Posture

Posture: Give your back a break.

By: Bruce Munch

Head Professional, White River Golf Club

When we watch professional golfers set up to the ball, they look so comfortable as they prepare to make the shot. Why then do we feel so uncomfortable at address? Much of that has to do with assuming correct stance and posture.

Correct stance and posture will provide many benefits, not the least of which is to prevent back injuries. A golf swing, executed properly, puts very little stress on the back. It is improper setup and execution that lead to back problems. Dr. Cary Middlecoff, a very good tour player in the 50’s, knocked himself off the tour by constantly finishing in a “reverse C” position, that is a position where the upper body leans away from the target during the follow through, rather than assuming an upright position. The “reverse C” position, favored by many players in the 50’s is no longer a part of the modern swing. In fact a properly executed golf swing will, over time, lead to increased flexibility, which is always a good thing, especially as we get older.

Lets go through the steps needed to assure a proper stance and posture at address. As with the other parts of the pre-shot routine, (grip, alignment, ball position), stance and posture, with practice, should become second nature because they all occur before the club has started in motion. If all these elements are not there, don’t start your swing.

Let us start from the ground up by examining stance. How wide should your stance be? There are no absolutes in this area with two exceptions. Your stance should not be so narrow as to cause loss of balance or so wide as to restrict the ability to turn away in the back swing. The stance should be narrower with short irons and get wider as we progress to the longer irons and into the woods. Even with the driver the inside of the heels should never be wider than the outside of the shoulders.

The left foot (for right handed players) should be open; 30 to 40 degrees toward the target while the right foot may be kept square (perpendicular to the target line) or open, depending on what is comfortable for you. If you tend to pull the ball, try opening the right foot slightly, to enable a greater turn on the back swing and hopefully allow you to return the club to square at impact. If you have good flexibility, try to keep the right foot square at address.

Since swinging a golf club is an athletic endeavor, some knee flex is required. An inch or two of knee flex is sufficient. Since we want to maintain the knee flex during the back swing, excessive knee flex will lead to a tendency to stand up during the back swing, making the forward swing much more difficult. Insufficient knee flex will lead to a stiff, non-athletic swing. Changing the amount of rear knee flex will lead to topped shots or fat shots.

Next we will address the forward tilt or bend from the hip joint. Contrary to popular opinion, this bend does not occur at the waist, but from the hip joint. Proper tilt at the hip joint leads to correct spine angle, a critical factor in an effortless swing. Here is an easy way to ensure proper spine angle at address. Stand erect with correct knee flex and place the club parallel to the ground, against the front of your body from left hip to right hip. A gentle thrust of the club rearward will cause your backside to move away from the ball and the upper body to compensate by leaning slightly forward. We only need enough lean to allow the hands to hang about the width of a fist off our thighs.

Head position now comes into play and leads to the most common piece of bad advice given by well meaning friends on the golf course and this is “Keep your head down”. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Our heads are heavy, (remember the old joke from elementary school? “Want to lose 10 lbs of ugly fat in 10 minutes? Cut your head off?). Keeping the head down creates balance problems and puts the chin in the way of the leading shoulder on the back swing, which usually pulls you out of your setup position on the back swing. For proof try this: Stand in an address position with the head aligned with your spine, (remember Mom’s posture lessons?). Now allow the chin to drop to the chest and feel how quickly you go out of balance toward your toes. This is why people who wear conventional bifocals find it is so difficult to set up properly. In an effort to not see the ball magnified, they drop their chin to their chest. If you need bifocals, you can get golfers bifocals that have a small wedge of magnification in the lower inside corner of each lens. This allows the head to stay in correct posture position without looking through the reading portion of the glasses. Changing the spine angle during the back swing will lead to topped shots or fat shots.

Lastly, we have one more move to make at address for correct posture and that is the lateral tilt that drops the right shoulder (sorry lefties) allowing the right hand to hold the club properly. Since the right hand is on the club below the left hand it is necessary for the right shoulder to be below the left shoulder at address. In addition, with the handle of the club in correct position (a fist off the left thigh) the shoulder is dropped slightly more. This right shoulder down position creates a shallower angle of attack that allows for greater margin for error on the forward swing. This right shoulder down position is critical at impact and should be maintained through the finish. Failure to do so, leads to thin or topped shots.

So, if after you have done all of the above, you feel like a pretzel, you have done something wrong and you should seek the help of your favorite teaching pro. If you have done it correctly, you should be comfortable. Now, mind you, if might feel different from your usual setup, but it should not feel uncomfortable.

Practice this in the living room, till you can get to a comfortable position each time. Your mate may think you have lost your mind, but at least they will know you are serious about improving your game, and that is always a good thing.