The average golfer walks seven miles during a round of golf and scientific analysis has shown that during the golf swing the actual forces through the feet are greater than the player’s body weight.
Moreover, the constant impact of the foot hitting the ground between shots can also cause problems, particularly towards the end of a round where poor foot posture leads to fatigue. Accordingly, the working function of feet in a golf swing has been the subject of intensive scientific study and research and is now considered so important to better play that the PGA has approved a course of instruction for its members to help their pupils in their choice of golf shoe.
The programme has been commissioned by the Danish shoe company ECCO, the sixth largest golf shoe manufacturer in the world, and devised by Fergus Ross, the acknowledged leading expert in his field whose regular advice and service is sought by Premier League football and rugby clubs in England and who also served in the medical team at Ryder Cup matches at The Belfry.
ECCO golf shoes are already immensely popular with golfers and are outperforming other brands in key categories such as performance, comfort, stability and styling. They believe in developing shoes that give flexibility when you walk and stability in your swing; that’s why ECCO is the favoured golf shoe amongst the Ladies European Tour where they have chosen ECCO for the comfort and style.
The new course will be aimed primarily at qualified and trainee golf professionals to pass on their knowledge to pupils, the wider aspects of foot care and health are also of immense benefit to other healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, podiatrists, osteopaths, chiropractors and doctors.
Dr Kyle Phillpots, director of training & education for the PGA commented, “A PGA professional needs to have expertise in many areas of golf and we are very pleased that ECCO are helping us expand our continuous development programme into the very important topic of foot care and health.”
There are three main features to the course: a Resource Book, a Golf Challenge section and an interactive CD.
- The Resource Book outlines the mechanics of the foot and the golf swing, the ideal golf shoe, the making of golf shoes and how to achieve and maintain good foot health.
- The Golf Challenge covers all aspects of golf club life and tests the professional’s experience and judgement to given day-to-day situations.
- The CD contains the answers to those questions about club life as well as a video analysis of the golf swing at a David Leadbetter Golf Academy including an outline of a force plate – built into the floor to measure the forces between feet and ground during the golf swing – which has been installed at the PGA National Academy.
Rita Livesey, head of marketing for ECCO comments, “ECCO passionately believes in developing footwear that provides comfort, quality and function. We are very excited at this opportunity to work with the PGA ensuring that the importance of foot care and the correct footwear is communicated to all golf professionals”.
The entire programme will be available in the Autumn.
PGA www.pga.info
ECCO www.eccogolf.com