Adding Consistency With a Stable Right Knee

• Tweet
• Email

• Tweet
• Email

One problem I’ve struggled with in my swing is a little too much lateral movement, both in the back swing and in the down swing. When there is a lot of lateral movement (a small amount is normal), the bottom of the swing arc moves. That leads to inconsistency because I then have to try and return the low point of the swing to the correct spot to make crisp contact.

If I shift too far right and then not enough to the left to counter it, I hit the ball fat. If I shift too much back to the left, then I come down to the ball at a steep angle and smother it. It becomes one big inconsistent mess. It’s magnified because I’m a big guy and don’t have a really speedy action in my hips, so if I get too far right, it’s hard to get back to the left in time.

I discovered something at the driving range recently that has really helped me to cut down on this problem.

I found that when I address the ball, if I move my right knee every so slightly toward the left one it makes a big difference.

What it does is help to keep me from trying to turn too much with my hips. When I do that, I tend to add in a little subconscious hip slide to help myself get the proper coil and that’s where the problems arise.

Unfortunately, I don’t need to coil my hips to the degree that they want to go. Part of that is from flexibility. My brain feels like it needs to help a little to get the job done because I’m not as flexible as I should be. And part of it is a fixation on getting a full turn for increased power, even though my turn is already pretty full.

But that’s not really necessary. A while back, Jim Mclean presented his concept of the X-Factor, where he believes power originates.

Imagine looking down at yourself from above as you address the ball. Further imagine lines parallel to the ground, one passing through your both shoulders, and one through both your hips. At the top of your back swing, your shoulders should turn about 90 degrees from the target line, but your hips will turn somewhat less, maybe only 45 degrees. Now those lines would form an X instead of being parallel to each other and to the target line.

McLean believes that power originates not from the amount of turn that your hips and shoulders have, but because of the difference in turn in relation to each other. He goes further to mention that it’s the resistance in the lower body that generates that power, and that one shouldn’t try to restrict hip turn. A good turn is necessary, but resistance is crucial to power.

In my case, I’m turning a little too far and losing that resistance. Plus, I’m letting my weight shift to the outside of my right foot sometimes on the back swing, compounding the inconsistency.

By kicking in my right knee just a tiny bit, I’m now getting the proper resistance in my lower body. I’m keeping my weight from shifting so far and keeping it from getting on the outside of my right foot by lessening the slide to the right. I can also feel the coil in my leg now, especially in the upper part.

Instantly, I noticed an increase in how solidly I was striking the ball.

If you have trouble with too much lateral shift in the back swing, give it a shot. Keep in mind that you don’t want to inhibit a proper hip turn. I’m only talking about a tiny bit of inward pressure on the right knee that helps me to throttle back the hip turn to a proper degree to increase that X-factor. Try it out and see if it can help you too.

————————-

Further Reading:

Maximizing Power Potential (Jim McLean Golf Schools)