GOLF AND YOUR FEET
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Leading The Way
First, your weight is placed lightly on the balls of your feet, balanced between your front and rear foot. Then there is a slight shift to the back foot, then another shift back to the front. Sound like dance steps? These intricate movements actually describe what goes on below the knees during an ordinary golf swing
Your podiatric physician, a foot and ankle specialist, knows the importance of wearing proper golf shoes. Once, driven by fashion, golf shoes were wing-tip oxfords with spikes. Today, shoes are constructed using basic principles of athletic footwear.
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 Some even incorporate advanced technological innovations such as graphite shank reinforcements, which keep them light and add strength. Don't wear anything on your feet that wouldn't be comfortable if you were taking a good long walk. Make sure shoes fit well in the store before purchasing them. It's best to shop for them in the afternoon when the feet are slightly swollen. Try on shoes with the same socks you'll wear on the course. Tie both left and right shoes tightly, and walk around your store or pro shop a few minutes before deciding on a make and model.
Maintenance of proper foot alignment on the backswing is critical for control of the downswing and contact position. During the backswing, weight should be shifted to the back foot. It should be evenly distributed on the back foot or maintained slightly on the inside. Shifting weight to the outside leaves you susceptible to the dreaded "sway," a common error in swing. Without an exact reversal of the sway in the downswing, swaying will result in improper contact with the ball.
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OTHROSES: PREVENTING PAIN, IMPROVING GAME
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For the foot that is not able to function normally due to biomechanical conditions such as excessive pronation (rolling in) or supination (rolling out), a state of optimal biomechanics can be achieved through the use of orthoses, custom shoe inserts that can be prescribed by a podiatrist. Orthoses not only allow the feet to function as they ought to, but can alleviate the predisposition to injury brought on by biomechanical imbalances.
If you already wear orthoses in your street shoes, by all means transfer them to golf shoes. Podiatrists who specialize in sports medicine say there are cases when orthotic devices optimally designed for golf shoes will be different than those designed for street shoes.
 If biomechanical problems are present in your swing, they will invariably cause symptoms when walking the links as well. Addressing biomechanical problems in walking may therefore result in the secondary benefit of an improved swing through proper foot function. Any time pain is not adequately resolved with good, stable, golf shoes, and is present for more than two or three consecutive rounds, it's time to visit a podiatric sports physician. He or she can diagnose and treat any problems, and help make your feet an asset, not a liability, to your golf game.
If biomechanical imbalances are present, these existing stresses will overload certain structures, and predispose the golfer to overuse of muscles and strain on ligaments and tendons. Orthoses will equalize the weight load on the lower extremity, and in essence rest the overused muscle. Other problems, such as tendinitis, capsulitis, and ligament sprains and pulls, can also keep a golf enthusiast back at the clubhouse. Improper shoes can bring on blisters, neuromas (inflamed nerve endings), and other pains in the feet. Podiatrists see these problems dailyand can treat them conservatively to allow for a quick return to the sport.
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