My Right Leg

[jambalaya]

Yesterday I went to the range and the theme to this practice session was to keeping the right let stationary while making a big shoulder turn. I really tried to feel the tension in the right leg as I made my shoulder turn which is basically because the weight was being tranferred there. Sometimes it is ackward for me to get that tension and get that weight over the right leg. How about some tips on what to think about and how to accomplish the move.

[GregJWillis]

Re: My Right Leg

Start with practicing a few shots with all the weight on the right leg the whole time. Just balance with your toe of your front leg to keep you from falling down.

Then hit 2-3 with a normal setup still thinking of the drill. You will feel the exact same position in teh back leg.

Then there is the "Screw" thought. Imagine your back leg a screw as you go back, it drives into the ground slightly (this is mainly to keep the flex the same, but is also works to help in the weight transfer).

Then there is the thought of placing your leading shoulder directly over your trailing knee at the top. This is something to help both shoulder turn And weight transfer.

And the last one, is my walking drill. If you do this AND walk the straight line without falling, you have proper weight transfer.

[shootin4par]

Re: My Right Leg

I used to focus too much on keeping right knee flex
well now I understand that keeping the same flex at address and at the top of the backswing is not important, what hogan tried and wanted to do was keep the right leg at the same angle from address to the top. What I mean is this, stand on your rear leg and it is pointing pretty much straight up and down. Now take address position and if your feet are wider then your hips then your right leg will be at an angle, the angle that is is at is where you want to keep it in the backswing, and straightening up some is ok as long as the angle is kept

[edshaw]

Re: My Right Leg

Outstanding practice technique, Jambalaya.
You have demonstrated the ability to learn,
placing you in the top tier of golfers.
My trick on this was to intentionally
cock the right knee towards the target
slightly. It worked so well for me that
I made it a permanent part of the setup,
just because it turned out to be such a
good reminder.
I had been told years ago by a Scottish
teacher that the one thing he would change
in all his students is a free lower body turn
starting with the takeaway. That can mean
even letting the left knee freely follow
and the left heel coming off the ground.
By now, you have probably recognized that
the fly in the ointment is the dreaded sway.
Your challenge is to anchor that right side
by maintaining the right hip pivot point. Yes,
you can turn the lower body fully while
maintaining the plant of the right side.
Now, the teachers have decided to
deemphasize the turn driven by the legs
in favor of upper body thoughts, something
to do with building torque. I don't
know, but the instruction provided in this
thread so far are right on the money. It's
something you'll have to work out for your
self, but as I say, I like the way you are
approaching the study. I make a big turn
both lower and upper, and it works for
me. For one thing, it gets me to the inside.
I have a diagram I call the Japanese double
hinged gate. Maintain the right hip socket
going back, then reverse the turn, still
maintaining the right pivot point, then
in follow through, establish a left side
pivot point and fire the right side through,
letting it swing right around the left pivot
point, just like a hinge on Japanese screen.

[shootin4par]

Re: My Right Leg

edshaw, I like this quote by you "I don't
know, but the instruction provided in this
thread so far are right on the money"
so many times we may focus on one little minor detail in the golf swing that we disgree about instead of hte big details that we do agree about and that will lead to confusion. me you and greg have givien him some info and he can read all three and see that the discussion is pretty consistent but explained differently so he can cross reference between the three and get more out of it rather then trying to figure out which post is right and which is wrong.

[pnearn]

Re: My Right Leg

Yesterday I went to the range and the theme to this practice session was to keeping the right let stationary while making a big shoulder turn. I really tried to feel the tension in the right leg as I made my shoulder turn which is basically because the weight was being tranferred there. Sometimes it is ackward for me to get that tension and get that weight over the right leg. How about some tips on what to think about and how to accomplish the move.

You are right on the money about wanting to feel some tension up the inside of the right leg in the BS. Without that tension the lower body has 'buckled' and you have swayed or stood up or whatever and then your downswing is basically taking place on shifting sand. You want a rock stable lower body primed with tension in the right leg that you can just forget about. Done right all you have to do is rotate back through the ball and that tension will make the lower body lead, all by itself

One thing to try is a narrower stance, weight on the balls of the feet. Try and kick that right knee a little (not too much) and focus on keeping it pointed at the target as you turn. It may well float back and rotate a little and thats fine. As Greg says also feel you push down on the inside of your right foot (i like to feel the big toe pushing down) as you turn back and use the ground as leverage. A lot of good players actually look like they increased their spine angles at the top because they do this ( as S4P says, trying to keep the knee flex is a misnomer .. thats not what good players do .. they merely use the ground to push their weight too and then spring off it)

http://content-golf.live.advance.net...enlawslead.jpg

You'll know youve done it right when you feel all that pull up the inside of the right leg. The more tension I can get in the right leg the further i can hit the ball without having to rotate especially hard from the top

This is why I beleive the pro's all look so effortless, its like a duck in a pond, the lower body is generating miles of energy allowing the top half to take a free ride