Left Knee Like Nicklaus

[lastings]

Lately I have been working on creating a full hip turn and full shoulder turn.   I have noticed that as I have been working on turning the hips, I have been bending my left knee more than more.    It's starting to look more like Nicklaus than I am seeing from Pros today.  

One thing I have definitely noticed, though, is it makes it easier and almost more natural to turn my hips back into my right leg.  Additionally, it is generating more power.  

I have to assume that there is good reason as to why people are no longer swinging this way, and once the full hip turn becomes more natural, I'll want to work to quiet that left leg a bit.   but, as of now, I'm not really seeing much negative to this move.   As a matter of fact, I golfed yesterday and probably had my most consistent driving day of the year.  

 

 

[Piz]

Shades of Tommy Armour.  He advocated beginning the back swing by pointing the forward knee behind the ball and initiating the down swing by pointing the back knee in front of the ball.  As his instruction book was, at one time, the best-selling book of its kind; it stands to reason that he influenced a fair number of golfers and instructors.  Perhaps Jack Groat was one of them.

[iacas]

People are doing it more and more. Look at Bubba and others.

It "went away" for awhile when the "X-Factor" stuff was the rage.

[DrvFrShow]

"Golf My Way" is coming back.

[easyjay39402]

Back in the 1960s, we all wanted to emulate Nicklaus, so I ended up with that left knee action in my swing. In my experience, it’s easy for us amateurs, who lack personal coaches and ample time for practice, to slip into the dreaded “reverse pivot” (aka “reverse spine angle”) with Jack’s left knee action.

[lastings]

What I’m finding is the mistake with left knee in.  It promotes getting your weight outside your right foot, which is bad news.  Depending on what your hands do, you can get into a push fade, which can get you way right. 
 

I haven’t changed the left knee thing. But, I have to remember to post up the right foot. 

[ColonelCamp]

I've started doing this a bit to help me get more hip turn on the backswing, which leads to more shoulder turn.  I'm lifting my heel off the ground a little.  For the most part we're not as flexible as these pros are with their 115 degree shoulder turns and both they're feet solidly on the ground.   I guess Jack wasn't either.  lol

[saevel25]

Not my thing. Mostly because I never grew up doing it. It would probably wouldn't help me at this point for me. 

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, ColonelCamp said:

I've started doing this a bit to help me get more hip turn on the backswing, which leads to more shoulder turn.  I'm lifting my heel off the ground a little.  For the most part we're not as flexible as these pros are with their 115 degree shoulder turns and both they're feet solidly on the ground.   I guess Jack wasn't either.  lol

I always assumed I didn’t rotate my hips enough until I watched myself on video. I actually turn them too much on the backswing. Have you done this? Video I mean? Are you sure your hips under rotate?

[Double Mocha Man]

On 5/22/2020 at 11:02 AM, lastings said:

 

 

If I wore tight red pants like those (with the slight bell bottom) I'd do nothing but hit shanks. Wondering if those are still in Jack's closet???

I did start off my golf life at 12 lifting the left heel.  But it's been firmly planted since 2001.

Edited June 27, 2020 by Double Mocha Man

[easyjay39402]

1 hour ago, Vinsk said:

I always assumed I didn’t rotate my hips enough until I watched myself on video. I actually turn them too much on the backswing. Have you done this? Video I mean? Are you sure your hips under rotate?

It may depend on your stage of life. Had a lesson a couple of days ago and confirmed that at 75 I have lost the flexibility to separate the hips and the shoulders. This despite three decades of Yoga 🙁 Anyways, in order to get a 90 degree shoulder turn, I need to look like a stork. Worked for Nicklaus, Miller, Watson ... no one would confuse me with those champions 😎

[billchao]

The front knee can kick in without the entire foot coming up the way Jack did it. That was more of a stylistic trend back then.

[klineka]

My front knee kicks in a good bit and my instructor isn't too concerned with it right now. He said it's something we might look to reduce a little in the future, but in his opinion he doesn't think it will hold me back from being able to reach my goals (break par for 18 holes, get to scratch, etc) Picture below is from last year, but I know I still do it now with my knee too.

[ColonelCamp]

4 hours ago, Vinsk said:

I always assumed I didn’t rotate my hips enough until I watched myself on video. I actually turn them too much on the backswing. Have you done this? Video I mean? Are you sure your hips under rotate?

For sure.  I've seen it on video.  That was killing the length of my backswing for years.  It was basically a little higher than parallel to the ground.  Now I flare out my back foot to about 45 degrees and lift the front heel slightly and I get more turn.  When I first started doing this it felt very strange.  I even lost sight of the ball and that would screw me up.  Now I'm physically more used to it and I guess I've gained some flexibility.

[mvmac]

On 5/22/2020 at 11:02 AM, lastings said:

Lately I have been working on creating a full hip turn and full shoulder turn.   I have noticed that as I have been working on turning the hips, I have been bending my left knee more than more.    It's starting to look more like Nicklaus than I am seeing from Pros today.  

One thing I have definitely noticed, though, is it makes it easier and almost more natural to turn my hips back into my right leg.  Additionally, it is generating more power.  

I have to assume that there is good reason as to why people are no longer swinging this way, and once the full hip turn becomes more natural, I'll want to work to quiet that left leg a bit.   but, as of now, I'm not really seeing much negative to this move.   As a matter of fact, I golfed yesterday and probably had my most consistent driving day of the year.  

 

 

Love that picture.

Yep. let it come in. The knee is more of a reaction to how he is pivoting and unweighting the left foot. He does a good job of detailing this in his book, how it's being "pulled" back.

The left knee "in" you would want to avoid is when the "weight" stays on the left foot.

[Birish21]

I do that knee in move too, however when my knee comes in it causes me to bend down which throws off the backswing and I end up topping every shot.  I hit about 100 range balla last night between my 6 and 7 iron and didn't get a single ball up in the air, all tops and striking the ground before the ball.  I feel like this might be the reverse pivot?

[ColonelCamp]

47 minutes ago, Birish21 said:

I do that knee in move too, however when my knee comes in it causes me to bend down which throws off the backswing and I end up topping every shot.  I hit about 100 range balla last night between my 6 and 7 iron and didn't get a single ball up in the air, all tops and striking the ground before the ball.  I feel like this might be the reverse pivot?

Video will def tell you.  If your weight was forward during the backswing and back during the downswing, it probably was.

[dennyjones]

8 hours ago, Birish21 said:

I do that knee in move too, however when my knee comes in it causes me to bend down which throws off the backswing and I end up topping every shot.  I hit about 100 range balla last night between my 6 and 7 iron and didn't get a single ball up in the air, all tops and striking the ground before the ball.  I feel like this might be the reverse pivot?

Welcome to TST.   

It's difficult to give you an analysis w/o seeing video.   As @ColonelCamp stated, video will tell you for sure and you can get some great help from qualified people here.