Improve Your Weight Shift with the Sasho Two Step Drill

The Sasho Two Step drill teaches you how to move pressure into your lead side with the right amount of force and at the right time. That matters because many golfers either hang back in transition or slide forward with the upper body instead of using the ground correctly. When you learn to push into the lead leg early, your downswing can start from the ground up, your arms can respond instead of taking over, and your sequence becomes much more efficient—especially with longer clubs.

How the Drill Works

This drill is built around a simple athletic reference: when you jog, each step creates a meaningful amount of force into the ground. Research from Dr. Sasho MacKenzie has helped highlight how much pressure skilled players get into the lead foot early in transition. The challenge is that most golfers do not know what that amount of pressure should feel like.

The drill gives you that feel by using a small hop-and-land motion. Instead of merely stepping like you would in a casual walk, you want the trail foot to leave the ground before the lead foot lands. That small airborne moment creates a more athletic landing, similar to a jogging step.

From there, you turn that same feeling into a golf movement. You shift sideways into the lead leg, let the lead knee absorb the landing, and then push off the ground. That push is what helps the body deliver the club. In other words, the body movement drives the arm motion, rather than the arms yanking the club down from the top.

As you blend it into the swing, the key is timing. You want the step into the lead side to happen as the backswing is finishing. That early pressure shift becomes the trigger for transition. Once you are into the lead side, you can push, rotate, and allow the arms to extend through the strike.

Step-by-Step

Feel the athletic landing first. Stand upright and make a light jogging-style step. Your trail foot should come off the ground before your lead foot lands. This should feel like a small hop, not a lazy walk.
Notice the lead leg absorbing force. As you land, let the lead knee bend naturally like a shock absorber. You should feel pressure move into the lead foot without locking the leg straight.
Repeat the motion sideways. Now make the same small hop-and-land move laterally, as if you are stepping into your lead side. This gives you the pressure feel you want in transition.
Add a golf posture. Set up in your normal stance and recreate the same step into the lead side. Keep the club in front of you, but do not let the arms pull down yet. The goal is to train the lower body shift by itself.
Avoid leading with the upper body. As you step, do not lunge your chest toward the target. Let the pressure shift happen from the ground up. Your center can stay fairly centered, and with a driver you may even feel slightly behind the ball while still getting pressure into the lead foot.
Blend the step into the top of the swing. Make a backswing and feel the step into the lead side happen very early—right as the backswing is ending. This is your transition trigger.
Let the arms respond. Once you are into the lead side, push and let the arms extend. Do not think about yanking the handle down. The step starts the downswing, and the arms go along for the ride.
Practice brushing the ground. Make rehearsal swings where you step, swing, and let the club brush the turf in front of the ball position. This helps you connect pressure shift to low-point control.
Then hit shots. Keep the same sequence: step, swing, brush the ground—and let the ball simply get in the way.

What You Should Feel

If you are doing this drill correctly, the movement should feel athletic and decisive, not forced or complicated. The best sensations are usually very simple.

A quick move into the lead foot near the end of the backswing
The lead knee accepting pressure with a slight bend instead of a stiff brace
Pressure shifting without the chest lunging forward
The body starting the downswing before the arms actively pull
The arms extending through the strike as a reaction to the push from the ground
The club brushing the ground consistently, which shows improving low-point control

A good checkpoint is this: you should feel as though you get into the lead side quickly, and then out of it as you rotate through. The pressure goes in early, then the body keeps moving so you do not get stuck there.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Turning it into a walk. If the trail foot never leaves the ground before the lead foot lands, you lose the athletic force this drill is meant to train.
Lunging the upper body toward the target. The pressure should shift without your chest diving forward.
Pulling the arms down too soon. That defeats the purpose. Train the step to start the downswing.
Locking the lead knee. You want the knee to absorb force, not jam straight.
Stepping too late. The move should happen as the backswing is finishing, not halfway into the downswing.
Forgetting ground contact. If you cannot brush the turf in the right place, the sequence is not yet organized.

How This Fits Your Swing

The Sasho Two Step is more than a balance drill. It helps solve a common transition problem: the arms try to start down before the body has shifted and pushed into the lead side. When that happens, you can get steep, stuck, or inconsistent with contact because the sequence is out of order.

This drill restores the proper chain of events. First, you move pressure into the lead leg. Then you push, rotate, and let the club respond. That is a powerful example of how the body swings the arms. Instead of manufacturing speed with your hands, you create the conditions for the club to be delivered more naturally.

It is especially useful if you struggle with:

Hanging back through impact
Poor weight shift with the driver or fairway woods
Starting the downswing with the arms
Thin or heavy contact caused by a poor low point
Transition that feels slow, late, or disconnected

Used well, this drill gives you a clearer sense of when to shift, how hard to push, and how that pressure movement supports the rest of the swing. The result is a transition that is quicker, better sequenced, and much more athletic.