Straightening Right Leg

[david_wedzik]

At my last lesson, my teacher noticed that i was straitening my right leg, and when i started maintaining the flex, my swing became so much more... connected would be a good word. I also gained power and it helped me to stop swaying my hips on the backswing, which actually let me turn my hips back MORE than before.

There are some issues with instructional comments via print and this is one of them. You can't possibly cover all potential scenarios when discussing a topic like this.

That said, the bottom line is that as soon as I started reading your post I was certain that the reason your teacher wanted to put more flex in the right knee was to stop the right knee and hip from swaying to the back side (you then made that point on your own). My point would be that the sway was not caused by your back leg not having enough flex. You likely just need to be sure that the back hip rises in place as the back leg is allowed to "straighten" (remember, not locked). Working with a shaft stuck in the ground outside your back leg stuck (so the leg would feel like it moves targetward rather than back) would work well without worrying about keeping that knee at ITS ADDRESS flex. There are really two main reasons the back leg should become straighter and these are absolute. They are: 1. The hips can turn their fullest amount with a back leg becoming straighter. This is really not debatable - anyone reading this should try this and don't fake it. Set up and keep your back leg flexed the exact same amount as at address and make the biggest hip turn you can make. Doesn't go very far at all does it? Now do a similar test but allow the back leg to fully straighten...I'm certain your hips will be turning much further and on an INCLINED plane. 2. The inclined plane mentioned in #1 is the lead in to this second reason. The hips must turn on an inclined plane because the club goes back in 3 dimensions - Inward, Backward, and UPWARD. Because the arms and club rise the back hip must rise as well. It is straightening of the back leg that allows this. To test this make a backswing and do the opposite - keep your back leg flexed to address flex and straighten your front leg. Makes the backswing all but impossible...right? This is exaggerated of course but illustrates the point. There will still be players out there who believe that the back leg should stay flexed to address flex and that is fine. I am just hoping that people will read posts like this and consider the other option. Dave

[jamo]

My point would be that the sway was not caused by your back leg not having enough flex. You likely just need to be sure that the back hip rises in place as the back leg is allowed to "straighten" (remember, not locked).

I think i mis-understood you a little on your original post. In my swing TODAY, my right leg does not lock, but, yes, is does straighten. In may old swing, my right leg was completely locked, and i just put me in an awkward position. My leg doesnt stay at address position so, yes, it does straighten somewhat.

[iacas]

I think i mis-understood you a little on your original post. In my swing TODAY, my right leg does not lock, but, yes, is does straighten. In may old swing, my right leg was completely locked, and i just put me in an awkward position. My leg doesnt stay at address position so, yes, it does straighten somewhat.

Right... locking the knee is never good. But "maintaining your knee flex" is never good either.

I'll quote myself from earlier in this thread:

Depends on what you mean by "straighten."

[Chilli Dipper]

To me, the key is for my back knee to feel like it is maintaining it flex, even though it naturally straightens out some during my hip turn. If I get that feeling, it means that my weight balance is stable, and I am much more likely to make solid contact with the ball.