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Lifting Your Front Heel - Brandel Chamblee

Lions81

Lions81

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I assume most of us have been taught to keep both feet planted on the ground during our swing. Recently, Brandel Chamblee (always controversial), wrote a book where he notes how some of the best players in history lifted their front heel during their swing for more power and accuracy. Specifically he shows pictures of Nicklaus, Watson, and Palmer doing it. The most well known current player who does it very noticeably is Bubba Watson. Chamblee notes that he used to do it when he was younger, but was then coached out of it, but has gone back to doing it recently and found great success.

Wonder what people's thoughts on this are. Have you personally tried it? If so, have you found any success? I think I'm going to try it out, especially with the driver. One of my good friends is our club champ and a scratch player, and he does it, and despite being about 140 lbs, he absolutely kills the ball, around 285-290 or so off the tee.

Here is the link to the article
http://www.golf.com/instruction/brandel-chamblee-has-found-holy-grail-swing
 
if brandel chamblee says to do something, i generally try to do the opposite. i don't like him (or at least the persona he has created for tv), and i don't like what he has to say about the golf swing.

plenty of people have been successful lifting the heel, and plenty have been successful keeping it planted. i can see lifting it if you need help with a fuller turn, but i can also see it leading to inconsistencies.
 
Don't know why or what it does, but I seem to see negative results when this creeps into my swing.
 
You can lift or not lift the heel. As long as you finish your back swing correctly, whether the heel came off the ground or not doesn't matter. There are great players who lift the heel, and great players who do not.

What matters is he's dispelling the notion that one should resist with the lower body, essentially moving it as little as possible.
 
I always have because I'm not very limber.
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Lions81 said:
I assume most of us have been taught to keep both feet planted on the ground during our swing. Recently, Brandel Chamblee (always controversial), wrote a book where he notes how some of the best players in history lifted their front heel during their swing for more power and accuracy. Specifically he shows pictures of Nicklaus, Watson, and Palmer doing it. The most well known current player who does it very noticeably is Bubba Watson. Chamblee notes that he used to do it when he was younger, but was then coached out of it, but has gone back to doing it recently and found great success.

Wonder what people's thoughts on this are. Have you personally tried it? If so, have you found any success? I think I'm going to try it out, especially with the driver. One of my good friends is our club champ and a scratch player, and he does it, and despite being about 140 lbs, he absolutely kills the ball, around 285-290 or so off the tee.

Here is the link to the article
http://www.golf.com/instruction/brandel-chamblee-has-found-holy-grail-swing
Click to expand...


lifting the left heel does things for the average golfer that people dont realize. most people if they restrict hip turn can not complete the back swing, fully turning your back to the target.

other things i have noticed you need to plant your left foot/ heel before you start your downswing or your done. this adds an element of smoothness and rhythm to the swing that the modern more robotic swings do not have.
 
wadesworld said:
You can lift or not lift the heel. As long as you finish your back swing correctly, whether the heel came off the ground or not doesn't matter. There are great players who lift the heel, and great players who do not.

What matters is he's dispelling the notion that one should resist with the lower body, essentially moving it as little as possible.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. But he's also saying for those who do not do this well enough (I find myself guilty of this sometimes, especially lack of hip turn), one way to fix/improve it is through lifting the heel.
 
The great thing about golf is that it is truly an individual game. There are some core basics one needs to have in their swing to be successful but outside of that there are no hard fast rules.

Lifting the left foot is a great way to get more hip clearance and add more power. That is if you can put all the other pieces together. If you can't then it's just going to add to an already broken swing.

If that heal comes up and you keep you waist flex, right knee flex, spine angle, weight shift to right them back, hip release, foot down, extend through and finish on your left side all while staying behind the ball at impact.....I say give it a try. Oh and let's not forget your grip and alignment need to be on point.

Some older pros had great foot action that sync'd well with their upper bodies. I wish I had that action but the modern swing has taught us to keep those feet on the ground and turn against our lower bodies to build stored energy. On most, without a watchful eye, lifting the heel will take away that energy due to a sever over swing.

I don't think people need more power, they need more 'center of the face' and shorter tees.
 
I couldn't care less about what he thinks.

I lift my heel but it's just natural and don't even notice or think about it.
 
Just to clarify, I'm certainly not saying I agree with him, nor am I saying I like him. I have never tried this, and just wondering if others have. Its an interesting concept and goes against what most of us were taught. I never mind trying new things to improve, especially during the winter here. Can't hurt to give it a shot during a range session and see what comes of it.
 
Brandell speaks his mind and I don't agree with most of what he has to say. But he is consistent, he doesn't waffle or stray away from his beliefs. In this day and age there is something to be said for that. So many try to say the right thing instead of what they feel. BC stands his ground and I can respect that....just saying.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Brandell speaks his mind and I don't agree with most of what he has to say. But he is consistent, he doesn't waffle or stray away from his beliefs. In this day and age there is something to be said for that. So many try to say the right thing instead of what they feel. BC stands his ground and I can respect that....just saying.
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Totally agree, and I'm certainly not his biggest fan on certain topics. However, in my opinion, he also is one of the most knowledgeable and well-prepared commentators there is. Love him or hate him, you can never say he isn't prepared, or wings it etc.
 
Like Wade said you can lift or not lift your heel. I personally think if you're consciously adding it to your swing lifting your heel wrong do anything but throw off your timing. I think lifting or not lifting your heel should be part of a flowing and smooth buildup of tension in your back swing. I think trying to sell it as some new or old power move is only going to confuse people.

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It's the only way I can even come close to a full back swing. Brandell wouldn't be why I did it, that's for sure!!!
 
Appreciate all the thoughts guys. I think its an interesting concept. Often times when I play tournaments, I have to play longer tees than I normally would because of my handicap level, and being a short hitter who generally makes "centerish" contact, I am always looking for ways to add distance. Obviously distance is generated from a large number of swing components, not just one.

Anyway, I am going to try this out at my next range session and will report back. At the very least, it should make for an interesting session.
 
I'm not always one to agree with Brandel but on this subject I do. By not allowing your left heel to come off the ground you are restricting your hip turn in the back swing. For a lot of people this causes them to restrict their turn and loose width in the backswing. The net effect is then they feel they need to create speed with their hands from the top.

Letting the heel come off the ground encourages a fuller turn, gives you more width and depth in your turn, and gives you time in transition to load the club.
 
I haven't tried it but it's a drill I have seen used to help people work on sequence. I have seen people use it in the swing with success and seen others not. The key to using it IMO is to make sure other things in the swing are solid as well
 
I had a pro recently suggest I try working on this as a way to help with a restricted hip turn and also as a way to key the downswing starting from the ground up.
. He said it would take a lot of work to get everything in Sync, which I believe is also what Tadashi is saying.

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I let it happen naturally. If I am taking a full back swing and my heel happens to get off the ground a little bit, it helps me. Now, when I consciously keep my heel down it does seem to cause problems. Last year I was struggling a bit with being to stiff in my swing and one of the things I realized I was doing is focusing way too much on keeping my left foot glued to the ground.

Edit: by no means do I do it intentionally like Bubba, it's more of a natural barely lifting. I agree with Freddie, there has to be ALOT of things perfectly synced together for a swing like the original post suggests.
 
I lift mine... but until I took video of my swing, I had no idea I did it. I was always told that it should stay planted... but due to knee and ankle issues, I guess I developed the lift and twist that I have now.

It helps me turn on the way back and plant on the way through without putting extra strain on those joints.

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As you get to age 50 and older, focusing on your turn and weight shift becomes even more important. Certainly most of us could use better footwork in our golf swings. I barely lift my left heel at the top but I have been focusing a lot on my balance and footwork and it has helped my contact.
 
moosejaa said:
Don't know why or what it does, but I seem to see negative results when this creeps into my swing.
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I thought it was to make sure your weight goes to your back foot on the backswing. For people with reverse pivots.
 
Smallville said:
I thought it was to make sure your weight goes to your back foot on the backswing. For people with reverse pivots.
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I'm sure you're right, but for me, when I get happy feet (as my buddy calls it) the results are not good.

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57Staff said:
I'm not always one to agree with Brandel but on this subject I do. By not allowing your left heel to come off the ground you are restricting your hip turn in the back swing. For a lot of people this causes them to restrict their turn and loose width in the backswing. The net effect is then they feel they need to create speed with their hands from the top.

Letting the heel come off the ground encourages a fuller turn, gives you more width and depth in your turn, and gives you time in transition to load the club.
Click to expand...

There are so many other things that have to be right for this to work. Just lifting the heel won't just give you a fuller turn. If the rest of swing is not right then it will just cause issues. It's a move that needs to be practiced a great deal
 
I concentrate on two things lift the heel and put my right shoulder behind my head as much as possible. I'm sure it's not for everyone but it helps me!
 
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