Since the whole Tiger Woods imbroglio, he’s been playing pretty terribly. Until this week. According to this story on CBS News, he’s been working with a swing coach, who makes him practice his swing, TA-DA!, barefoot. It’s part of the swing coach’s regular prescription:
Foley had Woods remove his shoes and socks and hit balls barefoot. As crazy as it sounds, Foley says he has pupils do it all the time, because anything in the swing that’s herky-jerky or violent, or if the firing sequence is out of whack, can make a guy slip and slide all over the range.
The real question, in my mind, is if this works so well, why don’t the golfers also then compete barefoot? Hey, it worked for Sam Snead.
I have golfed many times barefoot. And I have been ridiculed and reprimanded for it. Since going barefoot, I have found the exact same secret TW found – without the shoes, your balance is crucial and a better swing will result. The problem is the chemicals and salts from the herbicides and fertilizers. I’m sure you will internalize them through skin contact with the ground. I wear vibram five fingers, but flip flops are an option too. If you can swing and make great contact in flip flops, then your swing will be smooth.
Perhaps barefoot-friendly golf courses with no herbicides are the trend of the future? There would be a market for them, I am sure.
http://tinyurl.com/38zjw33
It’s definitely true that swing and balance are improved when golfing barefoot.
But I think the dapper Davis Love and Adam Scott would have to their expensive shoes and socks dragged off them before they played in their bare feet in public. There would be plenty of opposition. But it’s a great idea.
[…] — not barefoot By Bob Neinast In “Restoring Tiger Woods”, I pointed to a story about how Tiger’s new coach had him practicing his swing barefoot. […]
An update on Tiger not playing barefoot at the Ryder Cup.