Are you interested in going away on a golf break? Golfbreaks.com save time and money when arranging golf holidays and work with over 350 venues across the UK and Europe. To visit their website or to view their golf tuition packages, click here.

Article 3 - Setting Up for Success - April 2007

Setting Up for Success

Playing the game of golf requires the ability to repeat a swinging motion with particular consistency. Achieving this repeating motion starts long before you begin to swing the club. Along with the grip, the way you address, or stand to, the golf ball has a dramatic influence on the swing we can make.

The way you set your body in the address position will determine how well your body and arms can move during the swinging motion, in short “what you set is what you get”.

An Ideal Address Position

To find your ideal address position, place a club behind your back touching your lower spine and the back of your head. Bend over, from you hips, approximately 25 to 30 degrees maintaining the touch of the club to the spine and head. Bend your knees slightly, so they appear over the balls of your feet. Allow your arms to hang limply from your shoulders. Your fingertips should point straight down at your toes. Taking hold of a club you should now be in a good address position for your swing.

When you address the ball you should feel stable, relaxed and well balanced. To achieve this assume your address position and check in the mirror that:
The top of your spine,
The insides of your elbows,
 And the balls of your feet
 are in a perfectly straight line, perpendicular to the ground.
Your knees should be very close to, or just touching this line.

This is your body’s natural line of balance and helps you achieve a good body rotation around your spine, producing a fast and efficient swing.

Common faults that we see in golfers address positions

In this position the golfer has failed to tilt forward from his hips and stick his backside out. This leads to a rounding of the spine making it difficult to turn his body correctly during the swinging motion. This often leads to a shortened back swing or worse still a raising of the body due to a restricted hip movement caused by the players body weight starting too much in the heels.

The classic result of being told to keep your head down. This position leads to only one thing - the golfer will have to raise his head on the back swing as there is no room under his chin for his left shoulder to turn and his arms to swing. This usually results in a top or air-shot followed by cries of keep your head down, we are sure you can guess what happens with the next shot!

This set up position is one of the most common we see when teaching - very close but no cigar. The golfer has assumed a good posture but any chance of a good swing has been ruined by tense arms - often because the golfer is trying to follow the myth that the arms and club should form a straight line. This golfer is unlikely to make a smooth move away from the ball due to the tension and will loose potential club head speed that fast, loose arms could generate.

Again, we see a close attempt to good posture but this time with a lack of knee flex. With the legs locked straight, this golfer will find it hard to turn his body and retain his spine position as he will have no help from the hips and lower half of his body. Often overlooked, the lower half of the body provides the vital balance to the swing which in allows for good club head speed to be generated.

In short, from any of the address positions shown above it is very hard for a golfer to achieve a solid strike on the golf ball. Only one type of posture provides the opportunity for a solid, centred, strike with speed and that’s good posture!

A practice routine to improve your posture

1- Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart and the club out in front of you at waist level. Keep the club shaft parallel to the ground with your upper arms sat on your chest with your lower arms extended forming a long narrow triangle with your shoulders, arms and hands. When doing this try to keep your forearms level, this will require a slight bend at the right elbow.

2- Next bend from your hips until the club head reaches the ground, making sure that as you do this you keep your spine as straight as possible by sticking your backside out. Note - wherever the club head rests on the ground gives you an indication of how far you should be from the ball. Soften your knees and let them pop out towards the balls of your feet so that you get an athletic, springy feeling in your legs. Your weight should be balanced on the balls of your feet.

We hope you have found this article helpful. If you have any questions or for further information please email us, we are more than happy to help.