Addison Craig, head professional at The Bridge Golf Club, shows how a bowling ball can help get the proper weight transfer in your golf swing.
Courtesy Addison Craig
Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Some golfers will go to great lengths in order to correct their golf swing. From trying all sorts of training aids to doing something unorthodox, regardless of how wild something may seem, if it’s effective, it’s worth trying.
But have you ever practiced by using a bowling ball? If not, it might be time to at least give it a try.
According to Addison Craig, the head professional at The Bridge Golf Club, he developed a drill that uses a bowling ball in order to correctly transfer weight in the golf swing to the lead side.
In today’s Play Smart, we’re looking at some images from Craig doing the drill, along with some instruction tips that might prove helpful for your game. Check it out below.
Try this easy bowling-ball drill to help your golf swing
Craig says he developed this bowling-ball drill in order to help players who struggle with shifting their weight to their lead side.
Since almost everyone has gone bowling before, Craig says golfers already have an idea of the motion of rolling the ball down a lane. It’s this motion that he wants golfers to focus on, which forces the posture to stay down toward the ground.
“When we’re bowling, it’s all about staying down in our posture (feeling our chest pointed toward the ground like Nick Faldo at post-impact),” he says. “By doing this, our weight will be transferred onto our lead side.”
The images below show what the drill should look like.
Courtesy Addison Craig
Courtesy Addison Craig
Courtesy Addison Craig
Now that you understand the concept of transferring your weight using a bowling ball, Craig says it’s time to put a club back in your hands to feel the difference.
“Try to hit golf shots feeling like you’re staying in the right posture, transferring the weight over to the lead side,” he says.
Whether you’re actually bringing a bowling ball to the driving range with you — that’s bold! — or you’re just planning to practice this in the comfort of your own home, give it a try to get the feel you need in your golf swing. If it leads to better contact on the course, it’s not as wild as it might first appear.
All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team.
If you buy a linked product,
GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.
Blast Motion Speed Analyzer Package
$179.95
Blast Motion is a great solution for the more tech-savy player who wants to not only track their speed gains but also learn more about various aspects of their golf swing.
Alignment Ball
$39.99
Close to 20 feet of retractable cable! The Alignment Ball will help you work on start line easily and quickly on the putting green. Built-in spokes make setup easy and efficient.
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Spanish