Barefoot Golfing Part Two

Gents,

Remember that query I made last summer about dudes who golf in their bare feet? Well, it looks like there's a movement happpening that has golf experts suggesting golfing barefooted has swing benefits. I found at least three articles suggesting this. The most detailed one is below:
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Swing Barefoot For Balance
By Barry Goldstein

The majority of recreational golfers fail to achieve the balance needed to excel at golf or any athletic activity. One of the reasons why most golfers don’t swing in balance is that they swing too hard. A rule I like to impose on my students is “Swing as hard as you want to as long as you finish the swing in balance.”

A balanced finish means that your belt buckle, chest and eyes face the target, with the majority of your weight on the front foot, not hanging back on the rear foot. If you’re not balanced in the finish, it’s likely you weren’t balanced during the swing and, as a result, brought the club into the ball on an incorrect plane and, of course, with less power than you’re capable of generating. More important, if you’re facing left of the target at the finish, you know you made a solid turn through the shot.

A good way to feel good balance is to swing barefooted. Take off your shoes and socks and tee up a 7-iron. As you make your swings, focus on keeping your feet “underneath” your body. In order to attain this centeredness, you can’t take a mad lash at the ball.

Swinging barefoot allows you to feel what it’s like to swing within yourself. You’ll actually hit better golf shots in bare feet than with your shoes and socks on. You certainly won’t “come out of your spikes” trying to kill the ball.

Hitting golf balls barefooted can help you develop good footwork and good balance. The ultimate goal is to maintain these sensations when you lace up your shoes. Summer’s here—the grass feels nice, and so, too, will your swing.

PGA teaching professional Barry Goldstein is the director of golf at Polar Shot Golf Center in Johnson City, N.Y.
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Also found this from one Don Smith:

Golf Tip: Golfing Barefoot

Here's a golf tip that I discovered quite by accident.

I was at Golfsmith to get a few golf gloves and golf balls and decided to head over to the 2 hitting booths they had. I noticed they had a couple TaylorMade TP R7 Quad's in the pre-owned golf club area. I found one with a Speeder 757 X-Stiff shaft and I wanted to give it a few swings, but I had my flip-flops on.

I really wanted to hit this club and decided that I was going to swing the club in my bare feet. I stepped up to the golf mat and put a few golf balls down. I then took my flip-flops off and made a few practice swings to warm up. These golf hitting booths were hooked up to a launch monitor so I was going to see how well I could hit the R7 Quad in my bare feet.

I knew that if I was going to have any success hitting the golf ball in my bare feet with the R7 that I'd have to keep my balance throughout the swing and to swing within myself. I was able to do this and hit some monster drives in the 300 yard carry range. See my previous post Taylormade TP R7 Quad vs Taylormade R7 to read how well I hit the remaining golf balls.I was hitting the ball so pure that I realized that hitting in my bare feet was an excellent way to help me stay balanced throughout my swing.

I now on occasion will hit in my bare feet at the range and I get some strange looks at first, but once I start hitting the golf balls pure one after another I think they wonder if they should be doing the same.
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Also, former quarterback Jim McMahon never golfs with his shoes on, according to several sources. Found these images as well as this story: Former Chicago Bears bad boy quarterback Jim McMahon tiptoed through the nine-hole golf course in his usual fashion- barefoot with a beer in hand. So, why the bare feet on the course? "Number one, I don't like the farmer's tan. But it helps my balance."