Robert Rock’s tour tips: The role of the right leg
A lot of good players struggle from the top of backswing with the legs, hips and feet getting involved too quickly.
The parts of the body that have moved the furthest in the backswing are the hands, arms and shoulders. The movement in the hips, knees and feet are quite small in comparison so, from the top, you want your shoulders and arms to unwind first, and your hips and knees to hold their position or at least feel like they are.
We don’t want the right hip and knee moving beyond its original set-up position until half-way down so there is room for the right elbow to swing down in front of it.
HOW TO STABILISE THE LOWER HALF
The easiest ways of controlling what your hips do is to look at what your right leg does on the way back.
The right leg straightens a bit in the backswing so, if you can re-establish a slight bend in the knee as you start down and hold the knee slightly outwards to the right, that will stop your knees driving too early.
Then your hips can apply their power through impact and the right foot should roll inwards as the right knee moves across towards the left knee. The right heel only comes up after impact.
Please remember: This is a description of what the order of the downswing should be like and it is very dependent on rhythm and timing and is what is meant by starting down slowly and unhurried. The dropping of the arms and unturning of the shoulders appears smooth when the lower body is quiet.
ROBERT’S FACTFILE
Two-time winner Robert has one of the most admired swings on the European Tour and he coached Oli Wilson to his Dunhill Links win in 2014. He has recently opened a second academy, Kings Hill, in Kent which boasts a bespoke custom-fit studio, the first of its kind in the South East.
http://www.robertrockgolfacademy.com/
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