Practicing getting to the top

So here is a thought. Recently there have been several videos about how the pressure shift, or shift to the target is starting before you get to the top of the swing, as soon as P2 in some cases. If I wanted to practice backswing and getting to the top, and holding, checking position, shouldn't that also include the feeling that the shift to target is already underway? That seems essential, but difficult to pause. It seems to me that the "old way" of practicing getting to the top and pausing to check position would pretty much mean you are still very much into your trail side and by working on this feel repetitively is actually the wrong feel!

BTW, anyone have a link to a video or instagram of Monte explaining this idea of feeling club is going to 8:00 on downswing? I see bits and pieces of reference / discussion, but no video. Did I miss it somwhere?

I had the same thought after reading the recent weight shift threads.

Hopefully someone knowledgeable chimes in.

AMG have good videos on this but in terms of pausing at the top or doing freezers what I gather is at p2 stop is your weight on your right foot(good)?as the club head starts to change direction in the backswing you move with it ie towards the target. You can stop at the point where the club is about to change direction away from the target again. This can be classed as the top of your backswing. You can now check your positions and feel where the weight is. I think the feeling is just from set up to P2 there isn’t much thought of turning shoulders/rotating but from there you rotate and have your back and clubhead move towards the target. The feel could be starting your downswing pivot early/montes zipper away drill while the club is still going back.

If someone already does this naturally I guess the danger is a reverse pivot. This could end up with swaying back and forth which is obviously bad.

I just wonder, when AMG is breaking this down (and others), and when instructors are showing you how to to a drill on this, you might be aiming to get the movement starting towards the target well before you get to the top of the swing, but then I see Tiger's mid iron swing here: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/how-tiger-hits-every-shot and either he is starting his move towards the target pretty much right at the top, or I am not very good at seeing the subtleties in that video.

What you see visually and what’s happening on a pressure mat are often two different things. Don’t misunderstand starting to move forward at P2 with getting max pressure trail side at P2.

The whole point, IMO, is that if you get too far trail side, and/or not starting to move front side until your club changes direction, it’s probably going to cause problems.

This has helped me a lot, especially on driver, that if I start moving to my left side earlier, I hit it straighter.

i had a tendency to get 90% right and moved left too late when I spray it. Getting left earlier has me pulling handle and extending left wrist in transition being less of a problem.

AMG has a video with a great drill in it where you start with your feet closer together than normal, start the takeaway (slowly, with the intention of having the entire swing be slow at first), and immediately lift your front foot and step into the proper foot/width position. The idea is to complete this action well before the club gets to the top -- before it's halfway to the top, even. What they (and you might) find is that folks who are otherwise used to making this shift late (or not at all in time) tend to reverse the direction of the club as soon as they step instead of completing slowly/smoothly completing the back swing. It's a real eye-opener.

Could you maybe post a video in how you work on this moving towards left side before club gets to top? i.e. how you slowly drill this at home and work on it. I saw in your live instagram you briefly showed how you work on it, but would love to see a full view. Thanks!

When I try to work on it slowly at home it is just weird to feel lower body trying to move even slightly left while my attention is on rotating back; and at anything other than really slow speed it feels like some weird dance move!

I find managing front knee flex and movement helps. The more you flex it and the more you limit it’s lateral movement away from the target, the easier it is to get left early.

The feel drill I do is go immediately max into right side, then start bending the left knee out over the toes.

Does the head move forward at all when going to the left early or is this still a downswing killer?

Of course it does

Foot work