Set up Over the Balls of Your Feet

[iacas]

Too many people set up way into their heels.

Erik J. Barzeski (@iacas) • Instagram photos and videos

---

Erik J. Barzeski shared a post on Instagram: "I see a lot of golfers with their weight in their heels (left ❌). Almost none too far toward their toes (right ❌). And far too few with their weight over the balls of their feet...

 

This is a follow-up to these two posts:

I filmed this quick video (the source for the tweet and my Instagram post):

We don't do anything athletic from our heels, really, and your body will tend to seek to be "balanced" when it's moving around. You likely have more room to move toward your toes than you think. Give it a try.

[boogielicious]

I definitely need to be conscious of this.

[TourSpoon]

Often overlooked. My old time instructor always told me to be more aware of this. 

[JetFan1983]

I added this to all my shots including putting and chipping and my contact has definitely improved. Less skulls with chipping. More sweet spotted putts. Full swing wedges feel easier too, like my chances of skulling it are lower. 

[SEMI_Duffer]

There are vast differences between the posture taught by the PGA Pro from whom I originally received instruction (traditional "shoulders back, butt-out" stance) and what my current instructors teach (rounded shoulders, back straight, not pushing your butt out), but one thing they both had in common: Weight in your setup posture should be evenly-distributed and on the balls of your feet.

I can't imagine trying to swing a club with my weight on my heels.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, SEMI_Duffer said:

There are vast differences between the posture taught by the PGA Pro from whom I originally received instruction (traditional "shoulders back, butt-out" stance) and what my current instructors teach (rounded shoulders, back straight, not pushing your butt out), but one thing they both had in common: Weight in your setup posture should be evenly-distributed and on the balls of your feet.

I can't imagine trying to swing a club with my weight on my heels.

Vast majority of players do exactly that.

[saevel25]

It just depends on how your body finds balance. I think it has a lot to do with how you set up your upper body and how much knee flex you have. 

[JetFan1983]

It's good to know this is such a common problem, but I think I exacerbated it thru mirror work and constantly looking back at my DTL view. Over time I think I just kept getting more weight into the heels because it made it easier for me to look back. That's my theory anyway. 

It's also amazing how much better contact is for everything now. I'm actually taking divots, even with longer clubs off the deck. Those thin ground scrapes I'm so used to hitting have been significantly reduced since I made this change. And it's such an easy change to make too! I wish all changes in golf were this straight forward and simple 😄

Edit: I'm sure this has a positive effect on one's pressure trace as well, right? Heelcentric pressure traces are more conducive to fading the ball? With the pressure concentrated in the balls of the feet where they should be one has an actual chance at drawing the ball, is my understanding.

Edited September 24, 2022 by JetFan1983