TIP OF THE WEEK

With Curlewis pro Steve Brodie

WHAT should my legs be doing during the golf swing?

It’s a question I get asked regularly and it’s a good question because my feeling on this topic is that golfers at all levels are not that sure, and therefore, they spend a lot of time chopping and changing and fishing for some answers.

Let’s divide the leg action into two parts, backswing and forward swing.

In the backswing, you simply want your legs to provide stability so your torso can rotate at the correct angles to hit the ball.

At address, you want your legs to feel like you are braced, so if someone tried to push you over you would not be moved. The rotation of the torso will rotate your legs and hips so some body weight will shift back. You should still feel like you could not be pushed over at the end of the backswing.

To start the forward swing, the first thing to move should be your legs. They should work as a unit, you want them to shift forward towards the target and begin to rotate to start the downswing.

The rest of your body will then follow along behind, much like the tip of a whip would follow the handle.

At impact the sense of stability you had at address should still be there.

Your legs will have rotated past the address position and something like 70 per cent of your weight will be on your front foot. They will continue to rotate and move towards the target right to the end of your follow through.

In summary, your legs are your stability and they should provide some torque for your upper body and arms to create speed.