Without a doubt, the portion of the swing that generates the most questions to me is The Bump. Regardless of how many times I have covered this topic from any number of conceptual angles, someone always finds another facet of it to explore. Such is the case with the question Arun Mehan raised back in September when we shot the first live webcast of The Surge Show from DJ's house.
"At the start of the downswing, with the bump, what percentage of the weight should be transferred to the left side? At what point in the downswing does the complete transfer of weight occur?"
Arun, this is a really good question but let me preface the next six minutes of a detailed answer with a general statement on the relative importance of swing mechanics. I get a little worried when students ask me to breakdown the swing into these minute pieces because it creates an overly strong focus on mechanics at the expense of feel. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a good understanding of how the Peak Performance Golf Swing is properly timed and sequenced. But at the end of the day, you need know these things in your mind and then push those thoughts to the background and just let the swing happen.
To answer your question, we need to keep in mind that this swing only takes about 1.2 seconds to complete from start to finish so it is nearly impossible to give you a precise percentage at any given point in the swing. But if you watch my swing in slow motion, you'll note that The Bump, or the lateral left shift, begins even before my hands reach the apex of the backswing. By doing so, my entire left side, from my foot to my calf, hip and shoulders, becomes stretched and energized enabling the muscle groups on my right side to contract allowing the club and my arms to free-fall into the slot and accelerate toward impact. I can't really give you a percentage because it all happens in the blink of an eye. All I can say is that once The Bump is initiated a substantial amount of your weight immediately shifts to your left side.
The Bump is the key to maximizing the power of my vertical swing so you are right in focusing as much energy as is needed to get it right. But once your head understands the move, push the specifics to the background and focus on developing a feel for what The Bump is like. When you can do that, you'll be hitting with both power and accuracy.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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