I can show everyone here some swings viewed “up the line,” which illustrate how a proper, mechanically-sound golf swing does not have a heel spin with the leading foot, and it doesn’t matter how hard or fast you are swinging.
Part of the issue is that which also causes the “Flying Foot” in certain golfers – by anchoring the trailing foot to the ground at all costs, adjustments and compensations must be made.
This is an arbitrary and pointless rule – when you walk or perform any other action that involves the transfer of weight, you will always need to release that trailing foot. No other sport performs a motion where the trailing foot is nailed to the ground with the transfer of weight.
With the Heel Spin, there is a similar failure to transfer fully to the leading foot while turning into that leading hip – instead, the swinger’s body is turning behind the leading foot, requiring a spin on the heel to avoid twisting damage to the leading ankle, knee and hip as well as the spine.
If you kindly watch the below Gif., you will see how I am explaining (in my E = MCS Golf Swing video, 2017) how the weight transfer and the turn of the hips through impact will create a need to release the trailing foot with either a slide or a step-around:
It’s Really Just Like Walking
… and you’ll see that I can turn easily into my leading hip without a heel spin because I’m transferring my weight fully into it and not turning my body behind the leading foot while keeping my trailing foot nailed in place.
That spot in the Gif. where I swing the club past impact and then point to my trailing foot, is the spot where the swinger either has to now perform a Flying Foot with the lead leg, or spin on their leading heel because either their leading is too squared or they’re not releasing the trailing foot, or both.
If you can walk normally, then you have enough range of motion in your hip joints to turn easily into either hip – you’re turning into it on the back pivot, so what’s wrong with the leading hip?
The answer is, nothing – you’re just performing a mechanically-unsound swing action.
There is another problem that is caused by the Heel Spin (and the Flying Foot), which is the hyper-extension of the leading leg through impact:
… as Bryson DeChambeau demonstrates.
That’s why nearly all of these swingers below have the Heel Spin or Flying Foot combined with the hyper-extended leading leg:
In the “up the line” angled view below, you can see this range of hip mobility through impact to the finish:
Mike Dunaway
Dunaway swings and when he reaches the point where the trailing foot is impeding the completing of the turn, he simply picks it up and steps around.
It’s the same with the Short-Stop Slide release action – the hips turn to a point where the trailing foot will impede the continued turn, so the foot slides, because the weight is already transferring to the leading foot:
And it has nothing to do with how fast or hard one swings – in the below Gif., I am swinging the Momentus Heavy Driver, and the momentum certainly swings me around as I get past impact, but no issue turning into my leading hip without a heel spin:
So the fact that we’re seeing so much of the Flying Foot and the Heel Spin even in professional golf circles tells us that the knowledge of proper mechanics and that of basic kinesiology have been lost in the golf universe.
There is no reason that anyone swinging at a static object sitting on the ground or on a tee would necessitate all of the acrobatic nonsense you see week-in week-out on television and the internet.
You have the time and the opportunity to set yourself up in a proper address position from which to swing the club and transfer easily to the leading foot on the follow-through and finish.
The failure to perform this move is due to nothing more than a sad lack of understanding of proper mechanics.
WAX Golf 