- Lesson 3: Connecting Foot Action to Leg/Knee Action
By Tom Ward, Professional Golf Instructor
In Lesson #1 I demonstrated the above "5 Basic Body Actions" necessary to achieve maximum results in attaining your golfing goals of playing well in a relatively short period of time and which require minimum amounts of maintenance.
In Lesson #2 I expanded on the first basic action, 'Foot Action'. This lesson concentrates on connecting the learned foot action to Leg and Knee action.
After you've established your setup as mentioned in the previous lesson, we now connect the leg/knees to act together to support the foot action.
At your address position, your legs are firmly planted and knees are slightly flexed. The beauty of this stage of your swing is that it's what I call a "bonus move" -- because as you roll your left foot to start back against a braced right leg, your left leg will naturally have to go with the foot action you have already created, thus giving you a "2 for 1" move. The movement, when done properly, will show your legs spelling the letter K in the alphabet on your takeaway. Foot action and Leg & Knee action are in sync -- almost like your staging a little dance with excellent balance. Remember... the knees must remain flexed throughout the swing!
The movement for the Foot action/Leg & Knee action is minimal, as you will see with some practice; however, it's essential that you understand its overall importance in maintaining a great foundation and sequence that, once learned, will never let you down. One note I would like to mention here is that you never want your weight to get to the outside of your right leg, or let your right leg straighten up or buckle. Your right leg is the fulcrum, or key, to storing up power in your swing.
Good Grip Leads to Good Wrist Action
By Tom Ward, PGA Tour Instructor
Bad wrist action accounts for 90 percent of bad shots. Why is this so
common? The natural way to control the club is with the hands and any attempt to use the hands encourages breaking of the wrists. To explain wrist action: There are two directions the wrists can move in the golf swing.
- That is the forward/backward or up/down. I am going to refer to the forward/backward action as the breaking of the wrists, and the up/down as the hinging of the wrists. Some teachers call the up/down movements 'cocking' the wrists.
This is one reason that the grip is so important. A faulty grip encourages breaking. One does not have to learn this up/down (hinging) if the grip is correct, and if the left arm is in the correct position the hinging will be automatic. The legs moving forward while the club is still traveling backwards force the wrists to hinge. In order for this 'hinging' action to happen, keep the left wrist flat in relation to the back of the left forearm and the back of the left hand. It's as simple as that. If the left arm is in the correct position, the wrists will hinge; if not there will be a breaking motion. Don't try to cultivate an independent wrist motion. Let it be natural. Swinging the club back farther than shoulder turn forces the wrists into cupping (breaking) position. Result: A throwing motion.
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