Golfers often talk about the importance of turning in the golf swing because, yes, it is very important.
But often they can fall into a specific trap because of it.
The golf swing isn’t only about turning. It’s about tilting and turning. Pairing those two movements together; that’s where the good stuff is.
As Golf Digest Best in State Teacher Nick Iacono, a lead instructor at Merion Golf Club, explains:
“A lot of the golfers that I come in contact with think about rotational rates. How much they turn. But they have to understand how their tilts influence their rotational rates, and how they move their body.”
In short, a golf swing with only turn wouldn’t look right—and wouldn’t work very well.
So here’s a quick rundown from Nick on how to use tilts to your advantage.
Setup Tilts
Amateur golfers tend to tilt their upper body and hips towards the target, so they’re pointing down.
This can lead to them swinging over the top, and steeply down on the ball. Nick explains that before you start your swing you want your hips and shoulders to be mostly level, but tilting slightly up, away from the target.
“At address, the hips should tilt slightly away from the target to create side bend and set the arc of the swing,” Nick explains. “The trail shoulder will be lower than the lead shoulder.”
Your browser does not support the video tag. Backswing Tilts
Nick says many golfers make the mistake, perhaps because of their previous setup mistake, of tilting their bodies too much to their left—towards the target. This is a byproduct of cheating your backswing turn which bends the lower lumbar spine in ways it wasn’t designed, and may even cause injury.
“Your thoracic spine is so mobile in rotation. If you focus on the tilts instead, all of a sudden the rotation comes for free.”
Again, the key is blending the right amount of tilt with the right turn. When you have too much of one or the other, that’s when things go haywire. Nick says the key thought to help you do this is:
- Lead hip and shoulder down
- Trail hip and shoulder back
Downswing Tilts
On the downswing, the goal is basically to reverse what happened on the backswing, and return to a similar position you were at at impact.
As Nick explains:
“In your downswing, you should move into rightward side bend as you move, but how much you do it, and when you do it, is more of the problem. If a golfer tries to find a way to go from no tilt to lots of tilt at the last second, then it’s going to be a big disaster.”
Just like the earth rotates on a tilted axis, so should your body on the downswing. Simply trying to turn is a surefire way to swing over-the-top. Tilting back as you turn through, that’s the key. Two essential golf swing ingredients, with just the right amount of each.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
