The Back Leg Unlocks the Power
By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
A good way to ruin your swing is to stiffen your back leg during the backswing. When the back leg locks and straightens at the knee, it freezes the back hip, causing the body to tilt rather than turn; when you tilt rather than turn, you disrupt the entire plane of your golf swing. This leads to loss of power and wildness – and short and crooked is not the way to fly.
If this is your problem, you need to work on maintaining what I call ‘the power flex.’ Here’s how: At address, the power flex is the angle formed in your back leg by the upper and lower leg bones. When your back leg is flexed correctly, it creates room for your arms to swing and aligns the joints of the hip, knee, and ankle, one on top of the other. In the power flex position, the body has the athletic look common to many sports — a posture ready for action. Keeping the flex in your back knee discourages any up and down body motion while you swing. Another reason the power flex position is so important is that it unlocks the hips, so they are free to rotate. Once you establish the power flex at address, your goal is to keep this angle through your swing until after the ball has been launched. If you set up properly, you won’t have to make any adjustments once your swing begins — all you have to do is rotate. A good way to experience what it feels like to keep the power flex is to look in a mirror while you take practice swings. Pose at the top, and then look in the mirror to connect the sight and feel of the correct flex.
With a stiff back leg that’s locked straight, there’s more tilt than turn in the backswing, robbing this player of power and accuracy.
Keeping the power flex position during your backswing allows your elbows to stay together near the top of your swing, and this, in turn, keeps the clubface from twisting out of position.
If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.
