Newbie question about the backswing

[King Norre]

Hi,

Does your right leg have to be stretched at the end of your backswing?
I noticed mine is, but I'm not sure if I am doing it right.
I'm going to take some lessons next week, but I would also like to hear your opinion on this.

Thanks,

KN

[andre112]

no your right knee should maintain bent
almost the same angle before you start your backswing

[King Norre]

OK. Thanks. I'm going to the driving range today and try it. When I turn my hips it seems my right leg is stretching automatically as a result. Maybe I'm turning my hips too much?

[andre112]

yeah... turn as much as you can while maintaining that leg flex.
the inside of your right feel should feel pressure, and right knee should feel some resistance
this will also give you more torque = more power

what you were doing might cause a reverse pivot (reverse weight shift) which wouldl make you hit the ground behind the ball before you hit the ball

[dbornack]

no your right knee should maintain bent

Define "stretch".

Where is it stretching? You should be turning into your right hip (for a right-hander), and you want to torque into your right hip.. if that makes sense. I can never describe to someone how to perform that maneuver.

[MPS67]

You shouldn't actively turn your hips at all. Instead (for a right handed golfer,) perform the following:

Hips.
Slide your left shoulder back and let it pull your hips around to 45° or less. Imagine a vertical wall that is perpendicular to the target line and up against the outside of your right hip from address. As your right hip is pulled around by your shoulders, it should maintain contact with that imaginary wall.

Shoulder.
Your sliding left shoulder (doing all of the work) should end up over the instep of your right foot, but not beyond. Your right shoulder should rotate upwards and end up at the same lateral position as your left shoulder to an angle of 90° from address. Don't rotate your shoulders beyond 90°.

Feeling at the top.
You should feel tightness on your bodies left side from your left hip up through your left shoulder and straight left arm.

Your right knee and thigh should feel torqued.

Much of your bodies weight (70%) should feel like it is over the inside of your right leg.

You should feel coiled and un comfortable.

[King Norre]

Thanks for the advice guys. I went to the driving range today in tried the things you said. It was really an improvement! The contact with the ball was much better (I could hear that specific sound that you hear when you launch a ball right ... you all know what I'm talking about ) and a lot of them went straight. I regained my faith that someday I'll develop some sense of consistency
Thanks!

PS: EatMyBologna - I only read your post now so I didn't have the opportunity to try the things you said. I'm going back this weekend to try it out.

[andre112]

glad we could help... :)

[mutadayen]

Here's a good idea that wasn't mentioned...go onto www.Youtube.com and put in Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and search for thier swing. CBS has something called SwingVision that captures thier swings from tournaments, so if you wanna see proper technique from the pros, its a good start to how your legs , arms, and back should be. That's how i study swings and try to incorporate stuff into my swing...