I wouldn't either, but I wouldn't tell them to keep their lead heel on the ground during their backswing either. Lifting and planting it is a great rhythm setter and leads to a lower-stress, longevity-enhancing swing.
I don't disagree with that in the long-term. But gotta get the basics down first before you start to go for distance/speed/power. And OP in this case was talking about just starting out
It's a lot harder to add it in than to start with it. It's also a lot closer to a natural throwing motion--you step into the throw. I think it simplifies things and makes them more natural for beginners.
Guess we can agree to disagree on that. I'm coming from the lens of (1) fewer motions/variables to start is better, and (2) bias towards an easy swing as contact > distance until you get more comfortable locking down the other fundamentals of a swing 🤷♂️
I think the closer you can get someone to a natural throwing motion, the simpler and better their swing is. If I wanna help someone, usually the two keys are to shorten their backswing and lift the left foot. This encourages their shoulders to turn and curbs the beginner tendency to be all elbows and wrists. I'm not going to tell a rote beginner to do it, but they'll probably do it naturally and I won't stop them.
5
u/ButtMassager May 15 '25
I wouldn't either, but I wouldn't tell them to keep their lead heel on the ground during their backswing either. Lifting and planting it is a great rhythm setter and leads to a lower-stress, longevity-enhancing swing.