Do you really need to use your lower body to generate power? Top 100 GOLF Teachers member Peter Kostis doesn’t think so.
Getty Images
You’ve probably heard golf instructors talk about using the ground to create power. This phenomenon – known as ground reaction forces – is essential for players who want to produce more speed.
Ground reaction forces have not always been well understood, but they have always been present. You can watch swings from golf legends back in the day and clearly see them using their feet throughout the swing. from Ben Hogan For Tiger Woods, the legs have been the driver of the golf swing.
However, while the legs can be crucial for hitting the ball, for a long time GOLF Top 100 Teachers Peter Kostis does not agree that power has been created BY the legs.
“It’s going to be controversial as hell,” Kostis says. “My opinion is that the proper use of the legs, the hips (and) the rotation of the body — but especially from the hips down — the proper use of the legs is not to create power. I repeat: it is not to create power.”
So if the legs aren’t creating power, then what are they doing? According to Kostis, they’re creating a stable foundation that allows you to swing powerfully with your upper body.
“It’s about creating a solid foundation from which you can move more quickly,” he says. “The vast majority of your swing speed comes from the waist up.”
Once you have a solid base in your lower body, you can get the club through the hitting zone much faster. But it is imperative that you have a strong core and upper body to do this.
“I don’t jump off the ground,” Kostis says. “But it’s a reaction to my swing speed, it’s not to create swing speed. I want my lower body to create a foundation.”
You can see his full explanation in the video above.
