Driver body movement....the Gary Player 'walkoff'

bulls9999 · July 29, 2020

OK, I've been noticing this for a while and especially my playing partners who call me out for my 'walk-off' to finish my driver swing (my wife calls it 'doing the Tango'). The problem is, I get my best shots when I do that, but it's unconscious. When I try to do it on purpose, I ruin the shot. If I was getting bad shots with that routine in there, I'd purposely be trying to stop doing it, but I get my best ones that way. I guess it's partly my body momentum carrying me through my swing to the point I have to take a step at the end of the follow through, and I mean an obvious step as part of the end of the follow through. Personally, I think my shoulder rotation moving forward at the end helps me keep the club face square to the ball a fraction longer and that's why I get my best drives (long and in fairway, but my upper body is now forward and forces me to take a step. Not sure if I should try to prevent that, but I kind of like 'don't fix what ain't broke' even though it is like a broken follow through....perhaps another version, "don't fix what works"? Good, bad? Should I try to ditch it?

kozubs · July 29, 2020

I wouldn't actively try to get rid of it if it's working. That's cause for years of frustration. More likely it will evolve over time and may fade away from other changes.

HackerD · July 29, 2020

I do it unconsciously sometimes after an aggressive swing. Reduces strain on the back as you turn on the follow-through. To me it’s not something to avoid. I figure if Gary Player does it, it must be okay.

ArtMBgolf · July 30, 2020

It might help not to step through by addressing the ball with more weight on your back foot.

If you have more weight on your front foot at address, you will more likely feel like stepping through.

Notice how you probably don't do it on the range. Maybe because we don't steer it on the range.

bulls9999 · July 30, 2020

Hmmm..... good point, I don't do it nearly as much on the range.

chipa · July 30, 2020

Gary Player is a small guy and had to do whatever he could to compete with Palmer and Nicklaus whom could outdrive him by probably 60 yards normally, so its no wonder he ended up stepping through shots to gain distance. It is clearly the product of the momentum of a vigorous leg and hip drive.

Some good teachers in golf surprisingly discount the very effective use of the lower body in the swing as essential for "easy" distance, yet we see that all the big hitters on the tour and in baseball have an active lower body. Part of the issue with some modern coaches is they don't understand the physics of the leg and hip drive - the goal isn't to have the hips turning or the leg driving at a high velocity at impact but rather early on in the downswing to load the muscles and tendons as stored energy that the hands and arms will impart to the ball through the clubhead right before impact.

jholz · July 30, 2020

Golf is such a ridiculous game.

DavePelz4 · July 30, 2020

Player isn't the only one that uses a "step through."

bulls9999 · July 30, 2020

Yea, devious minded people who invented golf and running.

Talldog · July 31, 2020

"...my playing partners who call me out for my 'walk-off' to finish my driver swing"

Own it. When they start to give you a hard time, reply: Gary Player did it, and he was one of the all time greats.

bulls9999 · July 31, 2020

Oh believe me, I love it. Like I said, it's usually associated with my best drives. I think I've got them thinking of doing it.

I think the walk-off allows me to keep shoulders facing target instead of turning on an axis, so my driver face might be square through the ball a tad longer than if I singly turned.