Golf Smart Academy Forum — Push vs. Pull with lead leg

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Push vs. Pull with lead leg ¶

By: David S on Nov. 25, 2025, 10:50 a.m.

I have been going back and forth between two methods/feels to power my downswing. The best way to describe the difference is pushing off lead leg vs. using it to pull hips around. The pushing is preceded by a feeling of falling that results from the rebound you get when you use your trail foot/leg to stop a slide away on the backswing. The pulling from the lead is like if you were to try and drag the inside of your lead foot away from the target. I find the push feels better and is more powerful, but it requires more timing (if I'm slow in transition, I slide lead leg past neutral). Are either of the above descriptions/feels incorrect in intent? Also, with either method, I have a hard time getting my hands in front of my trail thigh when the shaft is parallel to the ground. Any insight is appreciated. The attached swing is a 7 iron (190/198 yrd, 2.1 i/o, -5 AOA, 18.6 launch, 89 mph, 6100 backspin, abount 7 yrd draw finishing 10 yrd left of target). This swing is a good example of my miss, which tends to be a little long/left. Here is a link to 4 7iron swings and a GW in case you want more detail:

https://my.uneekor.com/power-u-report?id=40027&key=ZVyR8rcIexPO8o&distance=yard&speed=mph

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Re: Push vs. Pull with lead leg ¶

By: Tyler F on Dec. 6, 2025, 8:15 p.m.

Hi David,

I am a believer that there are no right and wrong feels, what we feel depends on our body and swing. https://www.golfsmartacademy.com/golf-instruction/comparing-your-pattern-model/

I think there are some things you could work on in transition, but I think your biggest opportunity for improvement is in the release. As you mentioned, you have a hard time getting your hands ahead, and your common miss is left. Using the lower body in transition should help with the downswing checkpoint and creating shaft lean, but in your case, the release appears to be more dominated by the hands, causing your wrists to flip. I think if you work on your release, you'll be able to work on the lower body without feeling like it disrupts the timing. Sequencing transition correctly should help make timing less important, not harder to time, but that only works if the release is solid.

I agree with Joey's recommendation for hip turn vs spine turn, but I think the release is the first step for you before working on transition.
Happy golfing,
Tyler

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Re: Push vs. Pull with lead leg ¶

By: Joey L on Nov. 27, 2025, 3:37 p.m.

The push concept is the right one. Both can give you the "look" but the push is going to move the other parts of the body correctly. I would watch the video on clearing left side vs clearing hips to get an idea of the ideal situation.