Conference 7.286::golf

    
    Left heel absolutely comes off the ground...!

    I don't thinkm I lift my left heel but if I do, it certainly isn't
    much.  I think the idea here is that you want to remain balanced and
    the further you lift your left heel, the harder is to stay balanced.
    
    I read in one of Jack Nicklaus' book about the flying elbow.  He had an
    explanation for why he does not have a flying elbow even though it may
    look like it.  Had something to do with how upright his swing was and
    the clubhead path.  At the top of your backswing, the club should be
    parallel to the target line (from a bird's eye view) and if you have a
    flying elbow, this would not be the case.
    
    Or something like that...
    
    Mike

    The heel off the ground is usually related to the club in your hand...
    The heel almost never leaves the ground on wedge through 7 iron
    but increasingly comes off with 6iron through driver comming off
    the most when your swinging the driver...this has been my observation
    and it all seems to be directly related to good posture and balance..
    
    As for the flying right elbow it most likely varies from person
    as each persons swing plane is usually related to their height...
    taller = more upright = more flying elbow...shorter = less upright
    = less flying roght elbow...
    
    Nicklaus addresses the rolling of the ankles and heel off the ground
    in his video "golf my way"

    
    I think my right toe has been known to come off the ground on
    occasion. ;-)  Actually my heal does always come up about 1-2",
    I've been trying to eliminate this since I tends to cause we to
    shift to much weight to far to the left on my back swing. 

    
    Steve

    
    I just finished up with some indoor lessons.  I was told to let
    my heel come up because I have a fairly slow steady swing.
    
    However, my older brother was instructed to keep his heel down
    to help him learn to slow his swing down a bit.  So I guess
    either way is correct depending on who you are!!!
    
    Shane_Recent_Graduate_Of_Marty's_School_Of_Slicers
                                               

    Both feet come off the ground !!!!
    
    I land on my a-s....
    
    
    I gotta slow down....
    
    
    

    	Rick, 1st off, I'm glad you could learn something watching Golf
    on TV.  Many people don't realize just how much you can learn. 
    Both things you mentioned can vary from person to person, and whos
    to say what is the perfect swing.  If you talked to 25 pros, you
    would most likely get at least 10 different answers.  It all comes
    down to basics and what works for you.  As far as hitting the same
    club as Greg Norman does from 175 yards, what club is that?  I've
    seen Norman hit anywhere from a 4 iron to an 8 iron from that distance,
    depending on wind, and what lies between him and the green, and
    what lies after the green.
    
    Beak

    Whether you lift the heel, either or both feet (:-)) isn't the question
    but are you in control of your swing.  When I'm on the driving range
    I can really powder the ball and the heel comes up.  If I use that
    swing on the course, Im lucky to be in the same area code.  The
    message the pro might have been trying to deliver is that the swing
    is too big (out of control) and to take a little off to keep the
    ball in play.  Remember there's no room on the scorecard for how
    you were swinging or how you hit, just how many times.
    
    
    						KO

    re: .0, .5
    
    You may have been told to keep the heel down to correct a "reverse
    pivot" i.e. too much weight on the front foot in the backswing.
    The "feet together" drill helped me on this.
    
    Dan

    re: .7
    
      Norman consistently used the 6 iron each time.  Yes I agree many
    factors determine which club, (wind direction, rain, uphill, downhill,
    and on and on...) but I noticed the 6 and have before in other
    tourneys.  Let's just say the 6 is his club of choice MOST OFTEN at
    175 yards.  Really now, I adjust too, just not as well as Norman!

    Rick (It will ba a three wood if my da__ ribs don't heal!)

    RE: .9
    
      By George ... I think he's got it!  That makes sense!  I noticed
    alot of difference in my control after using the feet together drill.
    
    Rick

    re .whatever
    
    Yea, the key is to load up the right side on your backswing while
    still staying on balance and on plain...for some, the heel comes
    up for some it don't.
    
    Speaking of "on plain"   Has anybody out there heard of a Florida
    teaching Pro named Jimmy Ballard (i think)?     He is on espn at
    8 am sunday's here in Atlanta, giving a sort of 1/2 hour teaser
    lesson as a way to sell his Video.   He says that a good key to
    check if you are indeed staying on plain during your backswing
    is to check the butt-end of your club at a point halfway between
    waist high and full backswing....club is rising but you haven't
    really gotten into your turn yet....anyhow, at that point if you
    are on plain, the butt should be pointing at the ball.   Any
    corroboration out there?   I have been told when I get into a spate
    of toes and shanks, that I am "crossing the plain"  or "You're out
    of the plain"  so I'm REAL interested. 

    re:.12
    
    	Jimmy Ballard is one of the most well known and respected teachers
    in the game.  I used to watch that show when I first started playing.
    I had trouble with it because I didn't know a lot of the lingo.
    	He's not the only one who recommends that the butt end point
    to the ball, so there must be something to it.
    
    -Alan-

    re: .12
    
    	read hogan's book on the fundamentals for good explaination
    of the plane and what happens when you stay on it or don't.....
    Hogan says something to the effect that if your arms shatter the
    plane it wrecks your swing because of compensations that must follow
    
    as for Ballard....I've seen the show before and can't relate to
    it because of reading hogan's book, jones book and nicklaus book
    they all agree that butt end of club, this angle, that angle and
    all this other mumbo jumbo is the results of 3 or four basic
    fundamentalsi.e. grip/posture/balance/aim...if you concentrate on
    these the club will be where it should be and the ball will go where
    it should more times than not....as nicklaus says grip/aim/posture
    and balance are 85% of good golf shots...!!!now if I could only
    get up to 25% I'd be doing well.....

    Saw a video entitled "one move to better golf" where the "one move"
    is starting your backswing with your shoulder turn, not moving your
    arms.  I have trouble getting anything from video instruction. 
    After all, everyone doesn't have the same problems.
    
    Rick

    After reading all this talk about the left heel coming off the ground
    when you swing had me standing in my office swinging to see if my heel
    came off the ground. well it dosen't but what it does is roll. In other
    words the left side of my left foot rolls from front to back. As my
    club comes to the top I am on the inside of my left foot. I don't think
    it's off the ground very much. If I take a swing and leave my foot on
    the ground it really dons't feel that much different. Ya know i've seen
    some really unorthodox swings that are very effective. I would try not
    to get to caught up in every little detail of the swing. there is a
    basic golf swing and a million variations of that same swing and many
    of them work very well. If you hit the ball up and towards the green
    and your distance is satisfactory you have a swing that needs only
    practice.
    
    Pete
    
    

    Golf digest came yesterday.  There were 16 photos of different pro's
    at the top of their backswing.  Some hold their heels down and some
    don't.  What timing for the article!!!          
    
    Rick

    I feel that as long as you have a good weight transfer left to right,
    then right to left; it really doesn't matter if your heel is coming
    off the ground.  I use to work at GOLF USA in Nashua and we had
    a Sport Tech machine.  Weight transfer was one of the most important
    parts of the swing we looked at when helping the customer.    
    
                                               Dean