Dropping the right foot back?

[finncox]

I was playing with a friend today who has a very "up the wall" backswing, with a slightly cupped wrist. On the way down, he has a bad habit of using a "hump the goat" move, or really overactive hips, to shallow out the club. His misses are unplayable duck hooks, or large blocks. When I got him to aim normally, and quiet his hips and come straight "down the wall," instead of using his overactive hips to try and shallow out the club, he hit some really solid straight-ish, to slightly fade shots. During our round, he had a tendency to slip into his old habits, and pull and hook some shots out of play.

On the 18th hole, I remembered Brian's recent "backing up the shaft" Vimeo explanation, and suggested that he try and hit a few shots dropping his right foot back. He hit several of the best iron shots of the entire day. To me, it seemed that by dropping his right foot back, he was unable to "hump the goat," or let his overactive hips screw him up.

Also, in showing him the drill, I hit a shot, and I'll be damned if I didn't hit a fantastic shot, and feel way less stress on my knees/hips as I rotated more "across my left leg," and into the finish. And I don't even have the same overactive hip problems that he does.

Here are my questions about this drill/feeling ...... 1) Why does this work so well??; 2) Is there any danger in using this as a frequent practice drill, such as overdoing it, etc.?; and 3) When working with this feel, how do you transition back to a more normal stance without losing the benefits of the right foot being dropped back?

 

[Kevin Shields]

My question is why would you transition back into a "normal" stance?

 

[hp12c]

My question is why would you transition back into a "normal" stance?

Dude when u post I listen!!!!!

 

[finncox]

My question is why would you transition back into a "normal" stance?

Well ...... I don't actually have a decent answer to this. My only thought is that the degree to which I dropped my right foot back seemed fairly extreme.

 

[JDMAC]

Looks good for me in 3D

I play with my right leg set back. Helps me keep my back to the target longer and when I was on the 12 sensor 3D machine we saw something interesting... My right foot/leg was surely way back, but my pelvis and everything else was square in that position.

 

[finncox]

I play with my right leg set back. Helps me keep my back to the target longer and when I was on the 12 sensor 3D machine we saw something interesting... My right foot/leg was surely way back, but my pelvis and everything else was square in that position.

In thinking about it a little more, I guess if Sam Snead could drop his right foot back and play fantastic golf, maybe it's not really something to worry about??

 

[KGlennCole]

I play with my right leg set back. Helps me keep my back to the target longer and when I was on the 12 sensor 3D machine we saw something interesting... My right foot/leg was surely way back, but my pelvis and everything else was square in that position.

Brian worked with me on this just last week, but only with the Driver. I assume 3W, 5W to be the same. I may not have fully understood because for the last 2 practice sessions and 2 rounds, I've also turned the right hip back slightly, tryng to make sure my upper body is still square. It feels very weird and just don't feel comfortable yet because I was always taught to line everything square. My mind is telling me that I'm lining up to the right of the target even though I'm probably not or as much as my mind is telling me.

Question for Brian or Manzella instructors - Should I keep the hips, et al square with the right foot back?

 

[spktho]

How does one set up with the right foot back? Set up normal, then drop the right foot back? Drop it back how far?

 

[finncox]

How does one set up with the right foot back? Set up normal, then drop the right foot back? Drop it back how far?

I set up first, then drop it back. I move the back foot where the toe of my back foot was at least in line with the middle of my front foot, maybe more toward the heel.

 

[niblick1]

I set up first, then drop it back. I move the back foot where the toe of my back foot was at least in line with the middle of my front foot, maybe more toward the heel.

I have been experimenting with exactly this as well after seeing the recent Brian video. I have always had trouble with my hips getting too open too soon and fight the pull/cut. Promising so far.

 

[art]

I have been experimenting with exactly this as well after seeing the recent Brian video. I have always had trouble with my hips getting too open too soon and fight the pull/cut. Promising so far.

Dear niblick1,(and others encouraged by this thread),

As you can imagine from over 1 million degrees of freedom in creating each of our golf swings, some work better than others.

The real scientific basis however, as to which of these available paths and positions provide the best combination of c
CONSISTENT distance, accuracy and to me most importantly, least injury potential, necessitates a swing style(s), that address upper and lower body dynamic balance.

You will, and may already have experienced MORE of it when you drop your rear foot back. But what you then have to do is make some 'compensations' regarding the club path and club face position. Also, as that rear foot goes back, the bodies internal movements and stresses change, and IMO, especially if exaggerated could constrain the follow thru, where the 3-5 horsepower developed to hit the ball, now has to be arrested in this restricted phase of the swing. IMO, it is a GREAT drill, but find a better way to increase dynamic stability for the swing with which you play golf.

Sincerely,
art

 

[spktho]

Dariusz is calling us names again because this sounds a lot like his "diagonal stance".

 

[finncox]

Just to clarify, when I talk about dropping the right foot back, I'm not talking about aiming right, necessarily. I line up a little left of the target (as usual, for irons), square up my body to that aim line, and then drop my right foot back. I try not to let the dropping back of my right foot to change my alignment when doing this. Rather, I just drop it back and keep my shoulders pretty square to the original aim line, as far as I can tell.

If anything, I would call my stance closed, but my alignment square. The resulting swing from there is very much across my left leg, not way out to right field along my closed stance line.

Don't know if that makes any sense, but it's what I feel.

 

[rogerdodger]

The right foot closed makes it a lot easier to swing across the left leg. I always hit good shots with a feeling that my right leg actually moved behind the left thru impact. In the 1980's, I remember seeing Greg Norman, Lanny Wadkins and Billy Casper doing this move. The right foot kind of drags forward but remains behind the left. Never knew why this worked until Brian's backing the shaft up video. This move helps prevent getting too in to out on the downswing. Funny, when I open my stance, I tend to get too underplane on the downswing, feeling the right foot backs really helps direct the hands and club across the left leg thru impact. I have been hitting the ball very well when the foot is back and the right instep drags forward a few inches during the swing.