Is this trail foot work something to copy?

[Golfbeat]

 

 

[Rdailey9108]

I mean I'd say it helps keep his trail hip/leg kicking out toward the ball but I feel like us amateurs may do it and restrict our rotation through the ball.

[Ross_Albatross]

@Golfbeat

his explanation beginning at the 7min mark or so...

 

 

[jholz]

Paddy's explanation for the move makes sense. This is, in fact, something that I'm working on presently.

 

Like many things in the golf swing, there is a "key move" that we are trying to achieve - that key move is in the hips - and that's where I really like Paddy's explanation.

 

But, even in his explanation, he admits that many accomplished golfers effect that "key move" differently.

 

So, Paddy's "rolling the foot" solution might be the one for you - or for some people. It may even be a good drill for anyone trying to figure out the feel.

 

But, I'm not sure it is the kind of thing that I would try to teach as a foundation of the golf swing.

[Golfbeat]

Monte told me to keep the right foot longer on the ground because I tend to make the ballerina move. Paddy seems to take it to an extreme?

[Zitlow]

He's extremely talented so he can do just about anything as long as he gets himself and the shaft/clubface on plane. 

 

From here it's hard to mess up. 

 

[Aidensana]

4 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

From here it's hard to mess up. 

 

 

[jholz]

13 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

He's extremely talented so he can do just about anything as long as he gets himself and the shaft/clubface on plane. 

 

From here it's hard to mess up. 

 

 

Hell man, I get into that position a lot. You want to know how to f*** it up real good?

 

Drop your rear shoulder in transition.

 

How about spinning out the trail heel and pushing that knee towards the ball? (hence the subject of this post). Dare I mention early-extension?

 

Lots of nasty stuff can happen between there and the ball. I know from experience. 

[MattM97]

Just make sure you have the ankle mobility to do it. 

[Zitlow]

@Aidensana Only believe, only believe, all things are possible if you only believe. 

 

Getting the shaft and clubface on plane is like aiming a gun at a target, in golf the ball is the intermediate target. The downswing happens too quick to have any conscious thoughts. 

 

It took me forever to get out of my conscious mind but I learned the swing is one continuous flow of energy from start to finish like water whooshing through a garden hose.

 

There's some training involved to develop the feel for using momentum to swing the weight of the clubhead but it doesn't take long for the swing to become a reflex pattern. 

 

 

 

 

[TLUBulldogGolf]

In my opinion no but I suppose it depends on what issues you are struggling with. He looks extremely restricted in the follow through. I think it’s a good feel to work on if you don’t have the hips moving quite right in transition but I think in an unrestrained swing the heel is going to lift some.

Edited October 31, 2022 by TLUBulldogGolf

[Chunkitgood]

Notice towards the end of the video of Harrington above when he hits some shots he goes up on his right toe.

 

So, no.

 

 

[Valtiel]

The footwork is a lot less important than the underlying fundamental IMO, that being any and all momentum from the right side needing to move towards the left side and NOT towards the ball. That last bit is the crucial part and can present different aesthetically with different players. As Padraig pointed out in the video @MtlJayMan posted above, Justin Thomas accomplishes this while WAY up on his right toe to such an extent that it doesn't *look* like he is. Scheffler meanwhile has the extreme version where his right foot slides in diagonally. Then Padraig has this tilt inwards towards the ball. All different looks, same underlying fundamental. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Valtiel

[Rapidcat]

18 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

The footwork is a lot less important than the underlying fundamental IMO, that being any and all momentum from the right side needing to move towards the left side and NOT towards the ball. That last bit is the crucial part and can present different aesthetically with different players. As Padraig pointed out in the video @MtlJayMan posted above, Justin Thomas accomplishes this while WAY up on his right toe to such an extent that it doesn't *look* like he is. Scheffler meanwhile has the extreme version where his right foot slides in diagonally. Then Padraig has this tilt inwards towards the ball. All different looks, same underlying fundamental. 

Something quite hypnotic about watching these.

 

JT looks like he's having some sort of fit or an extreme dance move.

[Valtiel]

8 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

Something quite hypnotic about watching these.

 

JT looks like he's having some sort of fit or an extreme dance move.

Hah yeah, his mechanics baffle me sometimes, both in concern for their sustainability and in appreciation of his ability to not only make them work, but be elite in slowing things down and shaping the ball. 

[Rapidcat]

32 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

Hah yeah, his mechanics baffle me sometimes, both in concern for their sustainability and in appreciation of his ability to not only make them work, but be elite in slowing things down and shaping the ball. 

Always strikes me as a wiry little guy trying to get more out of his body than he should.

 

Love his shot-making, though.

[airjammer]

2 hours ago, Valtiel said:

The footwork is a lot less important than the underlying fundamental IMO, that being any and all momentum from the right side needing to move towards the left side and NOT towards the ball. That last bit is the crucial part and can present different aesthetically with different players. As Padraig pointed out in the video @MtlJayMan posted above, Justin Thomas accomplishes this while WAY up on his right toe to such an extent that it doesn't *look* like he is. Scheffler meanwhile has the extreme version where his right foot slides in diagonally. Then Padraig has this tilt inwards towards the ball. All different looks, same underlying fundamental. 

Padraig needs to bank his right foot to keep his right hip from trapping his trail elbow because he doesn’t get his left hip deeper than at address like the other 2. 
 

My Favorite Tiger video…look at the old divot right behind his tailbone at address and look how far Tiger pushes back in transition so that he can freely rotate his hips without trapping his trail arm. 
 

So there are multiple options and no one way is right or wrong.  It’s really just what you have the flexibility for and what ground reaction you need to release the club properly. 

 

 

 

[Rapidcat]

19 hours ago, Zitlow said:

@Aidensana Only believe, only believe, all things are possible if you only believe. 

 

Getting the shaft and clubface on plane is like aiming a gun at a target, in golf the ball is the intermediate target. The downswing happens too quick to have any conscious thoughts. 

 

It took me forever to get out of my conscious mind but I learned the swing is one continuous flow of energy from start to finish like water whooshing through a garden hose.

 

There's some training involved to develop the feel for using momentum to swing the weight of the clubhead but it doesn't take long for the swing to become a reflex pattern. 

 

 

 

 

Who is this guy? Takes it back inside and across the line at the top, he couldn't hang with a WRXer.

 

Bet he achieved nothing in golf with that swing.

[Ross_Albatross]

10 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

Who is this guy? Takes it back inside and across the line at the top, he couldn't hang with a WRXer.

 

Bet he achieved nothing in golf with that swing.

Haha love it... from tape they estimated his CHS to be at 113 and driving distance in the 250s (those drivers were tough on the smash factor haha)... would be interesting to know if that move was tailormade for that era, how technology and/or equipment helped craft today's swings

[Lord Helmet]

So the trail foot for me is my left and if my heel comes off the ground during the first part of transitioning to downswing I am 110% toast.  Someone earlier in the thread called it a ballerina.  Spinout city.  Nasty snap hooks here we come.  So I then recalled an old magazine article with my man J Duffner who said a thought for this very issue was to keep his heel planted as long as possible.  So i started working on that.  And it helped.  And I also incorporated another thought of turning my belt buckle behind me during the dswing.  I have had very good success with this and key on those 2 things exclusively at the range for muscle and swing memory.

[Rapidcat]

23 minutes ago, Lord Helmet said:

So the trail foot for me is my left and if my heel comes off the ground during the first part of transitioning to downswing I am 110% toast.  Someone earlier in the thread called it a ballerina.  Spinout city.  Nasty snap hooks here we come.  So I then recalled an old magazine article with my man J Duffner who said a thought for this very issue was to keep his heel planted as long as possible.  So i started working on that.  And it helped.  And I also incorporated another thought of turning my belt buckle behind me during the dswing.  I have had very good success with this and key on those 2 things exclusively at the range for muscle and swing memory.

Are you, me?😀 

 

Exactly what I have had success with and initially inspired by that Duf article.

 

A different article with an allied comment: 

https://www.anujvarma.com/keep-the-right-foot-planted-in-the-full-golf-swing/

 

Also consider these:

 

We all know that it is important to understand swing mechanics and not just copy positions; Harrington's instruction video earlier in this thread is good.

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Rapidcat

[Lord Helmet]

1 hour ago, Rapidcat said:

Are you, me?😀 

 

Exactly what I have had success with and initially inspired by that Duf article.

 

A different article with an allied comment: 

https://www.anujvarma.com/keep-the-right-foot-planted-in-the-full-golf-swing/

 

Also consider these:

 

We all know that it is important to understand swing mechanics and not just copy positions; Harrington's instruction video earlier in this thread is good.

 

 

Haha!  Good stuff there.  Yeah, that simple couple thoughts for me (trail foot plant, get my belt buckle turning back behind me) really is effective.  Now I will occasionally get quick at the top and spin out, thats my miss.  But it happens infrequently to be honest.  I can think of a single snap hook in my last 3 rounds.  Its costly though, OB, and hitting 3 off the T.  Another benefit, as I see it, to this method, is my rhythm and tempo are all in sync. And I become more confident standing on the T, which leads to better shots.

 

[Rapidcat]

2 minutes ago, Lord Helmet said:

 

Another benefit, as I see it, to this method, is my rhythm and tempo are all in sync. 

 

So much this - I feel like an alien has taken over my swing and it is just so automatic and at c.80% of the effort yet 2 clubs longer.

 

I guess this is the result from decent sequencing.

[Lord Helmet]

12 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

So much this - I feel like an alien has taken over my swing and it is just so automatic and at c.80% of the effort yet 2 clubs longer.

 

I guess this is the result from decent sequencing.

 

Yeah, its pretty cool right after the swing to just grab the t peg and walk off the box knowing your out there in the short stuff.   And yes! you dont need to come unglued/unhinged to hit the ball well.  Ive driven par4 greens this year (never done that before) and putted for eagle!  4 times!

[Mono]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:04 AM, Valtiel said:

The footwork is a lot less important than the underlying fundamental IMO, that being any and all momentum from the right side needing to move towards the left side and NOT towards the ball. That last bit is the crucial part and can present different aesthetically with different players. As Padraig pointed out in the video @MtlJayMan posted above, Justin Thomas accomplishes this while WAY up on his right toe to such an extent that it doesn't *look* like he is. Scheffler meanwhile has the extreme version where his right foot slides in diagonally. Then Padraig has this tilt inwards towards the ball. All different looks, same underlying fundamental. 

 

 

oh - l love this visual - so good

[golferdude54]

Moe Norman kept his right heel planted and rolling, he was an ok ball-striker, apparently. But the key is to not jump and straighten the right knee at impact. Otherwise Gene Littler and Kenny Perry would've been as good as Moe in ball-striking ability but they straighten their knees at impact and that disrupts the consistency of their arc from time to time.

 

I find that maintaining forward front knee flex like Moe did through impact and well into the follow-through (also what Byron Nelson did) while keeping the back heel planted and rolled on the ground also helps maintain the back knee flex instead of straightening it. I've only seen less than a handful of golfers actually do that, though.

[MK7Golf21]

On 10/31/2022 at 6:27 AM, Golfbeat said:

 

 

banking foot not a bad thing at all, Padrig taking it to an extreme in that 3rd still though. At that point you are probably stressing some hip and back too much. You’d want some more release in the right side to free up your hip and back in the follow through 

[TrueBlue4Lyfe]

Been working on my right foot for a long time with the goal of my right foot working like that with wedges and short irons.  Too difficult with longer clubs but do aim to keep the right heel down longer and have it bank towards the target instead of lifting straight up towards the ball.

 

When I have it down on the range i make great consistent contact with perfect divots.

 

The problem is I can’t get it to stick on the course or on the range when I’m not thinking about it.  In other words I can’t make it my natural action.

[SwingBlues]

From a single plane swing POV, yeah, the trail foot down is pretty much critical in maintaining "space" into impact.

 

For me personally, when I was on the 2 plane swing, my best swing days was to keep the right foot rolling into impact but I had very bad space management - I literally would stand up and even be on my toes. Nowadays, thanks to JT, this is now fashionable to "use the ground". But I had to rely so much on my timing as well to strike it good and I played between 3 and 8 cap then. But with very, very sore back and the regiment of Aleve for the next few days (Sunday to Tuesday)

 

Switching to Single Plane swing 2 years ago, this was finally explained to me what was happening when I kept the trail foot down and when I wasn't. It took me this long to finally "get it" but as I posted in the "Accomplishment" thread here, 2022 has been a spectacular golfing year for me, down to a 0.2 cap, seeing so much looks at birds and Eagles and more importantly, I am off the Aleve/ibuprofen now. Completely.

 

So, yeah, keep the trail foot down at least through impact and let it release after.

Edited November 8, 2022 by SwingBlues