This would depend on how fast you increase the leg drive as well as how lose your wrists are plus other factors. When I first did this I saw a 50+ yard increase. This was when I was 15 or 16. From that point on I never stopped doing it.
i WOULD PRESUME,THAT IF BY LIFTING MY RIGHT HEEL,I THEN LOSE MY BALANCE AND I SEEM TO SWAY TO THE LEFT AND,NOT TURN,HOW DO I CORRECT THIS??? STIFFEN THE LEFT LEG,OR JUST NOT TURN (SWAY) AS FAST??
You need to be turning. The weight should be sifting on its own due to you getting on the very tip of you right big toe. You should not be immediately shifting the weight to this forward leg. It is a turn not a lean.
If this was the case why are 90+ percent of all golfer flat footed when they hit the ball. Surely, there can’t be that many people not shifting and turning. Unfortunately, the great majority of people do not turn nor shift. I need them to manually lift the heel.
Hi Paul, when you say to touch the legs are you not saying to shift the weight to the left side and so why not just put your weight on the left side. Also, other sites all say a short lateral move left then a turn to clear the hips. Does touching the legs or pushing off on the right foot the same thing? But how can it be? Thanks Michelle
I do not have to tell you to shift your weight. You are going to end up on the very tip of your back big toe when you are finished right? If so, your weight would have had to have shifted. See, I can make things happen without you even thinking about it. If you are thinking about shifting when are you thinking about turning. Remember, you only have 1/4 of a second from the top to impact. You blink your eyes in .33 of a second.
I would assume this might be a good routine to follow during a round where you take some practice swings before you actually set up to hit the ball. Similar to practice swings with rolling your wrists early to help square the club when you take your actual swing, I would think the feeling of lifting your right heal during practice swings has a better chance of carrying through to the actual swing.
Paul, Silly question, but do you notice more creases in the front toe of your right shoe than the left one. My new shoes are very different looking after a month of use. I am concentrating on touching my knees and can lift my right toe after shots. Does that seem to make sense to you?
I do notice this but I use this the right foot/toe to trigger my swing. If you are getting on the very tip of your back toe then you do not need to worry about it (unless it is really wearing out compared to the other one). This occurs because there is a bend in this shoe just before you get onto the tip of the toe. The left foot never bends like this so it looks quite new when compared to the right.
Looking for more distance I did the heel lift drill for about two hours yesterday. I mean LIFT I made sure my right toe was the only part of my foot on the ground ann turned my hips as fast as I could.
Now getting late out here in San Diego I loaded up and went to an open hole tee on a par five. Lined up took a practice swing with the big heel lift and turn addressed the ball and swung!
I hit the ball well over 200 yards about 60 yards right so far out of bounds over trees and into a parking lot adjacent to the course!
Unbelievable I have not sliced or faded the ball in the last six months. I teed up a second ball slowed everything down and hit again same thing out of bounds. Took some slow breaths tried again out of bounds into the parking lot?
Got off the course too late to go back to the range went home growling.
What have I done? Heading to the now new day but do not know what to expect?
1. You did a drill for 2 hours thinking you got it.
2. You worked on your swing on the course.
3. You did not know that the face was open as you hit these shots.
4. You increase only the rotational speed of your body without rolling the wrists first (I recently did a tip on this).
Watch: Release Progression: https://ignitiongolf.com/release-progression/
5. You cared about missing 2 shots.
So roll never do this again. Roll your wrists first and get it hooking. Then and only then do you try to increase the rotational speed of your body so it matches your new release.
Paul,
I was just wondering how I know when I am using my hips correctly. I have been practicing many of the rotational drills for weeks. Also I turn my hips quickly and eventually they stop turning in the downswing so my upper body can catch up. What am I doing wrong?
Michael
That’s great you are working the hips but are you working on the Touch the Legs position? If you were trying to take your back leg and physically touch your forward leg why would not get to the ending point? You wouldn’t. So you not only need to start down by moving the hips but you need to work on the ending point (Touch the Legs Position) so you go to the exact same position each time.
Also, keep in mind that your hips do actually stop in the golf swing just after you hit the ball. From there the start moving again and complete the follow through touching the legs position.
Also, if you are arms are coming in you would be pulling it. This is due to your whole body tilting left in the downswing. When you fire the lower body it is like hitting an accelerator on a car. This leg drive forces your upper body to angle behind the ball in the downswing. The harder you drive them the more angle you create:
I would think that as you are driving your hips you are immediately shifting your weight to the forward leg in the downswing. If so, you will come way over the top. You do not shift the weight immediately. It is a gradual shift.
Paul,
Went to look at Zubak and some of the other long drive champs as you mentioned in video. Zubak = Wow… Totally off the right foot and ‘committing’ as he puts it into the turn. Watched the other LD champs and all are same with that lift clearly before impact. Started Day 1 last night of this and will report back once I have completed 2 straight weeks of drills/practice. Expect I will be getting my distance back in mid irons…Thanks!
Kim
Hi Paul, I am taking Skype lessons with Pete so i’ll ask him too, he sent this drill over to me because I am a flat footed swinger, but when I lift my heel first I find myself miles ahead of the ball, out of balance and trying to look back at the ball out of my dominant left eye. It’s a disaster. When I try to turn my hips harder it gets even uglier I hit tops, nasty low skull pull hooks pull slices and push slices with horrible distance. This AM at the range 100 yard 9 irons. I can’t seem to figure out how to stay behind the ball and how to turn my hips first and fast without throwing my right shoulder out over the ball. Am I missing something with the sequencing? The great news is that by trying to speed up my hip turn I’m actually simulating what happens on the golf course at the range, so now we can fix it:) Thanks as always! Ben
So start out slowly and just get it lifting. Then gradually go faster. Need to crawl before you can run. Just need the heel off the ground instead of being flat footed.
You are shifting your weight too soon. It is not an immediate shift. It is gradual.
If you have thrown a ball in your life you have done the correct move. You would never lean forward throwing a ball. If so, you would throw it in the ground. As you threw a ball you would do so with your legs and hips. Your whole upper body would hand back. Then it would come forward on top of the lead leg to finish the motion. So if you have done this before why not keep doing it? This means making the throwing motion tons of times until you memorize the movement. Then you do practice swings ONLY applying the same move. Go back to throwing if you have to until you are doing it with a club.
This takes constant and consistent practice because this is the opposite to what you have been doing for many years.
Well, it should but this is often not the case if they person is hanging back on this foot. I would video you swing after getting the feeling of firing the hips. You should be 3-4″ with iron and 5-6″ with woods. If you aren’t then help it a little. You really don’t want to be flat footed at impact.
Paul for some reason I have a very hard time unhinging the wrist. I can take 50 practice swings and do it but when I go to get the ball does not happen. HELP Tom
That is because you are trying to hit the ball when you have the ball in front of you. The harder you hit, the tighter you the hinge. If the hinge was loose it would re-hinge 100% of the time.
You need to think beyond the ball. Why not work on my touch the head position? You cannot do this if your wrists are too tight. This is why I teach this position.
Thinking of this takes your mind off of hitting the ball. So you do this at home in mirror. If you cannot do it in a practice swing you cannot do it in reality so start there. Make it important and make it perfect. If you make it important you will then be able to do it with a ball. If it is not important you will just keep hitting. See beyond the ball. This position gives you power and consistency.
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29 Responses to “DRILL – Lift Heel For 2 Weeks”
November 22, 2013
WesleyBergmanHow much of an increase in swing speed can be expected when doing this drill for two weeks?
November 23, 2013
Paul WilsonWesley,
This would depend on how fast you increase the leg drive as well as how lose your wrists are plus other factors. When I first did this I saw a 50+ yard increase. This was when I was 15 or 16. From that point on I never stopped doing it.
Watch:
Power: How I Got Power In My Swing: https://ignitiongolf.com/power-dig-foot-in/
November 22, 2013
richmosneyi WOULD PRESUME,THAT IF BY LIFTING MY RIGHT HEEL,I THEN LOSE MY BALANCE AND I SEEM TO SWAY TO THE LEFT AND,NOT TURN,HOW DO I CORRECT THIS??? STIFFEN THE LEFT LEG,OR JUST NOT TURN (SWAY) AS FAST??
November 23, 2013
Paul WilsonRich,
You need to be turning. The weight should be sifting on its own due to you getting on the very tip of you right big toe. You should not be immediately shifting the weight to this forward leg. It is a turn not a lean.
Watch:
Weight Distribution: https://ignitiongolf.com/weight-distribution
November 22, 2013
RaymondCHASTELPaul,Lifting the left Heel comes naturally if you
(a) move your Weight from the back leg to the front leg
(b) rotate fully your hips
Isn’t so?
November 23, 2013
Paul WilsonRaymond,
If this was the case why are 90+ percent of all golfer flat footed when they hit the ball. Surely, there can’t be that many people not shifting and turning. Unfortunately, the great majority of people do not turn nor shift. I need them to manually lift the heel.
November 22, 2013
RaymondCHASTELSorry ,I should have written the right Heel ,of course !
November 22, 2013
MichelleRichardsonHi Paul, when you say to touch the legs are you not saying to shift the weight to the left side and so why not just put your weight on the left side. Also, other sites all say a short lateral move left then a turn to clear the hips. Does touching the legs or pushing off on the right foot the same thing? But how can it be? Thanks Michelle
November 23, 2013
Paul WilsonMichelle,
I do not have to tell you to shift your weight. You are going to end up on the very tip of your back big toe when you are finished right? If so, your weight would have had to have shifted. See, I can make things happen without you even thinking about it. If you are thinking about shifting when are you thinking about turning. Remember, you only have 1/4 of a second from the top to impact. You blink your eyes in .33 of a second.
November 22, 2013
RandyGormanI would assume this might be a good routine to follow during a round where you take some practice swings before you actually set up to hit the ball. Similar to practice swings with rolling your wrists early to help square the club when you take your actual swing, I would think the feeling of lifting your right heal during practice swings has a better chance of carrying through to the actual swing.
Randy
November 23, 2013
Paul WilsonRandy,
This would be a good thing to do in practice swings to get you feeling your leg drive. Give it a shot.
November 22, 2013
dominicmacedoniaWhy does the heel come off the ground more with the driver and less with irons.
Dom
November 23, 2013
Paul WilsonDom,
Because you are driving your legs harder trying to hit it 300 yards.
December 1, 2013
GaryKreutzerPaul, Silly question, but do you notice more creases in the front toe of your right shoe than the left one. My new shoes are very different looking after a month of use. I am concentrating on touching my knees and can lift my right toe after shots. Does that seem to make sense to you?
December 1, 2013
Paul WilsonGary,
I do notice this but I use this the right foot/toe to trigger my swing. If you are getting on the very tip of your back toe then you do not need to worry about it (unless it is really wearing out compared to the other one). This occurs because there is a bend in this shoe just before you get onto the tip of the toe. The left foot never bends like this so it looks quite new when compared to the right.
March 7, 2014
GeraldJoyceHey Paul,
Looking for more distance I did the heel lift drill for about two hours yesterday. I mean LIFT I made sure my right toe was the only part of my foot on the ground ann turned my hips as fast as I could.
Now getting late out here in San Diego I loaded up and went to an open hole tee on a par five. Lined up took a practice swing with the big heel lift and turn addressed the ball and swung!
I hit the ball well over 200 yards about 60 yards right so far out of bounds over trees and into a parking lot adjacent to the course!
Unbelievable I have not sliced or faded the ball in the last six months. I teed up a second ball slowed everything down and hit again same thing out of bounds. Took some slow breaths tried again out of bounds into the parking lot?
Got off the course too late to go back to the range went home growling.
What have I done? Heading to the now new day but do not know what to expect?
JAyJay
March 8, 2014
Paul WilsonJayJay,
1. You did a drill for 2 hours thinking you got it.
2. You worked on your swing on the course.
3. You did not know that the face was open as you hit these shots.
4. You increase only the rotational speed of your body without rolling the wrists first (I recently did a tip on this).
Watch: Release Progression: https://ignitiongolf.com/release-progression/
5. You cared about missing 2 shots.
So roll never do this again. Roll your wrists first and get it hooking. Then and only then do you try to increase the rotational speed of your body so it matches your new release.
Work on this on the range NOT on the course.
January 7, 2015
MichaelWrubelPaul,
I was just wondering how I know when I am using my hips correctly. I have been practicing many of the rotational drills for weeks. Also I turn my hips quickly and eventually they stop turning in the downswing so my upper body can catch up. What am I doing wrong?
Michael
January 7, 2015
Paul WilsonMicheal,
That’s great you are working the hips but are you working on the Touch the Legs position? If you were trying to take your back leg and physically touch your forward leg why would not get to the ending point? You wouldn’t. So you not only need to start down by moving the hips but you need to work on the ending point (Touch the Legs Position) so you go to the exact same position each time.
Also, keep in mind that your hips do actually stop in the golf swing just after you hit the ball. From there the start moving again and complete the follow through touching the legs position.
Watch:
Impact Hip Rotation (at camera): https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-hip-rotation/
Also, here is how you can tell if you are powering your swing with your legs and hips or not.
Advanced – Driving Hips Check: https://ignitiongolf.com/driving-hips-check/
Also, if you are arms are coming in you would be pulling it. This is due to your whole body tilting left in the downswing. When you fire the lower body it is like hitting an accelerator on a car. This leg drive forces your upper body to angle behind the ball in the downswing. The harder you drive them the more angle you create:
Watch:
Impact Tilt With Different Clubs: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-tilt-different-clubs/
I would think that as you are driving your hips you are immediately shifting your weight to the forward leg in the downswing. If so, you will come way over the top. You do not shift the weight immediately. It is a gradual shift.
Watch:
Weight Distribution: https://ignitiongolf.com/weight-distribution
Also:
I have a bunch of tips on curing a pull if you are pulling:
Pull: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-pulled-shot
Pull 2 (expanding on it): https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-pulling
Stop Coming Over the Top: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-stop-over-the-top/
Body Tilt – Left Right: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-pulling
Cures – Manually Tilt To Stop Pulling: https://ignitiongolf.com/manually-tilt-cure-pull/
Remembering How Cure Pulled Shots: https://ignitiongolf.com/remembering-cure-pulled-shots/
March 1, 2016
KimBozikPaul,
Went to look at Zubak and some of the other long drive champs as you mentioned in video. Zubak = Wow… Totally off the right foot and ‘committing’ as he puts it into the turn. Watched the other LD champs and all are same with that lift clearly before impact. Started Day 1 last night of this and will report back once I have completed 2 straight weeks of drills/practice. Expect I will be getting my distance back in mid irons…Thanks!
Kim
March 1, 2016
Paul WilsonKim,
Exactly. Just watch the people who hit it the longest and incorporate their moves. Now way they would be hitting it flat footed.
May 16, 2016
BenjaminBerryHi Paul, I am taking Skype lessons with Pete so i’ll ask him too, he sent this drill over to me because I am a flat footed swinger, but when I lift my heel first I find myself miles ahead of the ball, out of balance and trying to look back at the ball out of my dominant left eye. It’s a disaster. When I try to turn my hips harder it gets even uglier I hit tops, nasty low skull pull hooks pull slices and push slices with horrible distance. This AM at the range 100 yard 9 irons. I can’t seem to figure out how to stay behind the ball and how to turn my hips first and fast without throwing my right shoulder out over the ball. Am I missing something with the sequencing? The great news is that by trying to speed up my hip turn I’m actually simulating what happens on the golf course at the range, so now we can fix it:) Thanks as always! Ben
May 16, 2016
Paul WilsonBen,
So start out slowly and just get it lifting. Then gradually go faster. Need to crawl before you can run. Just need the heel off the ground instead of being flat footed.
You are shifting your weight too soon. It is not an immediate shift. It is gradual.
Watch:
Weight Distribution: https://ignitiongolf.com/weight-distribution
It’s a Turn Not A Jump: https://ignitiongolf.com/turn-not-jump/
If you have thrown a ball in your life you have done the correct move. You would never lean forward throwing a ball. If so, you would throw it in the ground. As you threw a ball you would do so with your legs and hips. Your whole upper body would hand back. Then it would come forward on top of the lead leg to finish the motion. So if you have done this before why not keep doing it? This means making the throwing motion tons of times until you memorize the movement. Then you do practice swings ONLY applying the same move. Go back to throwing if you have to until you are doing it with a club.
This takes constant and consistent practice because this is the opposite to what you have been doing for many years.
Do these 2 drills constantly:
DRILL: Swing Up with Driver: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-swing-up-driver/
DRILL: Stop Coming Over The Top: https://ignitiongolf.com/stop-coming-over-the-top/
You cannot do these 2 drills if your upper body is leaning forward.
May 16, 2016
BenjaminBerryThanks Paul!
March 23, 2017
rodbeuthinHi Paul Great tip! By concentrating on really turning your hips fast would that automatically make your heel come off the ground at impact
March 23, 2017
Paul WilsonRod,
Glad you liked it. Thanks.
Well, it should but this is often not the case if they person is hanging back on this foot. I would video you swing after getting the feeling of firing the hips. You should be 3-4″ with iron and 5-6″ with woods. If you aren’t then help it a little. You really don’t want to be flat footed at impact.
August 16, 2017
ThomasWanstallPaul for some reason I have a very hard time unhinging the wrist. I can take 50 practice swings and do it but when I go to get the ball does not happen. HELP Tom
August 18, 2017
Paul WilsonTom,
That is because you are trying to hit the ball when you have the ball in front of you. The harder you hit, the tighter you the hinge. If the hinge was loose it would re-hinge 100% of the time.
You need to think beyond the ball. Why not work on my touch the head position? You cannot do this if your wrists are too tight. This is why I teach this position.
One Of The Secrets To The Golf Swing: https://ignitiongolf.com/secrets-to-golf-swing/
So you get to the top. Use your body to start the uncoil then take the club and physically touch the back of your head doing this position.
How Far Around Should You Swing?: https://ignitiongolf.com/swing-how-far-around/
When Is Your Swing Over?: https://ignitiongolf.com/swing-club-touching-head/
Thinking of this takes your mind off of hitting the ball. So you do this at home in mirror. If you cannot do it in a practice swing you cannot do it in reality so start there. Make it important and make it perfect. If you make it important you will then be able to do it with a ball. If it is not important you will just keep hitting. See beyond the ball. This position gives you power and consistency.
December 30, 2021
TomGraceYes, on my way to better golf with improved swing thoughts and drills.