[PHOTOS: J.D. Cuban]
I shouldn’t have to remind you – but I will anyway – that the quality of your posture as you stand over a ball goes a long way in determining the quality of your shot. Sadly, good address posture is often a neglected fundamental. Let’s take a look at yours. You can do it in a full-length mirror or get someone to snap a few pics with your phone.
What do you see? Is there a balanced structure to your body lines, with your lower body easily supporting your upper body? Do you look athletic, ready for action? Now close your eyes and sense where your weight is in your feet. Does it seem even from your toes to your heels?
If any of these questions left you wondering if your posture could be better, let’s try one more clinching test. Address a ball and have someone give you two nudges: the first one forward and the other backwards. Were you able to maintain your stance or did you get knocked off balance? You should feel really stable. When your posture deteriorates, the most common fault is that your arms and hands take over, and you make an ugly, ineffective golf swing.
The two big postural issues I see are when the weight is too far out on the toes, often from standing too far from the ball, or the golfer is sitting back into their heels. I’m going to give you a drill to get into a good address position in a moment, but first let’s do a quick rundown of what you should be doing and feeling when you get your posture right.
First, stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart. Bend forward from your hip joints (not your waist), raising your tailbone slightly while tilting your shoulders towards the ball. Keep your chin off your chest, and let your arms hang naturally while flexing your knees just a touch. You should feel your thigh muscles stabilising this bent-over position.
OK, now here comes the handy drill: grab a club like I am here and lay it across your thighs [below]. Use the shaft to exert a little pressure against your legs as you push your pelvis forward and tilt your upper towards the ball [bottom]. This simultaneous push-pull action makes you instinctively resist with your thigh muscles and doing so creates a stability that reinforces the dynamic requirements of the lower body during the swing.
That’s it. Your posture reboot should give you confidence that you can make a better golf swing.
Be sure to check your setup regularly, especially if you’re feeling out of balance or mis-hitting a lot of shots. The fix is quick and can really turn things around fast.
