Using your knees in the transition is critical for having a good impact position. Move them too much or too little and you'll never find the consistency you need to shoot lower scores.
The Peak Performance Golf Swing setup uses wide knees outward pressure, but I often see golfers in that same position at the impact position. Once you bump and start the transition, your back knee has to move as well. This will allow you to fire through the ball and up to the T-finish.
Check out the video above to see how the knees should move from start to finish.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
Comments
Timing the right knee
Today's video tied in very well with something that I've been doing for a couple of years now to start the forward upswing. As Surge explains very well in this video moving the right knee too soon can cause a lot of problems. Something that helps me keep the right knee quiet at the start of the downswing is to make sure that the left knee always moves laterally before the right. This sequence is guaranteed, if I trigger the downswing by (A) a small shift of the left knee toward the target and pressure applied to the left foot, followed by (B) a rolling of the right ankle and knee. This (A) followed by (B) or (A,B) sequence now seems totally natural. I just have to think (A,B) while starting the downswing and the legs do their thing. This swing thought takes care of the bump, keeps my legs from getting lazy and results in a swing with a nice balanced balanced finish, with most of the weight on the left foot. No more reverse pivots!
The Right Knee
Dave, Just checked my knee in one of my videos and it looks pretty good as per Surge's comments. One thing I did notice in the above video is that Surge's right knee starts moving inwards a little ealier that what he thinks and I think I know why he feels it in this way. When you setup with wide knees you are actually forcing them outwards a little, then as you start the downswing the right knee automatically comes back to a normal position before actually moving forward, so in a technical sense his comment is correct and believe surgites should understand this and not get too carried away with delaying any knee movement until the club is alongside his thigh as he described, what do you think.
Delaying the right knee
Yes Neil, thinking about where the club was before moving the right knee would be a very hard thing to time.
Surge has talked before about the lower body shifting weight towards the target before the upper body completes the downswing. You might be seeing his right knee start to move before the backswing is complete.
I try to make the bump left side dominated but am always aware of the right knee being pulled a bit to the left at the start of the downswing. Trying to keep the right knee encased in concrete too long would take all of the fluidity out of the swing. Any movement of my right knee is passive, until after I feel a pressure shift toward the left foot with the (A) move. After that my right knee action (B) becomes very active and supportive of the arm swing.
Great topic
I think both items help me return the club back to where I addressed it for a center of clubface hit. Presure on the knees and bumping foward naturally with the right knee. Don has thrown many swing thoughts our way, but my favorite one( by far) is the 'skip the rock on a lake' tip. If I just act like I'm doing this motion without a club in my hands, I'm braced on my right leg at first. Then my right knee just follows my right elbow down the line. I can't help but end up with my right toe in the ground and my right heel up. I think the 'skip' the rock' thought just gives my body the rythm first and then the timing to hit repeatable solid shots. If I get off on the course (and man can I ), I always tell myself to slow down first. Then go to the knee presure and 'skip the rock'. It usually puts me back in line. What a great feeling it is to be able to fix your swing during your round.
Touching base
Hi fellow Surgites, I hope all is well with all of you! I haven't been on site for a good while, life & seeing to Josh's educational needs have kept both the wife & I very busy. I hope of all of you are enjoying the success in your games that you desire.
Over the years, being the fanatic that I am, I have collected a roomful of various golf books, tapes & videos. I still can't help myself & will get one just to see what they have inside.I got that love of reading from my mother,lol. Anyway to make this thing shorter, all of you old timers here now how long in the fingers I can get, we were cleaning out the house the other day & I discovered some old vhs tapes.One in particular caught my attention & I had it converted to dvd. Now not endorsing it or the like, I sure am glad I did.
It was a video made around 1987 or 1988, Phil Ritson's Golf Your Way. There was this one curly-headed Instructor in there worth watching swing.
"Very nice swing, Don, indeed!"
Take care & God Bless....Booger