Pro golfers swing from their HEELs, amateurs swing from their TOEs

[@markcollins8881]

Excellent analysis and explanation! ... I'm an amateur who struggled for years to find a repeatable swing and decent power. As is often the case, I discovered something thru happenstance in a "necessity is the mother of invention" kind of way. I was faced with a severe downhill lie on a raised ridge (basically, an inverse ditch), and I hit a 5-iron 210 yards, which is 40 yards further than my normal 170 yard distance. I came off the downhill lie and swing in a walking forward motion. I realized how far I hit the ball and I remember looking back at the severe downhill lie looking for answers as to what just happened. It took me a few days of pondering, and I came to the conclusion that the severe downhill lie had forced me to transfer my lower body weight to my left side on the downswing. Then, I remembered the tip from Jack Nicklaus about "replant the left heel". I put 2 + 2 together, and decided to start my downswing by replanting my left heel. I made a conscious effort to replant my left heel before my backswing was complete, which created torque between my unfinished backswing and my newly-initiated downswing. The end result was that I finally created coiled torque, finally transferred my weight to my left side properly, and finally found a repeatable swing thought: "Replant the left heel!". And, because I need to start that left heel replant so early in the swing (before the completion of my backswing), that swing thought became shortened to simply: "heel!". ... I added one other swing improvement, and that was to allow my shoulders, arms, and hands to fall naturally "into the slot" on the downswing, with no extraneous conscious force being used to propel them toward the target line/ball. Once I did this, I realized that I had tapped into something special, as I had removed all conscious effort to "hit the ball", and simply allowed my shoulders, arms, and hands to "whip thru the hitting zone" naturally. ... Between replanting my left heel early, and allowing my shoulders, arms, and hands to fall naturally, I've improved my swing a great deal, I'm on balance, and I'm hitting the ball with greater consistency. ... Listen to Jack Nicklaus and Mr. Seaman, and "replant the left heel!", my friends. ... If anyone ever asks me how to play golf, I tell them to "Play from the ground, up.". I hit the ball with my feet. Seriously.

[@luckymanla]

Sam Sneed always said to practice without shoes to learn your personal tempo and balance; and to curl up your toes to learn to turn on your heels… like a dancer. btw - excellent vid! bravo 👏

[@Josh-Harris328]

6 handicap here. Over the last few rounds I’ve played, I’ve really started to focus on keeping my weight farther back on the heels throughout the swing. I’m telling you - I have never hit the ball better. I’m hitting the middle of the club face almost every swing and getting much better compression with my irons. It was almost like a “Eureka” moment. And my balance and rotation seems much improved as well.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Excellent news.

[@glenndoty739]

Went to the 3rd hole of my club tonight with one thought in mind . Stick the finish into your left heal/arch. What a difference! Distance way up, dispersion down. Thanks Dave . First time I've been excited to go back out there in five yrs !

[@vivektulja4516]

Another brilliant video. (I just watched your Miller Barber and Eammon Darcy videos.) So few golf instructors talk about weight distribution, and if they do, it is a passing, fleeting mention. I too feel that weight distribution is far more important than "your elbow has to be here" or "your head has to be doing xxx".

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Thanks - we need more teaching pros like you out there.

[@jacksaintjack2844]

Incredibly insightful! Weight on the lead heel makes it much, much easier to pivot around the left hip socket once you're posted up. Brilliant! I will begin working on this today.

[@s.swanky1809]

Very interesting and thanks for the analysis. The prime reason for this is weight transfer. Pros do it right and amateurs do it wrong. If you spin, you’ll never be in position to shift weight correctly. But even if you have decent rotation, if you don’t move weight and pressure to your lead side properly, you’ll be on your toes or off balance. Amateurs force this movement by shoving the hips over or back. Pros fall into the correct position. Amateurs can get there. Keeping the lead side relaxed at the start of the downswing helps.

[@joneskendrick2084]

There is not really "right and wrong" in the golf swing; rather degrees of what works for a player and what doesn't. There are many, many, physical limitations preventing golfers from "rotating" as professionals so can't make some blanket statement. The author is correct in his observations but that doesn't mean it is a Magic Bullet. It still takes reps over time to learn.... longer if one has a long habit of weight on their toes.

[@GarthOJ]

A few months back, I started trying to keep my rear heel solid through impact, because I noticed that Hogan kept his feet really solid through the downswing. It feels counterintuitive at first, because I was used to spinning out off the toes in an attempt to swing faster, and keeping the feet quiet felt like it would limit rotation. In truth, keeping your weight on your heels gives your body the stability to rotate. If I'm in a neutral standing position, and try to rotate my hips or torso, it's far easier with heels planted, rather than on tip toes. Good video, good info.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

It is amazing that we happen upon this on our own. I could be a very different golfer, with a whole lot less "golfers PTSD", if I only knew this back in 1995 when I started playing.

[@GarthOJ]

@@theamateurgolfersdilemma72 Agreed. Such a simple thing, too. I think if people learned to swing on solid feet, they'd develop a flawless swing as a result of good stability

[@joneskendrick2084]

Dear Author: I have a photo sequence of Mo Norman swinging a driver from the late '50's / early '60's as was published in the official Canadian PGA magazine. It was during this period when Norman was at his best and played a few Tour events. His golf swing was VERY conventional at that time and in no way resembled the later "Natural Golf" BS he was paid to demonstrate and you show in a video. Now, that's not to say Norman was not extremely accurate --- he was --- nor that he swung on he toes --- he didn't. I believe your observations are indeed correct and anyone can easily prove this for themselves with a little driving range work as I did yesterday. Kudos!

[@cameronw4535]

That is the Moe Norman swing! All about keeping it simple and efficient!

[@robsaxepga]

What most don't understand is that weight forward promotes a steeper swing above the address established plane. Having the weight favoring the heels helps the pivot work as it should.

[@dogloverjb6873]

if you come out of your posture ( stand taller - "early extension" ) during your forward swing ( downswing ) ...you will get onto your toes.... Stay in posture during the downswing thru impact and you will keep your weight on your heels naturally thru the swing. It's a lot easier to think about your posture height than whats happening in your feet.... Keeping the swing simple and uncomplicated.

[@MrBarrynicholas]

Thought everyone did this!

[@ronharrington8659]

I’ve noticed this lately. Was watching Cantlay yesterday. He keeps his feet like your describing. I’m an early extension spin out golfer, as I’m getting older.

[@jamestaylor2976]

Wondered about balance. Is it the result of a good swing or the cause of a good swing? I remember some golf analysts saying 'good balance. The notion seemed to be that the balance was a result of a proper motion.

[@markhuling3328]

Great stuff! I've got to give it a go!

[@Rogcljon]

Very interesting. I imagine it’s harder to come over the top if the rear heel is flat through impact too 👍

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Exactly and you can stay down the line longer wit the club especially if you are able to laterally flex better than the average amateur. I have been working on this and it is challenging for me because of having the "stand up" golf swing motor program for so long, but it is improving.

[@guitar1950]

Many top instructors today are saying that the weight/pressure moves into trail heel on back swing and on the down swing in moves into the lead heel. Using pressure mats to measure the pressures has proven this to be true.

[@BroncoYeller]

Dave, are the Pro's back on their heels because they get in their flexion and rotation? Meaning is being on the heels necessary because they setup with arms hanging down? If that is true, then why is it still necessary to have weight on heels for a setup for impact address?

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Virtually every good player is on their heels as forward momentum toward the ball is death. But I cannot say one way or another regarding your questions.

[@BroncoYeller]

@@theamateurgolfersdilemma72 Dave, it might just be that regardless if you do the pro setup, or setup for impact, the arms are going to be 'out there' at impact. The hanging arm setup has to move back to allow the arms to extend. The setup for impact player just has to maintain the setup radius. And because the weight of the arms swinging out in space pulls on the body, there has to be what David Lee calls a counterfall to maintain equilibrium. I think that might be it. By the way, enjoyed your book very much. Gold mine!

[@gregorylatta8159]

I had a golfing machine certified instructor teach me to swing from my heels and set up at impact position. He left out standing further away from the ball unfortunately. I discovered that on my own 😆

[@petermartinaitis8166]

Watch slow motion video of Angel Cabrrera it's amazing how planted his feet stay even after impact.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Thank you very much Peter ... that is amazing and it is stunning that this visible "secret" is never mentioned.

[@swisstrader]

Good input thanks

[@marcuskingstanley9522]

Players go on to their front heel to aid rotation. What is notable for me however is, there is still quite a lot of flex and bend in the knee after impact. So the question for me now is, apart from gravity, where is the "ground forces"? There are wide stance drills and what they teach is to stop over rotating through impact. You have to decelerate to create the whip action

[@havenrab]

U should look into toddd graves if u really want this look

[@ChrisDavis333]

You can watch Grant Horvart and Garrett Clark from Good Good they both swing from their heels/lateral arch, because they don’t wear traditional golf shoes you can really see how their feet are working throughout the golf swing. Grant’s move is a very front foot heel/lateral arch after impact kind of move and I think he has probably the most tour level swing of the bunch.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Grant's footwork is precisely what no amateur can do as a consequence of standing too close to the ball the while swinging from the toes. And when Garrett was young, he was a vertical toe jumper and now he jumps a bit backwards ... neither of these guys suffer from The Amateur Golfer's Dilemma.

[@eJunkee]

This is an over simplification. There are many factors which causes some pros to prefer heel or ball of feet for most pros. The left foot is the effect of what golfer is doing prior. More important is to maintain balance throughout the swing.

[@halfknott]

What about Bubba Watson?

[@IGOLFIC]

Lexi Thompson and Justin Thomas get on their toes when driving. They aren't amateurs. Golf is all about feel. If it feels better for you to hit like Bryon or Scottie Scheffler with his fancy foot work, do it. I copy Nellie Korda, she is the best example of the easy hitting golf swing.😁👍

[@larrypruitt3919]

Interesting. Very

[@termite122]

weight on your toes is also number 1 reason for hitting the ball on the heel of the clubface and worse hitting a shank.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Exactly ... the toe depending on where you were during the strike.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

"or the toe" it was supposed to say

[@TigerTigerWoodsYall]

I knew this was a problem when I looked at video of my swing. Standing up on both toes at impact. It's inconsistent and a ugly swing

[@luckymanla]

nfn Rahm was born with a frozen right foot which is why he makes several compensations in his lower body swing - jus sayin

[@timothycarry]

Staying on the heels allowed me to stand farther from the ball and gain those benefits

[@dbo4506]

Tell that too brooks koepka. Dude couldn’t be more on his toes. JT as a lot of toes too. And many more. Your take just isn’t accurate.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

LOL ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/fomupJKLh5KqfdE

[@guitar1950]

@@theamateurgolfersdilemma72 Angel Cabrera?

[@guitar1950]

JT moves weight and pressure into his trail heel on back swing and on down swing he moves it into his lead heel. Yes he pulls his trail heel up through impact or slightly before. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmm6aWaMrMSGldk

[@gregorylatta8159]

You are wrong!!! Most regular golfers will benefit from this approach!!!

[@Rid3thetig3r]

"Pros are not on their toes. Amateurs are" Fixed it for ya 😉

[@ChrisDavis333]

A good drill for this is putting a chair or a golf bag just barely touching your butt and feeing your left and right butt cheeks contacting the chair throughout the swing. Right on the backswing, left on the downswing.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Thats really not a drill - its a "skill" and is based on one's ability to effectively move in rotation. If you can do it, there is no point in doing it because, well you can do it. But if a golfer cannot do it, they need to learn to swing from their heels as outlined in this video, which may at some point improve their rotation adequately enough to perform the skill. .

[@JimmyVespe]

Tell that to JT and Tiger and Bobby Jones who were on their left outside of the toe from P7 to P9. Possibly weight and COG aren't indicative of the heel/toe as much as thought, but in principle i agree 100% and don't like this feature in their swings.

[@joneskendrick2084]

Wrong. All the players you list come up onto their toes POST impact because they are applying force against the ground via their legs v toes or forefoot. Go watch their foot action from transition into impact... it's solidly into their lead heels or mid-foot. The author is correct. Now, some ladies do move to their toes because of the full extension of their arms increases their length slightly and doing so increases the clearance.

[@justapedn1]

JT notwithstanding?

[@bonjovi7120]

No they don’t

[@crispyduck1706]

some seriously false information here

[@kcleong7135]

Bullshit!

[@jmf54]

It took over half of the video to get to the “how to.”

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

Sorry that the free video did not meet with your approval

[@mikeobrien1559]

Wrong. Most do, but notable exceptions jump. Lexi Thompson, Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson, and numerous long drivers, both male and female. These aren't outliers. Back to the drawing board.

[@theamateurgolfersdilemma72]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXSoi3ZvrJqWg8U

[@scottmurray7283]

Even if they jump, they're jumping backward not toward their toes....

[@norgerepairs8687]

Slammin' Sammy Snead squat. What is old is now new.