Golf Swing - Setup - The Knees

An article by: Bobby Eldridge on 11-29-2007
This article has been read 21385 times.

From the feet we are going to move up from the foundation of the golf swing to the knees. The knees play a huge role in most sports and golf is no exception. In this golf lesson we are going to discuss the two different parts of the golf swing where the knees come into play.

Golf Swing Lesson - Knee Flex

The first part is the address position. As you address the golf ball your knees will have a slight flex in them (#19). You are not going to "sit" on your knees (#18) and they are not locked straight (#17). For a long time golf instructors taught students to have the feeling you were "sitting" on a bar stool. I always believed we should have been teaching people to feel as though you were "leaning" back on a stool. The last thing you would ever want to do is sit in golf. Sitting will cause the golf club to swing too level to the ground in the downswing, and you will have a tendency to hit the ground behind the golf ball.

Before you start to "straighten" your knees to a "locked" position, which is just as wrong as sitting, let me give you a bit of advice. The knee position is what I refer to as "slightly" flexed. Because we are all different heights, I cannot give you an exact degree you should flex your knees at setup- however; if you simply relax your knees, you will find the correct amount of bend on your own.

The Knees during the golf swing

The second roll the knees play in the golf swing is when the golf club is in motion. As the golf club swings back, the single most important thing for you to remember is the RIGHT knee never ever never moves from the original position. If you think of the two knee caps as head lights shining in front of you as you drive along a road, you might makes some twists and turns but the headlights are always in front of you. As you start the backswing the right knee does not slide, bend or straighten out- it stays very quiet and solid during the entire backswing.

Both knees must remain flexed during the entire backswing and until impact.

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You can continue viewing golf lessons on the golf swing setup. The next lesson in the Setup series is on the correct hip position. Or you can view golf lessons on the golf backswing, downswing, or follow through.