Correct Knee Bend In The Golf Set Up (Video) - by Pete Styles
Correct Knee Bend In The Golf Set Up (Video) - by Pete Styles

I think to get the right knee flex in the golf posture position; it’s helpful if we understand that golf is an athletic movement. Lot of people suggest it isn’t but we know correctly, if we’re hitting the golf ball a long way it’s going to have to be from athletic position. So we can relate this back to other athletic movements that you might have done in the past. And that will help you understand how the correct knee flex can help the golf swing. So if we look at a basketball player shooting free throws, what we’re going to see there is that there is a bit of knee flex there, before we shoot the basket and also someone taking a serve in tennis, receiving a serve in tennis, is going to have some knee flex to allow them to move.

And if basically the knee flex allows you to be dynamic, if you stood there taking basketball shots with your legs locked out, while trying to return a tennis serve with your legs locked out, it’s going to look pretty awkward, it’s going to feel very awkward. You’re not going to be dynamic enough to move. So the same thing happens in a golf swing, if you set up to a golf ball with your legs locked out or your legs really, really bent, you’re not going to feel like you’re in a dynamic position ready to move. So when we address the golf ball, we’d like to feel like we’re here, I could hold the tennis racket, and I could move either way, I could get ready to shoot my basketball as well or I could get ready to make my golf swing. So having an athletic knee flex is really important. And also affects your posture in a way that the correct knee flex means that the back angle, the spine angle will get to the right place. Generally fine that that if we lock the legs out the body weight goes too far back, the spine angle looks a little bit too rigid. But also if we over flex and pull this hips in, too much knee flex have collapsed in my rib cage, my waist is tilting rather than my hips tilting and ended up with a big roundish spine angle which is also going to be a bit of a problem. So really great exercise that I’d like to work on to try and maintain straight posture, is take your golf club, put it over your back, run one end from the base of your hips to the back of your head there in a straight line, and then tilt forwards. And if everything tilts forward in a straight angle, I know I’ve got good posture. If I was to roll my head forwards and arch my back, you can see how both ends of the golf club disconnect from my spine. So I topped the bottom of my spine, lean forwards to a good posture position, nice little knee flex, bring the club down, and that’s going to be a good position where I’m ready to hit the golf ball in. Practice that exercise with the golf club just in front of a mirror a few times from the side on, and you’ll see how your spine angle and your knee flex work together to create really good posture, an athletic posture will mean you’re an athletic golfer and hit the golf ball further. 2015-11-03

I think to get the right knee flex in the golf posture position; it’s helpful if we understand that golf is an athletic movement. Lot of people suggest it isn’t but we know correctly, if we’re hitting the golf ball a long way it’s going to have to be from athletic position. So we can relate this back to other athletic movements that you might have done in the past. And that will help you understand how the correct knee flex can help the golf swing. So if we look at a basketball player shooting free throws, what we’re going to see there is that there is a bit of knee flex there, before we shoot the basket and also someone taking a serve in tennis, receiving a serve in tennis, is going to have some knee flex to allow them to move.

And if basically the knee flex allows you to be dynamic, if you stood there taking basketball shots with your legs locked out, while trying to return a tennis serve with your legs locked out, it’s going to look pretty awkward, it’s going to feel very awkward. You’re not going to be dynamic enough to move. So the same thing happens in a golf swing, if you set up to a golf ball with your legs locked out or your legs really, really bent, you’re not going to feel like you’re in a dynamic position ready to move. So when we address the golf ball, we’d like to feel like we’re here, I could hold the tennis racket, and I could move either way, I could get ready to shoot my basketball as well or I could get ready to make my golf swing. So having an athletic knee flex is really important.

And also affects your posture in a way that the correct knee flex means that the back angle, the spine angle will get to the right place. Generally fine that that if we lock the legs out the body weight goes too far back, the spine angle looks a little bit too rigid. But also if we over flex and pull this hips in, too much knee flex have collapsed in my rib cage, my waist is tilting rather than my hips tilting and ended up with a big roundish spine angle which is also going to be a bit of a problem. So really great exercise that I’d like to work on to try and maintain straight posture, is take your golf club, put it over your back, run one end from the base of your hips to the back of your head there in a straight line, and then tilt forwards. And if everything tilts forward in a straight angle, I know I’ve got good posture.

If I was to roll my head forwards and arch my back, you can see how both ends of the golf club disconnect from my spine. So I topped the bottom of my spine, lean forwards to a good posture position, nice little knee flex, bring the club down, and that’s going to be a good position where I’m ready to hit the golf ball in. Practice that exercise with the golf club just in front of a mirror a few times from the side on, and you’ll see how your spine angle and your knee flex work together to create really good posture, an athletic posture will mean you’re an athletic golfer and hit the golf ball further.