If your irons lack compression, the problem may have less to do with your swing mechanics and more to do with how you use the ground. Specifically, how pressure moves through your trail foot.
As Dr. Alison Curdt, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, explains in a recent Instagram post, many amateurs make the critical mistake of pushing from their trail toe during the downswing — sending force in the wrong direction and weakening impact.
“When you push from the trail toe, it shifts your weight incorrectly, causing lateral forces to misalign and reducing compression on impact,” Curdt says.
Instead, players need to learn to move pressure correctly through their feet so the body sequences more efficiently and the club arrives at impact with more speed and stability. The secret to unlocking this power: “banking” your trail foot.
How to “bank” your trail foot
Banking the trail foot describes how pressure is loaded and then released through the foot as the swing changes direction. As Curdt explains, banking isn’t something golfers actively do in the backswing — it’s a response that emerges as the swing changes direction.
During the backswing, Curdt says maintaining pressure along the inside of the trail foot is key. This sets the stage for proper banking as you transition into the downswing.
“Using the innermost portion of the foot, push laterally towards the target from the entire inside of that trail foot,” she explains.
The key is to engage the entirety of your foot, from toe to heel, to avoid spinning or rolling onto the toes. When done correctly, this should help you shift your weight efficiently and boost compression at impact.
Train the feeling
If you want to practice this feeling and master this key move, a simple training aid can be a valuable tool. In the video above, Curdt uses a board she made herself by attaching a dowel down the center of a board slightly larger than her foot. If you don’t want to make your own, there are plenty of ready-made training aids — like the one shown below — that work just as well.
To use it, place the board under your trail foot with your pressure on the inside edge. The board should be slightly slanted, as Curdt demonstrates in the clip above. Begin with slow, controlled rehearsal swings. As you transition into the downswing, use your entire foot to start pushing off the inside edge.
“If you bank properly, it should feel like the board is almost pushing into the ground,” Curdt says, “which should propel your body forward, allowing you to make a proper weight shift and compress the golf ball.”
Once you can perform the move correctly with practice swings, introduce a golf ball. Start slow, and as your confidence grows, gradually progress to full-speed shots.
