In my career as a top college player and PGA Tour player, one of the things that I worked hard on was having good footwork and good balance in my swing.

The importance of good fundamentals in my set-up and starting the club back correctly cannot be over-stated. It is equally important to have good footwork which starts with your feet the proper width apart - inside of the heels=outside of shoulders.

I can remember my teacher having me practice rolling my left foot and knee toward my right foot as the upper body turns and my left arm extends back on the backswing. He did not want me lifting my left heel nor having my knee come out toward the ball.

As junior golfers, college players and later PGA Tour players, my brother Tom Purtzer and I worked hard on our fundamentals in our golf swings: good grip, posture, alignment, ball position, tempo, takeaway, the correct backswing path, position at the top, keeping our head steady, forward swing, etc. Doing these things well makes it easier to play your best golf.  

As a former PGA Tour player and now a PGA instructor, I know a good takeaway is an important part of a successful golf shot. Many golfers struggle to have good rhythm when they hit their shots. This tip should help that and get you in position to be more consistent. (NOTE: Lefties please turn left and right around in this tip) During my competitive career, I had a number of chances to win tournaments and developed a few keys that really worked well when I was coming down the last few holes with a chance to win. One of those keys was to concentrate on getting my left shoulder to my chin (note-I did not say getting my chin to my left shoulder) and to make sure to get my right shoulder to my chin on the forward swing. Before I go any farther, make sure your posture is good and that your chin is not down in your chest at address. You want to have your knees only slightly flexed and tilt to the ball from your hips-back and neck in a straight line. In your backswing, con ...

As a PGA instructor, a common comment I get on the lesson tee is that I hit the ball great on the practice tee but then I can’t take it to the course. I have had the same experience myself. Golf is a funny game that way. There are a few stages to becoming a more proficient player and different ways to take your “A” game to the course.

My time on the PGA Tour was a fantastic experience even though it was cut short due to injuries. I learned a lot from competing with the best players in the world. One of the things I realized was: the great players spend a lot of time on their short games-putting, chipping, pitching and sand shots. Many of the established PGA Tour Players spent a lot of time practicing the chip-and-run shot with a 6, 7 or 8 iron -even though we would not hit the chip shot very often during our round. I first thought-WOW what a waste of time, but I finally figured out that those chips shots were not only sharpening their short games, but helping them to hit all their shots better-short shots and full swings.

The way to hit the ball stronger and more consistent is by developing good fundamentals. In our tip today, we want to concentrate on one of the most important keys-having a good weight shift back and through the ball.

Having a good grip, good positions on the back swing, and a good weight shift which is created by good extension in your swing. The swing is basically the same today as it was when my brother Tom Purtzer (voted Best Swing on the PGA Tour by Golf Digest/his PGA tours peers in the 1990’s) and I first went on the PGA Tour-you saw a good  and good extension then and you see it now in the top players on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, and LPGA Tour.

My brother Tom and I worked hard on our golf swings when we were starting to play golf and we spent many hours working on a good takeaway. If you tend to jerk the club away from the ball and/or have poor rhythm this may be a great tip for you. 

Once you get your address positions correct, a good takeaway helps you get the right tempo and shape to your swing and makes it easier to hit good, consistent golf shots.