It has perplexed me for many years that golf instruction has gone away from copying the amazing footwork evident in most all of the players in the hall of fame. One of the hallmarks of the great players is superb footwork. Nearly EVERY great player has allowed their lead heal to come up as they complete their backswing. This allows for a full wind up / range of motion as well an excellent trigger to sequence the downswing. Keeping the left heel down has caused more harm than good in my opinion. I believe many players have suffered injuries due to excessive torque from trying to create resistance early in the back-swing. This flawed theory has the players believing that this “torque” will have a rubber band / spring effect where the muscles will “snap back”. Muscles only expand and contract. They don’t snap back.
Too many players to name but I’ll list a few: Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan Sam Snead, Billy Casper, George Knudsen, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus. Ladies: Mickey Wright, Babe Zaharias, Nancy Lopez. The list goes on and on. Most of these players had LONG careers and were not injury prone as young men and women. Today’s we are seeing many young players with devastating back and hip injuries.
Let’s start teaching our players to use their feet! Superb footwork is the hallmark of most sports. Golf is no different!