Golf Swing Fault: Left Knee collapsing
Left knee collapsing in on your Back Swing
In this article, we show how your physio can work in conjunction with your golf coach. Exercises and drills, can be designed to allow your body the best chance of breaking unhelpful patterning in your golf swing.
A very common breakdown in your golf swing is for your left knee to collapse in toward the ball and away from your target. This fault often leads to:
• Taking your club back too flat during the early stages of your backswing
• Pulling your body around early, exacerbating the flat swing
• Sometimes you start your swing by turning your lower body, however it is important for your lower body to stay quiet during the early stages of your swing
• This allows resistance to be built up against the left side of your body
• Over swinging, poor lower limb stability and a lack of flexibility, can all contribute to your left knee to collapse
Keep your left knee stable to build up resistance in your swing!
The images below show the left knee collapsing in (Red circle), this causing a reverse tilt of the spine (Red line). The correct sequencing is indicated when the left knee stays more stable over the left foot (Green circle), promoting a good shoulder turn behind the ball (Green line).
Three simple exercises to help address this fault are as follows:
1) Flexibility: Stretch Lateral Quadriceps
• It is important to wind the hip up into full extension
• Heel can be lifted towards the buttock to stretch the lateral quadriceps and ITB complex
• To make the stretch even more functional, rotation of the trunk away from the stretched leg will help open up the hip further
2) Strength: Gluteal Medius Control
• Standing on one leg in golf posture
• keep weight just in front of ankle on standing leg with your knee softly flexed sitting into your hip
• Side-step tapping the toe of other leg on floor
• Great exercise for balance and hip control
• You should feel your deep gluteal activating behind the hip joint as it maintains stability of your pelvis on the standing leg
3) Functional: Split Lunge Hip Control with Rotation
• Drop into a split lunge with band pulling lead knee into adduction
• Use your hip stabilizers (abductors) to keep the knee stable over the foot.
• Hold this position, while rotating medicine ball into back swing pattern
Coaching Drill
• Normal set up with band around knees
• Feel resistance help switch on your gluteals
• Make small rotatory swings
• Keep left knee stable
Ready to improve your swing?
See former PGA tour golf physio Kam Bhabra