Bend at the hips vs the knees

[plugged]

I have always had a very discernable amount of of knee bend at address. Recently, I took a video lesson and realized it was way too much (it was pretty obvious to both the instructor and me), so I have compensated by intentionally emphasizing bend at the hip and only a little bend at the knee. I say "little" because it feels that way to me, but it is probably more than I think. However, when I do this, I feel unbalanced and weight-forward and on the follow-through I often end up falling slightly forward, my shots are straight and long, but the contact feels fat. It does not feel comfortable, and more importantly, repeatable.

Anyway, I'm watching the Colonial tourney yesterday and focusing specifically on knee bend in the pro's address. I noticed that Paul Casey and to a lesser degree AK have a good bit of knee bend at address and David Toms has almost none. What is a good rule of thumb on knee bend, IOW, how do I know when I have too much (other than a visual check)?

[DavidFehertysBike]

Its an individual thing based on your body type. But quite honestly, i never really understood what people mean my "hip bend". Just one of those technical jargons i never cared to inform myself about. Basically, dont hunch over to the ball. I try to stand behind the ball athletically, in balance, and tall. I like to feel my arms drop strait down naturally into the address position.

[RC]

It is just like the ready position in other sports. You must have some knee flex and a rather straight back, bending from the hips. Whether tennis or baseball, you need an athletic starting position. Some people have more, others less. The key in my opinion is that your knees remain with some flex all during the swing, except for the final part of the follow-through. This means your right knee retains some flex at the top of the backswing, and your left knee has some flex at the moment of impact, as you drive left and post on to it. The left knee is going to straighten more on the follow-through as you post up and go on to the top of the finish (but it should not be straight at or before impact,) but you keep some amount knee flex during the swing. The left knee is like a spring. You drive down and into it as it turns forward, then come up on it as the turn completes. You will post up naturally, if you let it happen and shift your weight. Maybe a bit more of this on iron swings, but that is more often due to your set up position with a driver on a tee, where you tilt your shoulders a bit more at address to flatter and create a slightly ascending swing.

People learn to stand with more or less angles and that plus the dimensions of their torso to leg and arm length, and shoulder width, etc., is why club fitting is so important. Different people may have as much as 5 degrees of lie difference in the angle of the club head to the shaft, and that does not count those that use shorter or longer shafts.

[trumps4]

Its an individual thing based on your body type. But quite honestly, i never really understood what people mean my "hip bend". Just one of those technical jargons i never cared to inform myself about. Basically, dont hunch over to the ball. I try to stand behind the ball athletically, in balance, and tall. I like to feel my arms drop strait down naturally into the address position.

I agree with DFB. Be athletic and comfortable. The rest is pretty much a matter of style.