Michelle Wie: 3 Ways How To Use Leg Power in Golf Swing
You may wonder why we spend so much time focusing on the lower body in the golf swing. Well, a lot of our attention is spent in this critical area of the golf swing because amateur golfers struggle with balance, power AND sequencing the golf swing. Let’s take a look how LPGA star Michelle Wie uses her legs in the golf swing and help you pick up more distance off the tee…
As you can see, Michelle has taken a much wider base with her driver setup position than she would have with a middle iron. Why is this though? A wide base will increase your stability in the golf swing. Try it out, make a really hard fast golf swing with a really narrow base and then again with a really wide base and feel how much more stable you can be with more width.
Now, this does not mean go setup with a wider stance and all of your problems are solved. We still have to make sure we are transferring our weight and creating separation between the hip and shoulder line.
Why is separation between the hips and shoulders important you might ask? Separation helps create coil in your body and starts getting your big powerful core muscles engaged and also helps you get your downswing started with your lower half.
How to create maximum separation in your swing…
When building a perfect backswing, the first most important part of the swing is shifting the weight into your trail leg. Think of this as your loading up and stabilizing process in the swing. By transferring the weight first, you are getting your glute muscles engaged.
Now that you have your weight over there it’s time to restrict the hips (limit the amount of rotation the hips have in the backswing)…
After shifting your weight, you can keep restrict your hips from rotating by keeping your trail knee flexed and facing forward. You can also maintain the width between the knees. Much like if you were holding a basketball between your legs during the entire backswing.
Once you have loaded and restricted the hips, start working on shifting your weight to the lead foot before the completion of the backswing, this is how you will start to properly sequence your downswing and use the kinetic chain for a massive increase in your clubhead speed.
Quick recap…
- Wide the base
- Shift to load up and stabilize
- Restrict the hips
- Shift your weight to your lead foot before the completion of the backswing.
- Enjoy 20+ yards added to your drive.
Check out this great weight shift video and series of drills that will teach you how to get your downswing started just like the pros on T.V.
