This clay model was the first of several prototypes. I envisioned this being carbon fiber with a steel plate. I wasn’t sure quite how to attach it to the shoe.
This was a piece of steel from some gizmo that I had in my scrap metal box. I bent the tangs up thinking I could attach them to my shoelaces. I foresaw the face plate possibly having an adjustable pitch.
The first working prototype was this bent sheet of aluminum. Before the bungee cord and steel face plate I taped it to my shoe just to see if it would work.
After denting up the surface I installed a steel faceplate. It actually worked pretty good, but the side plates needed to be repositioned to get a good angled pitch on the faceplate.
On this third prototype I welded up some steel plates.
My tennis shoes had an aggressive sole which was scaring the grass after a kick. Here I’m using my smooth bottom shoe. It worked better even though it wasn’t supported at the shoe laces.
The average kick was about 100 to 140 feet. Using a club does have an enormous leverage advantage, but in traditional golf I’m always slicing or grounding the ball, and generally having a frustrating time. This way my shots were more accurate and I had a lot more fun. There’s still a technique to this method, so there is that challenge factor. I’m sure the kicker could be perfected to be a viable alternative to the traditional way of playing golf.
Here’s the video link.