Twisting onto toe point

[drew83]

I don't the technical term you would use, but then follow through of a shot where your back foot comes up on to the
toe...

I don't do it. It was the one thing the pro was "telling me off" for. My feet stay relatively flat on the floor, even though I make a conscious effort to move it.

However, I still get 200-210ish carry with the flat feet & a fairly straight shot...

So:

1) How important is this?
2) How can I get myself to get up on the toe?
3) How do I stop myself falling forward? (As a right hander, when I try & get on to right my toe, I find myself falling to the left from lack of balance.)

I can see that the unbalance is most likely too much speed/power in the swing...

 

[One Planer]

If your feet are still flat to the floor, it would suggest you're not moving your weight as effectively as you could.

Do you suffer hitting behind the ball much?

 

[bobmac]

If you continue to play in this way, if you dont have a bad back now, you soon will have.
Watch EVERY good player and they all finish up on their toe.
Try swinging at half speed and holding the position at the end of the swing until the ball lands

 

[drew83]

If your feet are still flat to the floor, it would suggest you're not moving your weight as effectively as you could.

Do you suffer hitting behind the ball much?

You mean duffing on the floor before impact? A couple but not many in a round...3-4 out of 100 ish?

 

[drew83]

If you continue to play in this way, if you dont have a bad back now, you soon will have.
Watch EVERY good player and they all finish up on their toe.
Try swinging at half speed and holding the position at the end of the swing until the ball lands

I have always had a bad back as a result of a rugby injury about 16 years ago.

ok will persevere with it.

 

[virtuocity]

I'm back on the lesson trail, determined to get my distance increased.

I previously struggled with everything you've put on the thread. My main embarrassment was the dragging of the right foot, leaving a right mess of the tee box.

Firstly, don't try to get up to your toe- it's something else that's CAUSING this, so that's what you need to fix. Throughout your swing, your brain tells your body what to do to make the club head hit the golf ball. For example, close the club face majorly at address and then swing, your body will react to the messages your brain sends and your path will change to accommodate the face.

Secondly, what did your pro offer in terms of an explanation?

Just a personal suggestion (there may be 100s) but I'd suggest getting a video of your swing and checking out your release. Funnily enough, I made this image yesterday:



See where Rory's club finishes? Mine finished on the black line (think this is what is referred to as 'holding off'). Mine was caused by a lack of proper release (including rehinging). Consequences where being stuck on back foot, slice with the driver and a nasty chicken wing. Lack of distance also a huge issue as the swing stalled to get into this position. So, where does yours finish?

Disclaimer (as always)- I'm no expert, just someone who experiences the same issues passing on what a respected pro has advised!

Edited to add: I believe that the momentum of a proper release (swinging on an inverted hoop-like plane without stalling) forces you up on to your toe. IMO it's not something that you should be looking to manufacture, unless, by doing so, your release path changes as a result.

 

[drew83]

virtuocity, I finish with the club further wrapped back around my neck over my left shoulder.

When I say I stay flat, my heel comes up but doesn't get all the way to toe...

The pro did mention weight transfer & a more accurate ball flight. I was slicing 20% of my drives before I went. After trying to get on my toe, I was hooking!
So, I now try to get on my toe but aim right of my target to pull it back a bit, but again, the brain tells me "no don't aim over there!" following my old slice mentality.

So I go back to default, aim a little left, flatter finish on the foot, and end up pretty good.

I am working on it all, getting up on the toe, trying to reduce the hook etc at the range.

 

[chrisd]

A tip I had, and use, to get weight transfer to the left side through impact is to imagine there's a water bottle under my left foot (for right handed) and when get to the top of the backswing my first move is to press my left foot down just hard enough to push some water out of the bottle. When I do it I never fail to transfer the weight, straighten the left leg and finish balanced on the left foot and the right foot up on the toe.

 

[drew83]

Cheers chris. will try that.

 

[ScienceBoy]

For shots under 60 yards I don't as I switch to my pitching swing. I grip lighter, move my body far less and swing "lighter" too.

In my lesson recently we added not lifting the back foot for pitching. It knocked 40% off the shot distance and tightened dispersion!