 |
The Spine Angle and the Posture
(See The Cause for Sliding Your Hips on the Backswing and the Downswing for more details about the spine angle.)
If I see the posture of a golfer, I can tell if he or she is a good player or not. I can also tell you what kind of ball flight he has.
Why?
Spine Angle and Right Shoulder
I look at golfer's spine angle and right shoulder. High handicappers have their spine perpendicular to the ground and high right shoulder at address.
From this posture, it will be very difficult to hit it far at all.
But it may feel natural for them.
When you walk down the street, you probably won't drop your right shoulder and walk.
So when they first grip the club, they will try to set up to ball with their shoulders parallel to the ground and their spine perpendicular to the ground.
But if you don't lower your right shoulder and try to grip a club, your right shoulders moves toward the ball forcing you to align to the left.
Also, from this position, it's very easy to have a weak grip because your right shoulder is too high at address.
You won't hit the ball very far from this posture at all.
Some golfers hit shanks, slice, or pull from this position as well.
To avoid these miss shots, make sure to lower your right shoulder before gripping the club. Also, tilt your spine away from the target.