Straight back leg in Swing? ...or Not?

[Mattie]

Hi All

Still working on my beginned swing but ive now started to get the most of my hips on the back swing by fully straightening my back leg. My hips and shoulders are now in lnie instead of twisted, which I think was giving me some chest pain

Any one else do this? Is my golf tutor gonna try me to stop doing it at my next lesson or shall I carry on with it. It feels really good and natural

Thanks
Mattie

 

[freddielong]

Yes your tutor (if he is any good) will stop you doing this - it is very bad and will lead to all kinds of further issues, it will also cost you distance

stop it now

 

[Mattie]

Damn lol

The only other option is to lify my leading foot or bend my knees more to get more turn

Oh well have lesson next week, lets see if he notices LOL

 

[JustOne]

Your shoulders should be turning more than your hips, it creates torque in your swing = more power.

If you're having pains then see a doctor or try warming up/warming down before and after you play so you don't strain any muscles. Stretching excercises at home on a regular basis also help.

 

[Mattie]

Ah right I see about the torque, good point.
Its only something I was trying today, ill stop it straight away

Thanks
Mattie

 

[JustOne]

Why do you feel the need to straighten your right leg?
Is your posture poor/too upright?

Out of interest can you try this... set up normally with a 7-iron, when you're ready and in your perfect setup let the club drop from your hands .... and see if you can touch the front of your knee caps with your finger tips

any joy?? how close are they?

 

[Mattie]

Forgot to mention I am 6'4" long arms 1" longer clubs and 5* up, but yes with a 7 iron I can just about touch the top of my knee caps with my long finger hehe

I dunno what I think, I saw a video on VideoJug this morning about straightening the leg at the full back swing and the 'pro' said its not a bad thing.

Check it out:
http://www.videojug.com/film/backswing-rear-leg-position-in-golf

I guess my thinking is that I can whip my hips through more (or faster) to start the down swing.

What do I know to be honest, only been playing 6 weeks

Any advice appreciated though.

Mattie

 

[JustOne]

6 weeks and you're tinkering around already!! welcome to GOLF!!!!!

Good that you can touch your knees, means that you're not standing bolt upright... well it's a fairly good guess

There's a difference between having your leg bent in the backswing and straight...you need to figure out exactly where that lies for you and your swing.

He uses words such as "relatively straight legged", "letting your leg straighten out a little bit".. it doesn't go as far to say "straighten your back leg". You need to read between the lines somewhat. Everything in golf has certain tolerances according to your swing and body abilities.. too far one way or too far the other and you're going to run into difficulties, try to stay within these tolerances and you should swing better. ie: don't have 1 knuckle showing on your grip and don't have 4, 2 or 3 is within tolerance. Don't over flex your legs and also don't lock them straight..somewhere in the middle-ish is recommended (unless stack and tilting or you have some impediment)

Take a look at david Toms.. is that right leg straight?, locked or slightly flexed???

You could also look at having both your feet pointing slightly apart by 5-10°, again this can help the turn but it really depends on what you are happy with..it's your swing - enjoy tinkering with it

 

[RGDave]

There's a difference between having your leg bent in the backswing and straight...you need to figure out exactly where that lies for you and your swing.

He uses words such as "relatively straight legged", "letting your leg straighten out a little bit".. it doesn't go as far to say "straighten your back leg". You need to read between the lines somewhat. Everything in golf has certain tolerances according to your swing and body abilities.. too far one way or too far the other and you're going to run into difficulties, try to stay within these tolerances and you should swing better. ie: don't have 1 knuckle showing on your grip and don't have 4, 2 or 3 is within tolerance. Don't over flex your legs and also don't lock them straight..somewhere in the middle-ish is recommended (unless stack and tilting or you have some impediment)

Good call. Tolerances.....that's a good way of thinking about things.

 

[JustOne]

Awesome... how old are you?

 

[Mattie]

Cool, it looks as straight as my leg goes and seems to be working really well for me, even after one day.

I have also changed my grip lately from thumbs down the middle to the V's pointing to my left ear/shoulder (left handed of course) and that makes my shots go straight as an arrow. Yep 6 weeks, im totally addicted, hit nearly 400 balls at the range today!!!

Mattie

 

[Smiffy]

Good call. Tolerances.....that's a good way of thinking about things.

He was a pretty good player was Sam Tolerance

 

[JustOne]

hehe,.. when I was learning stack and tilt I hit 400 flat out drivers in one day, it took me about 6 hours and 20 Bensons.... the next day I wasn't too bad, the day after that I could hardly walk! The next 3 days weren't exactly great either

Don't just whack them at the range, try to focus on each shot and line up properly every time. 90 balls per hour is plenty enough ...and don't forget to enjoy it

 

[Mattie]

How old am I?

Im 37! Although like most men I can about 12

Ive played alot of tennis in the past so im used to smashing balls as fast as possible.

Mattie