trailing side, you don’t have anywhere to transfer the weight on the down swing.

You however have to have a proper impact with the spine leaning away from the target, which is where you get the lower back crunch.

You’ll also find yourself having to hyperextend the leading leg to even get through the bottom to the finish.

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This applies to the full leading-side Stack & Tilt seen above, but also to the semi-stack that Fred Couples had and which did his back in, where he was more centered at the top, but then had to drop his head back and down into impact… **crunch**….

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The Classic Golf Swing era featured the transfer of weight from the setup to the trailing leg on the back pivot, then a transfer back to the leading leg on the down swing through to the finish.

While many Classic era golfers’ swing models weren’t optimal or perfect, it was the way to swing, because if you do it properly, you shouldn’t hurt yourself.

The Modern Golf Swing is similar to a cigarette where, if you use them exactly as intended, harm is a very high risk, if not guaranteed.

Now, I like to use the word “transfer” over “shift,” because the minute people hear “shift,” they begin to shift, and there goes the head stability.

The optimal setup has the “Leaning A” setup because we all know that the head should remain stable, as much as you can keep it, during the swing, so where the head should be at impact, it should be there at address.

Not an earth-shaking concept to anyone who’s been reading my blogs all these years, but it was certainly a big concept when I introduced it over ten years ago after studying the impact positions of the greats:

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Therefore, with the proper setup, you have to be able to get both a full shoulder turn with the head over the trailing side, but also get into that leading foot as you see Hogan and Nicklaus doing above for a proper impact.

If you get the proper setup, then use your hips and legs the way you should, then you truly can transfer your weight back and forth with a more or less stable head, because all of the rotation takes place at and below the C7 vertebra:

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… so if you take my words on this heart, you will find that the majority of your practice time learning and perfecting your pivot will be practicing exactly what I have practiced for year after year, easily done anywhere in the home or outside:

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I am still waiting see what is wrong with my left shoulder, so I haven’t been able to actually swing since last March (I will be consulting with my doctor this fall/winter to see what the issue is and what treatment or surgery will be required), but I still do pivot practice because it is the most important part of practicing the golf swing.

I have gone 8, even 9 months without hitting a ball (during the various Covid pandemic closures and lockdowns), and because I practiced my pivot nearly every day during the time all, I could go right back to striping balls and pounding 300+ yard drives on the first day back at it.

Practicing the pivot with the proper weight shift from foot to foot is like doing scales on the piano or in singing – once you’ve learned how to read music, doing scales with your instrument or voice is virtually all you need to do to keep yourself trained to play or sing on command.