Difficulties in keeping the knee flex

After a round today I got the comment from my two partners that on most of my shots I was rising up towards the end of my backswing just to come down again to the address height at impact, I looked like some jojo . I myself don't feel it that way but there's no reason to believe it's not the case. Could it be caused by a two plane swing in which I rise my arms during the final part of the backswing which is pulling me upwards? I also have quite some flex in the knees at address, could a more upright position be beneficial? Any other sugestions are very welcome.

Try this exercise:

Cross your arms and swing in front of a wall with your head in contact to the wall. Your head has got to be in contact to the wall during the whole backswing; the only movement of your head has to be backwards , never forwards, never upwards, never downwards.

Try to turn your left shoulder ( in case you play right handed ) beyond your chin.

You will experiment the feeling of a proper backswing and try to take it with you to the course.

Hope this helps.

Toni.

the standard way to address the ball is to hold the club parallel to ground and the tilt your spine from the hips until the club is grounded. buttocks should be sticking out a bit. let enough gas out of your knees so they are not stiff. Over flexion of the knees at address can lead to other problems. Once the spine angle is established, it should not change until the very last part of the follow throught.

Garp, This movement you obviously don't feel during your swing, yet is spotted by your pals, is something you've ingrained into your swing over time. Usually this requires alot of practice to overcome. Here's a drill pro's have used for decades that I think will do wonders for your problem. Have one of your buddies stand in front of you with a club in his hand while you address the ball, just before pulling the trigger, have your buddy place the shaft of the club on top of your head, just have him hold it parallel to the ground and out of your way, but a firm grip on it so that it doesn't move during your swing. You will be surprised at how much head movement you have using the club on your head as a reference point. This will give you immediate feedback and a starting point for which to make changes. Good Luck!!

Thanks for the feedback all, I'm impressed by the friendly atmosphere on this forum. I've got a few things to think about and work on this week-end.

Now who was it that said "Keep your head down"?

I have this problem too. Somehow I just come up, and apparently a huge reason for this was a straightening of my right leg. The problem with a lot of these little habits is you will never feel or realise it, unless you are looking out for it specfically. For example if now you go and hit some balls, and only pay attention to your head level, I'm sure you can feel it coming up (now that it has already been pointed out to you by external parties).

So, all you need to do the next time you hit some balls, is simply "keep your head down" I suspect you will realise that you really have to keep note of the flex in your right leg.

Simon, I think this is another area where you find a lot of variation. Some golfers have a pretty deep knee flex and maintain it throughout the swing. I found that I was doing just what you're doing: rising up--not on the backswing but on the downswing. I reasoned that if I'd start with straighter legs, that'd solve the problem, and it did. I don't keep my legs dead straight, of course. I keep enough flex in my knees to "unlock" them, but not much more. And I cock the right knee toward the ball a bit, to pre-load the hip turn and prevent reverse pivot--and it just feels right to do this.

Experiment, and don't feel that an "athletic" stance necessarily means a tennis crouch.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

I was wondering about my address position last night so I stood in front of a ball as if I was going to play a shot (holding a club) and then I imagined that I was going to hit a tennis shot or take a baseball swing, I soon realised that I had to straighten my back and stand up more if I wanted to be able to play any other sport well.
In an effort to get into a "good" golf position I had forgotten that I still needed to put my body into an athletic position to let it perform well.

Same here. Just unlocking your knees seems to be a lot better for me than a explicit knee flex. One of so many things to consider

Hi Todd,

Thought I'd share this with you. What I'm learning now is quite radical. Setup is with body braced for impact (a reverse "k" position). There's no talk about a reverse pivot problem. Hands lead everything, not the hips, not the shoulders.

It feels great, and the distance is there. Just takes some getting used to. What this does is allow you to really generate some awesome clubhead speed, without having to coil the hips and turn the shoulders etc. In the long run, I can definitely see this working out for me. I am not sure if in the advance stage I could even incorporate some body movements for even more awesome speed, but I've seen my coach do it without those extra movements, and easily 170yds with my 7 iron. Hopefully I can get tuned in to this soon, and if so will try to upload a video for your comments.

That sounds about like what I'm trying to do, and gradually succeeding. GolfOne has put a lot of info on this forum, but the nugget that has really helped me is that reverse K--a small adjustment, but it seems to make everything more consistent. That and the slight cocking of the right knee (Hogan's "secret move"?) have become a stable part of my setup, because they work for me. I can't say I'm generating awesome clubhead speed. I have no idea, really. Last weekend I hit a number of 250 yard or better drives. Not a big achievement, I know, but I was previously only hitting that far once in a blue moon. I don't know if that was improved clubhead speed or just better contact and less sidespin. My guess is the latter.

Apart from those setup details, the main thing for me is to keep the swing BIG and not contract it. And that means using my hands to REACH away and back and up. If I keep that feeling of reaching, I get a good swing on the ball.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller