Balance is perhaps golf’s most overlooked fundamental – at least among amateurs. Pros monitor their balance constantly because they know that without it, good ballstriking is impossible.

Here’s a simple way to remember the effects of poor balance: Too much weight on your heels equals shots off the toe; too much weight on your toes equals shots off the heel.

Over-rotating on the backswing is a common cause of leaning onto the heels. Turn the shoulders and/or hips too far and your body will naturally tip backward a bit. Of course, poor balance most often starts at setup, so make sure you’ve got a stable stance with a tiny bit of pressure on the balls of your feet.

Here’s a very simple drill to get your weight off the heels and eliminate those toe shots:

Don’t concern yourself with the results of each shot. The idea is to exaggerate the desired motion to cure you of the rocking-back action – to over-correct, in effect. Hit 5-10 shots this way, then hit a few with a normal swing. You should see much-improved balanced in a short time.