Left Knee Movement in the Golf Swing

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How to be a more consistent golfer by just changing what your left knee does in the backswing.


Hey guys, Chuck Quinton here from Rotaryswing.com and today I'm gonna talk about one simple change you can make in your golf swing that's gonna create a lot more stability and thus consistency and even more power in your golf swing by just doing one different thing with your left knee. For most golfers they start getting into problems where they start to reverse pivot and things like that, and it's actually caused by how their lower body moves.

So if you have a tendency to reverse pivot or not have a lot of power in your swing listen up because if you're not paying attention to how this left knee is moving this could apply directly to your swing. What a lot of golfers do, most common with amateurs, the left knee gets sloppy and they let it move too much. So during the backswing this left knee kicks in like this, and we call this left side breakdown when you can see this big kink in the left side of the body.

Rather than having a really stable lower body that doesn't move that much, remember you need your lower body to be like a foundation on a house, so it needs to be a big old oak tree, nice and stable. It's got to move, but it has to be relatively quiet. The more movement you add in your golf swing, the more variables you create and the more variables you create, the less consistent you're going to be.

Golfers do this all the time. They either push from the left side to try and help them turn when they over rotate their hips. There's a video on the website about what happens when you over rotate your hips and how to stop it, so I won't talk about that here. But that's what they end up doing and this left knee is broken down and now you know that the left knee has got to get all the way back over here on the downswing.

So the further you move it in the backswing, the further and faster you've got to move it in the downswing, and of course, that's just making it harder to repeat the same move. So what we wanna do is have that knee move very little and it moves in response to how the rest of your body is moving. It's not an action in and of itself. That means you shouldn't try and move your left knee, your left knee is going to get moved by the rest of your body.

Let's take a look at what happens next. A golfer does this all the time, left knee buckles in, breaks down, we've got this big problem here. Now what they do is they say, "Oh well I realize I look like this at the top of my swing and this doesn't seem very powerful, so now I'm not gonna let it move at all." So the next thing we see is this or they let that left knee only move forward, and those two things are kind of siblings.

If I don't let it move at all then I can't really shift my weight, and if I can't shift my weight and I create a lot of stiffness and tightness in my body, I've got all this tension that's not gonna help me move fluidly. So they let it move forward a little bit, and that creates what is essentially going to be a reverse pivot as you ... By the time you get to the top is you let this knee only move out over the toe. Neither one of those are desirable, so how should the knee move?

Well it's very, very simple. Don't think about moving your knee at first and don't think about trying to hold it in place. Just leave it alone for a second. I want you just to work on rotating your upper body and as I focus on twisting my ribcage, pulling that right shoulder blade back like we talk about on the take away video, my left knee is going to get moved. As my upper body rotates, it starts pulling everything around with it, including my hips and then the left knee moves slightly in and slightly forward.

It shouldn't be an exaggerated movement and it shouldn't be something that you're consciously trying to do. I'm just rotating my body back and as my hips get pulled in because my upper body is rotating, that moves the knee in. The knee doesn't buckle in, it doesn't stay this way, it doesn't go that way. It just moves slightly in and slightly out during the backswing. If you can do that, you'll create a lot more consistency in your swing because you're no longer trying to recover from the knee being buckled in like this and trying to snap back to the left. You're not trying to recover from a position where you didn't shift your weight at all.

Remember if you don't shift your weight going back, you have nowhere to go going down. So your transition is virtually impossible. It's very difficult to move fluidly and relaxed and athletically when you're all tight. We've gotta let that knee move, but it just needs to move naturally.

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Lester
Is lifting left or forward heel a little bit in back swing then planting it to initiate transition acceptable?
December 20, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lester. Ideally, you would like to keep it under control. If you need a little movement for mobility purposes. I won't yell at you too much.
December 20, 2019
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Lester
Also can I assume that in the still image of the two golfers prior to the video starting the Mickelson image is an example of what we do not want to do?
December 20, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lester. Exactly. Go with the guy that has more majors on the thumbnail .
December 20, 2019
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Lester
Appreciate the reply. I have watched this again and have another question. How do you feel about the ball between the knees drill?
December 20, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lester. The RotaryConnect does somewhat of the same function. I don't mind it as long as you are relying on yourself to move properly and not the ball to fix you.
December 20, 2019
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Christopher
Any thoughts on left ankle pain after practicing?
June 15, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Christopher. You could be sliding getting to the outside of the foot. Make sure you are anchored to the ground. Take a look at Anchor to the Ground Video.
June 15, 2019
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Edwin
Craig I can’t seem to find that video. Did you guys remove it?
June 16, 2024
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Edwin. I believe it is no longer on the site. My apologies.
June 19, 2024
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Brian
Hi Craig, I've been trying to find the straight left leg at impact video with no joy? I have an issue where my left leg buckles through impact do I need to post up earlier? Many thanks Brian
November 16, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Brian. That video is no longer on the site. Replaced by You Hit the Golf Ball with Your Legs Video.
November 16, 2018
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William
Is there a video that focuses on what the left knee does in the downswing?
August 18, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello William. The latter part of Fixing Your Weight Transfer Video. Chris discusses how similar the lead leg motion is too pitching (baseball). The first move will be to externally rotate the lead knee to a stacked position.
August 19, 2018
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William
When the lead knee rotates externally to a stacked position will there be a slight increase in separation from the right knee?
November 8, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello William. Depends on the degree of the squat, but you may see some. Take a look at the Sam Snead Power Squat Video.
November 8, 2018
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Gary
Does this video conflict at all with the recommendations in the Laser Beam Knee Drills for Stability video?
August 16, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. This video shouldn't conflict with the laser knee.
August 16, 2018
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Marc
Hi I find that shifting the weight during the transition before the backswing is completed keeps the left knee nicely in place. You would do exactly the same if you were throwing a rock. Best, Marc
August 15, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Marc. Starting the downswing before completing the backswing will make the swing more dynamic and can help with the lead knee properly working.
August 15, 2018
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Andrew
Hi Craig, I have found that being conscious of trying to start the downswing before completing the backswing causes me to rush the transition and *not* complete a proper backswing. It's like I put the transition cart before the complete backswing horse. Any thoughts (or video tips) on how to start the downswing before completing the backswing but *without* consciously trying to do it or thinking about it?
August 16, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Andrew. I like practicing the RST Tempo Drill, Weight Shift Sweep Drills, or How to Swing From the Ground Up Drill. Easy triggers to shift weight with a little flow.
August 16, 2018

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