David Lingmerth - Left Leg Impact Position

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Congrats to David Lingmerth on his playoff victory at the 2015 Memorial tournament. Why is that we see so many golf professionals sustain swing related injuries year after year? Is it because golf instruction has always lacked one really important concept of protecting the body and it's joints? You betcha! In this video, I'll show you how a particular David Lingmerth impact position could lead to an injury down the road. I'll also show you the importance of neutral joint alignment in the golf swing and how it could save you from a possible hip or knee surgery.

  • Watch determing proper stance width to define neutral joint alignment. 
  • Make sure your lead side does not go beyond NJA at impact. This can stress the hip and the knee. 


mpact, the most important part of the golf swing! The big pay off for all of the hard work you have done in earlier parts of the swing. The big question...is your current impact position safe on your body?

In this video, I discuss the impact position of PGA Tour player David Lingmerth and how he puts he left leg into a pretty dangerous position through the hitting area. Why is it dangerous? The left knee is pushed well beyond neutral joint alignment (NJA).

Your knee is designed as a hinge joint, that allows for forward and backward movement. There is very little room for rotation of the knee and when you are out beyond NJA, you are forcing the knee to become the primary balancing/pivoting joint which can cause extreme wear and deterioration over time.

Your hip, if positioned in NJA and in true balance in the golf swing, should be able to rotate very safely without causing any sort of harm on the body at all.

With that said, in order to protect the critical joints, that often times sustain injury by professional golfers, you must make sure that your impact alignments of the lead side of your body are in NJA at impact. For a close look at a proper and safe impact position, check out the "impact alignments - face on" video.

How do you work to build a safe and efficient impact position?

Well, we must make sure that as you are starting your downswing, your lower body is dynamically moving into the your lead side, with your glutes activated for stability. You also must have a clear understanding of what true balance in the golf swing means, because this is where you weight MUST start the golf swing at, and remain for duration of the swing in order to move the body as it is designed to do.

Shifting the weight all the way into the lead side, in true balance, with your glutes activate is the key to your success. It is always best to train your body to move without the club at first. You can slowly add the club back into the mix once you have mastered the movements that I have mentioned throughout this article.

Golf instruction has always lacked a clear understanding of how to move the body in the swing without causing injury. We have more or less been subjected to the idea that we have to swing a certain way because that is what the greatest player in the world is currently doing. This sort of mentality needs to stop and golf instructors need to start having a much more clear picture of anatomy and kinesiology so that you golfers can avoid injuries while playing the game you love so much.  

A quick recap…

 

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Lynn
WOW! Who is that on the right? Amazing swing, technically perfect!
September 7, 2016
64x64
Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Lynn. That's Chuck .
September 8, 2016
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erik
47 year old right handed golfer who recently tore my ACL and partial tear of MCL in left knee. The MCL is healing, and I'm PT'ing for the left. Hoping to avoid surgery. Are there any adjustments to the set up (more flare in left foot?) or golf swing that someone with these injuries should keep in mind? One of my swing flaws is failing to transfer weight onto the left side and now I'm worried that this injury will have me holding back on my right side. Doctors tell me that golf shouldn't be a problem with a torn ACL, but still...can't get it out of my head and looking for some feedback from you guys.
March 20, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Erik. I'm sorry to hear about your ailments with the left knee. Technically, we should be able to transfer the weight and keep you pain free. Some knowledge and understanding the positions will get us off the right foot (no pun intended, but kinda worked out). Take a look at a few videos for me. Should You Splay Your Feet, Preventing Hip Pain, Fixing Your Weight Transfer, Face One Impact Alignments and Weight Shift Video Part 1. The big keys for you will be getting into a stacked position over the lead ankle joint, not pushing from the trail side beyond NJA and having good stability by using the glutes to shy away from too much lateral hip slide.
March 21, 2016
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Martin
So I have several thoughts I'm trying to rationalize and put into sequence during the swing. 1) Stomp the left heel to begin the downswing. 2) Pull the left hip to the left 3) Squat down and up 4) Bump hips to the left. So my question is what actually is the correct sequence, bump first, then stomp, then squat? How does this all work together?
July 7, 2015
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Martin, you are actually looking to make a pretty dynamic move in the lower half when you are working in transition. You want the hips to be shifting, rotating and making a subtle squat/sitting move into the lead side. I would take a look at the sitting into the left side video that Chuck did and see how he works to get moving into the lead side. Let me know if that does not work and I will gladly further assist you.
July 7, 2015
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Martin
so I am noticing that my weight seems to shift to the outside of the left foot after impact. My outside spikes are being pushed towards the ball and my ankle rolls a little, not too much but the foot is not flat. Is that normal?
July 9, 2015
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Check out the perfecting lower body stability video. At the end of the video, I talk about this particular area. If that doesn't help, let me know and I can further assist you.
July 11, 2015
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Ricardo
I recently just rejoin RST after your absence for the express purpose of trying to amend my swing notorious hip spinner all my life but this year have noticed in spite of getting my weight into my left heel and the downswing and squatting still have persisting left knee pain have severe bone on bone from torn ACL never replaced and removed medial meniscus years ago. I think Kyle pain comes from snappy my left knee at impact what can I do to avoid the pain and still squat and get to the left-field without having pain
June 14, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ricardo. I answered you under the Straight Left Leg Video.
June 15, 2015
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Loran
The width of the stance provides for foundation of power? But too wide a stance seriously inhibit getting back to the left side quickly enough to maximize power...so, in the end, the squat generates power rather than speed of the hips shifting?
June 12, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Loan. Yes, the stance width is very important for having a good foundation to setup a powerful swing. Having a stance too wide will inhibit the ability to transfer the weight, stack over the lead ankle and reach a good impact position. The squat and engagement of the glutes allows you to add power from the hips through rotation and leverage. You shouldn't rush the speed of the shift in an effort to create more power.
June 12, 2015
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Seth
Chris, This is very helpful. Would it be possible to create a "pain and possible cause" video page where if we are having certain issues with certain joints/muscles after playing or practicing, we could possibly use that pain to diagnose a particular problem? I'm right handed and I've been suffering from right elbow pain after playing. My only guess is that I'm casting and hitting the ground but that is my guess as to the cause. Just something to discuss with the team at RST.
June 8, 2015
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Chuck
Hey Seth, this might be a good idea for something in the future if there is enough demand for it. Only problem is no one wants to listen to me about how they could get injured until they already are injured! If your right elbow is sore you are 100% overusing it and the swing needs to feel much more left side dominant. Check out this video to get you started http://www.rotaryswing.com/videos/full-swing-advanced/downswing/vijay-release-drill
June 9, 2015
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RICHARD
On Memorial Day injured my left hip - 100 yards out, downhill, fairway lie - fell down after swing, felt like I landed with weight outside on my left hip. On crutches and MRI revealed some torn ligaments. Doing physical thereby probably couple weeks before return to golf. Interested in your thoughts that caused this awful position and what I can do to avoid a reoccurrence. Thanks so much, Dick Frederick PS: rfrederick1@mac.com
June 8, 2015
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Chuck
Dick, sounds like a labrum issue and given that you mentioned you were on a downhill lie this leads me to venture a guess that you got well outside of neutral joint alignment on the left hip. Very important to not move much past neutral, this is why Nicklaus, Watson and many others had their hips replaced. If anything, it is much safer to err on the side of not getting all the way to neutral, but your target should be to be stacked directly over the left ankle.
June 9, 2015
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