DRIVING Keep your legs solid as you unwind

'Drive the legs' I was told as a young player. Of course, in the 1970's that was all the rage. But the trouble with driving the legs is that as a consequence of your lower body moving forwards in the direction of the target, your upper body hangs back and you end up trapped, with nowhere for the arms to go. So you either block the shot miles to the right, or flip at it with the hands and live in fear of the left side of the golf course. Neither is very pretty. A fundamental lesson every golfer must learn is that the role of the legs is to support the rotary motion of the upper body. The stronger your leg-action the more it will enhance the rotary motion of the upper body, and the greater will be the efficiency of the recoil. If you are prone to driving too hard with the legs, try hitting a few shots with your toes curled up inside your shoes. That will help to quieten even the most exaggerated leg-action.

Remember, in a good golf swing, the speed and momentum of the clubhead is seen to build gradually and peak at the moment of impact. To achieve this you must first wind the spring in the backswing, and then unwind in sync on the way down so that you maximise the recoil effect. Get your left shoulder under your chin as you complete your backswing, and then settle your weight back towards the target in the transition. A solid leg-action contains this movement, whereupon the right side of your body is free to explode through the ball.