Weighted Clubs

One of the qualities of a good, repeating swing is the coordination of the arms and body. When properly working together, as in my Y Shape method, maximum power is delivered to the ball with minimum effort. Troubles begin once either the body or the arms becomes too dominant.

Warming up with an object which weighs more than a normal golf club tends to make the arms and hands very active in handling the extra weight. Weighted clubs may be three times the weight of a regular club and in swinging these heavy objects the hands and arms become overly dominant in trying to effect your regular move.

Two cases in point: 1) The transition area at the top of the swing should be a change of direction with both the shoulders and arms completing the backswing and then both starting down together. Warming up with the additional weight is hard work and this extra effort tends to destroy this coordination as the arms will tend to swing past the point where the shoulders stop. Additionally, there may be extra effort to get the club started down, promoting casting. Since Bobby Jones said that this is the most difficult area of the swing I would recommend not using any kind of extra weight which would severely tax this part of the swing.

2) Through the ball the club should not be pushed or forced. The feel of extra weight will force the right hand to push excessively through the shot leaving the player with hooks, mis-hits etc. – overall, a very 'handsy' type of move.

The softer and more relaxed your upper body, and especially your hands are, the better you'll feel the clubhead and the better you'll play. A golf club is weighted so you can deliver mass to the ball and swing the club with speed. Golf clubs are not heavy objects. As a result it's important to feel the weight of the clubhead. So as feel, with a capital F, is so important in this game, isn't it a bit ironic that you would put extra weight (2x-3x times) in your hands and then, when you tee off, be asked to feel something much lighter?

I would rather see a body type motion to warm up, with importance being placed on a full turn with the proper leg action to accompany it. The next time you arrive at the course with no warmup time and are  forced to get in a few swings before that first shot, grab a club upside down, holding it near the head. Now as you swing your body will be forced to make a full turn, you will feel your feet as apart of your body turn and your hands/arms will be as they should be, passive. And you'll feel the clubhead!

Save weighted objects for baseball's on-deck circle.