Had a lesson last night woth a new Pro who was recommended to me and a couple of the things he suggested I do I have not heard before. What are your views on the following.

1/ He noticed my left heel was coming off the ground during backswing and said this is a no no and the heel should never leave the ground. I did notice my balance was better when I did this.

2/ I have a tendency to sway back a little during takeaway so I have tried to keep the basketball between the leg thought happening but he says the left knee should sway back towards the right.

3/ I have been setting up with club face marginally open as I have been told the club face should then be square at seperation. He recommended club face be square at address.

I must admit I did hit some good shots with these changes (only used irons) but just a little confused with confliction advice.

1/ He noticed my left heel was coming off the ground during backswing and said this is a no no and the heel should never leave the ground. I did notice my balance was better when I did this.

The pro I had lessons with last night told me 95% of the golfers do that, it’s only the pros whos had years of practice can keep it flat.

And he told me to not to worry about it.

I’ve heard many ‘pop’ instructors say heel-lift is not too much of an issue unless it’s excessive and causes instability. I’d even suggest Jack Nicklaus got a few extra yards because of the power in slamming it back down.

As a golfer “of a certain age”, I can attest that lifting the heel and swaying, together with a tendency for the lead shoulder to collapse toward the sternum and losing extensor action, are all symptoms of lack of rotational flexibility. Try some flexibility work and amaze yourself.

Gotta: Only in a full swing should the left heel be pulled off the ground if it has to in order for a full back to the target effort be made.
If its off before then your are transferring way too much weight too soon. The older you get the stiffer you get the more the left heel will be pulled earlier. One great thing about a lifted heels is slamming it down before the arms move….... everyone go do this in a mirror and watch what happens to your hips.

3) This on in particular shows that for you to get back to square his fix is yelling at you that you do not have enough anti clockwise rotation to get it square at low point – so he cheats to get a result for you:) Simple fix for now but ultimately a power robber unless you are a hitter.

After finishing my lesson I watched a few low handicap guys hit some balls and they were all lifting their heel. I think he recommended it for me as my balance is not great.

Shorts Tuff, I agree the lifting is due to lack of flexibility through the trunk. Something to work on.

Jeez your good Guru,

3) This on in particular shows that for you to get back to square his fix is yelling at you that you do not have enough anti clockwise rotation to get it square at low point – so he cheats to get a result for you:) Simple fix for now but ultimately a power robber unless you are a hitter.

This is exactly what he told me and said we would get to the anti clockwise rotation down the track.

What about the left knee swaying back? Is this a quick fix for another problem?

The left knee swaying back is fine. If you think about it, it has to come around a little as your hips make their turn. If it doesn’t then something else has to give and its likely to be a reverse pivot motion.

Glad to hear you are getting a trained pair of eyes out to help you on your way. Your mind has lots of info in it so you can ask the pro lots of questions. He should be happy to help you file the ideas into a more correct order to allow you to make a better motion through the ball.

Gotta,
Who is the pro who gave you this advice, I want to shake his hand he is on the money and the basket ball drill is awesome, there is a lot of merit in what he is trying to do and stick with it.
The left heel should never lift off the ground ever, there is science to back the theory why, follow his advice and stick with it, to me sounds like he’s been shown a few secrets

I don’t see a problem with the left heel being pulled off the ground….actively lifting it is a whole different ball game.

Keeping it down can be a good way to encourage a shorter more compact swing though too.

I lift the heel way off the ground if I want an extra 40 mtrs. but I need wide fairways and little rest between big ones.

I find the occasional lift educational regarding acceleration time and mass development. Then of course you can get much the same effect with no lift.