Your golf swing has to operate as a full body motion if you want to transfer the most force possible into the ball with the least amount of effort. During the swing, your legs help to transfer power into your hips, through your torso and into your arms. They also provide balance through the shifting of your weight, so having proper leg position and knee flexion with your leading leg is a fundamental aspect of a consistent swing.
Address
Finding the right flex in your knees when you address the ball is a matter of finding your comfort zone. Michael Breed and Greg Midland state in their book, "The Picture-Perfect Golf Swing: The Complete Guide to Golf Swing Video Analysis," that you only need to bend your knees slightly at the address of the ball. This allows you to smoothly shift your weight between your legs as you swing. If you were to stand with your knees locked completely straight, your weight would stop being transferred to your lead leg halfway through the swing.
Backswing
During your backswing, your leading leg will have less knee flexion than when you addressed the ball. In order to transfer your weight onto your back foot at the peak of the backswing, you must relax the instep of your leading foot. As you bring your arms around, your hips shift laterally back and a majority of your body weight is on your back foot. Because your leading foot remains in roughly the same position, your knee straightens to compensate for the new position of your hips.
Transition
According to "Golf Digest" teaching professional David Leadbetter, many amateurs lose power in their swing at the point of transition because they straighten their legs rather than pushing off of them. As you begin to bring the clubhead down toward the moment of impact, rotate your hips a bit away from your leading leg. This will cause you to bend your knees a bit extra at the peak of the swing. When your body uncoils through the swing, you will have greater momentum in your swing because your legs will straighten from your slightly squatting position.
Finish
Once your weight shifts forward from your back leg to your lead leg and you are about to make contact with the ball, your leading knee should straighten quickly. Snapping your knee straight at the moment of impact creates an even greater amount of leverage than if you keep your lead knee flexed for your follow through. GolfDigest.com points out that this is how power hitters such as PGA Tour member Bubba Watson consistently launch the ball more than 300 yards on their drives.
References
- Purgatory Golf Club: Golf Swing Instruction
- "The Picture-Perfect Golf Swing: The Complete Guide to Golf Swing Video Analysis"; Michael Breed and Greg Midland; 2008
- "Understanding the Golf Swing"; Manuel de la Torre; 2008
- GolfDigest.com; How to Launch It Like Bubba; January 2011
- GolfDigest.com; Get More Distance Out of the Ground; David Leadbetter; March 2011
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