The under utilisation of the toe-poke (2 Viewers)

[tommydazzle]

Had my first game of football golf the other day. Great fun - highly recommended. There were five of us. Four of us had played football competitively - the youngest still does. The oldest one of us was not into football and had not really played since schooldays (he's a very fit 64). To our great annoyance he beat us by playing every shot with a toe-poke even the long kick down the fairway. It seemed all our silky side-foot skills were well beaten by the much derided toe-poke.

After hole 12 I decided to give it a go just for the putting shots on the greens. Amazingly it worked every time - arrow straight into the holes. I couldn't bring myself to try it for the belting teeing-off shots although his matched ours for distance and stayed on the fairway where he aimed and most of ours ended up Lee Burge goal kick style bending outwards.

Got me thinking that you rarely see toe-pokes in the professional game except for the odd shot in a tight spot in the penalty area. I can see why it wouldn't be used for penalties because you can't disguise your shot but running in at the keeper the accuracy, even though usually a grass-cutter, must be a good weapon to have in your armoury. Maybe they're underutilised? Anyway my tip is, if you get to play football golf try the toe-poke, it just might surprise you.

 

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[ajsccfc]

100% agree, the toepoke has been unfairly misconstrued as the act of someone just hitting and hoping, whereas really it's a skill that can be mastered and used to great effect.

 

[Sky_Blue_Daz]

Im giving this a go next week can’t play 5aside any more since breaking my ankle , fibula and needing a skin graft. I’m also hoping to give walking football a go but I’m not sure if I’m old enough (42)
Where did you play ? I think we are trying the memorial park

 

[Terry Gibson's perm]

You see few toe pokes and very few diving headers now

 

[tommydazzle]

I'm in Norfolk so it was a course in Norwich. Walking football was also suggested to me but I couldn't see how I would be able to resist running and it seemed like an admission of near decrepitude. The football golf is great and harder than it looks. A par 3 hole for golf is often a par 4 for football.

I crashed my score with a hole on a ridge which I kept over hitting or under hitting and running all the way back either side. Aaaargh bastard!! Definitely obsessed now with improvement on my score. My leg let me know the next day that I had been whacking a ball as hard as I could teeing off for 18 holes! Apparently it's one of the fastest growing sports.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

What about other foot-sports? Snooker/pool? Croquet? Cricket?

 

[Sky_Blue_Daz]

I had a game on Saturday afternoon, I adopted the toe poke, chip and side foot method . It was a good laugh

 

[tommydazzle]

What about other foot-sports? Snooker/pool? Croquet? Cricket?

Can imagine a cricket version might be fun. The batsman defending a large target and only able to use his feet and head. The bowler kicking and fielders still getting you out in the same ways as cricket. Fricket has got a nice sound to it as well.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Can imagine a cricket version might be fun. The batsman defending a large target and only able to use his feet and head. The bowler kicking and fielders still getting you out in the same ways as cricket. Fricket has got a nice sound to it as well.

Imagine a reverse slog-sweep overhead kick!

Fricket? Not bad, but does sound more like something the missus does on her own upstairs....

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

My main football injury in over 40 years of playing came about as an 11year old toe poking the ball at the same time as a player kicked it towards me - two of my toes dislocated and ended up folded back towards my ankle. I didn't often use the toe poke over the following decades!!

 

[robbiekeane]

Had my first game of football golf the other day. Great fun - highly recommended. There were five of us. Four of us had played football competitively - the youngest still does. The oldest one of us was not into football and had not really played since schooldays (he's a very fit 64). To our great annoyance he beat us by playing every shot with a toe-poke even the long kick down the fairway. It seemed all our silky side-foot skills were well beaten by the much derided toe-poke.

After hole 12 I decided to give it a go just for the putting shots on the greens. Amazingly it worked every time - arrow straight into the holes. I couldn't bring myself to try it for the belting teeing-off shots although his matched ours for distance and stayed on the fairway where he aimed and most of ours ended up Lee Burge goal kick style bending outwards.

Got me thinking that you rarely see toe-pokes in the professional game except for the odd shot in a tight spot in the penalty area. I can see why it wouldn't be used for penalties because you can't disguise your shot but running in at the keeper the accuracy, even though usually a grass-cutter, must be a good weapon to have in your armoury. Maybe they're underutilised? Anyway my tip is, if you get to play football golf try the toe-poke, it just might surprise you.

Remember this cheeky toe poke? Quite a tough one to pull off!

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

Remember this cheeky toe poke? Quite a tough one to pull off!

Imagine the abuse he'd have got if that had been Burge in goal. Should have saved that!

 

[robbiekeane]

Imagine the abuse he'd have got if that had been Burge in goal. Should have saved that!

Yeah crisp packet hands to be fair