A small shift in your posture can make a big difference in the outcome of your shot. If your hips move towards the ball as you start your downswing, you’ve changed your spine angle to be more upright. You’ve come out of the posture you were in at the address and you’ve opened yourself up to a vast spectrum of results.
Related: It has been a long time since you checked your address posture. Let’s do it now
“It is a mixed bag of outcomes for people who early extend on the downswing,” says Molly Braid, a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher out of Westmoor C.C. in Wisconsin. “It is extremely common to see a two-way miss, and it does not always mean direction. Players may see two seemingly opposite outcomes, like shots that push and hook, fat and thin shots, or contact on the toe and hosel/heel.”
It’s one thing to be told that you’re coming out of your posture. But it’s another to actually know when you’re doing it and when you’re not. Braid has found her students struggle to diagnose themselves, so she came up with a drill to help. If you’re working on staying in your posture, do this drill and you’ll be able to tell when you’re staying in your posture, and when you’re standing up out of it.
Braid says to take a towel or a headcover and place it several inches behind your heels. When you take your normal address posture, you need to be able to see the towel or headcover through your feet. Swing to the top of your backswing, and look down again. Can you see the headcover?
“If you can’t see it, that means you’re out of posture,” Braid says. “You’ve stood up, and your pelvis has tilted forward, blocking your view of the headcover.”
Here, the player has come out of their posture and can no longer see the headcover at the top of their backswing.
Shifting your hips back, away from the ball, will bring your spine angle back to where it was at address, and will bring the headcover back into view.
Here, the player has stayed in their posture. Their spine angle at the top of the swing is consistent with their address angle. They can see the headcover.
Related: Learn how to correct your posture in only 60 seconds
Braid’s simple drill will help you train yourself to maintain proper posture, improve your ball striking and eliminate those wild misses.
