? spine angle at address

[KwSipp]

This is a question that I have to the knowledgeable guys on this forum about spine angle\hand placement\ and head postion at address.

What is the correct way to setup with the correct spine tilt, and could you explain in 3rd person how I should have my head(tilted with my spine or level with the ground)? This is like many guys out there a habit that I've developed and never noticed until a long time friend and very good golfer told me to work on. I guess what I am doing is holding my hands behind the ball and creating an uppercase Y instead of a proper lowercase y. Basically the sensation is new to me because Ive been addressing the ball like this for so long and I think the reason I have developed this bad habbit is because I never used to hit my long irons high enough so this is like a compensation effect. So if someone could elaborate on what the proper way to tilt my spine without feeling like all my weight is on my trail leg that would be helpful. Btw I have watched swingvision and I guess I cant put the pieces together on how the pros setup and translate that into the way I should setup.
Thanks in advance

[MizunoPlayer]

The correct way to address the ball would be to stand straight up and down, squat just a little with the knees, and then bend at the waste. Your hands should fall comfortably in front of you. When you actually grip the golf club, you will want your hands slightly in front of the ball (just in front of your zipper). You do not want to hang your head at address either. Your weight should be on the balls of your feet. You don't want to feel like you're on your toes, but also not on your heels; if that makes sense.

[KwSipp]

Thanks for the tip but thats not what I am asking, please reread the questions and if I should explain my problem with more detail please let me know?Thanks man.

[dummyisdumb]

In regards to your hand position, lie the club naturally on the ground. Your hands will be in the right position.

[MizunoPlayer]

Yeah, apparently I'm not reading the question correctly. I'm understanding it as you want to know the correct way to address the ball. Please let me know exactly what you're asking so I can help haha.

[KwSipp]

Yeah, apparently I'm not reading the question correctly. I'm understanding it as you want to know the correct way to address the ball. Please let me know exactly what you're asking so I can help haha.

What I am trying to ask I guess is how should you tilt your spine in regaurds to feeling like your weight is not over your back foot. Basically I have always setup "over" the ball and not with my head a little behind....The attachment picture shows the correct way to setup with spine tilt. Maybe I should take some pic of me and upload so I can show you guys what I am doing wrong lol

[david_wedzik]

What I am trying to ask I guess is how should you tilt your spine in regaurds to feeling like your weight is not over your back foot. Basically I have always setup "over" the ball and not with my head a little behind....The attachment picture shows the correct way to setup with spine tilt. Maybe I should take some pic of me and upload so I can show you guys what I am doing wrong lol

Actually - though the setup in the photo is "ok" it is not ideal and I would not have you copy that one. The best way to think about the spine tilt at address is that you must simply have your upper center (center of sternum) directly above your lower center (belt buckle). The shoulders should be on somewhere b/w 5 deg. and 10 deg. of tilt (this will look minimal to the eye) and that is only because the trail hand is slightly lower on the club than the lead hand. As far as the head position this is IMPORTANT - the neck should be on the same angle as the spine as it relates to the tilt described above - but when viewed from down the line I would want you to have your neck somewhat "flexed" forward. Do not get caught up in having your chin up so you can "turn your shoulder under it" (goes into the classic advice we should not listen to list). We see best using central vision and to make use of that in the golf motion the head must be chin down to some extent through the flexion in the neck. Hope this helps.

Dave

[DBeane]

I would say tilt your head back with the angle of your spine. I believe the body has a tendancy to orient itself based on what the eyes are telling it. In other words if your set up properly with the correct spine tilt at address, yet your head is straight up and down, during the swing your back/spine will have a tendancy to want to straighten up. This can cause a lot of excess movement that will lead to ball striking problems.

Try setting up 70% Left Foot 30% Right Foot, yet keeping your head behind the ball. Many people (I believe) get confused with the term spine "tilt", and they end up leaning back of their right foot at address.

-Beane

[MizunoPlayer]

What I am trying to ask I guess is how should you tilt your spine in regaurds to feeling like your weight is not over your back foot. Basically I have always setup "over" the ball and not with my head a little behind....The attachment picture shows the correct way to setup with spine tilt. Maybe I should take some pic of me and upload so I can show you guys what I am doing wrong lol

Oh ok I see what you're asking. The answer that David gave is spot on. You do not want to dip your head because it will cause extra movement in your swing (your body will need to reposition itself because your head will be in the way). Don't do any leaning to one side or the other because that could cause a sway instead of a turn as well.

[kfowler]

Your weight should be on the balls of your feet. You don't want to feel like you're on your toes, but also not on your heels; if that makes sense.

I think a better description is weight on the arches of your foot. "Balls of your feet" often makes people think of an infielder or defensive back position. You're anticipating a sudden burst forward.

This can cause all kinds of problems in golf. I struggled with consistency a long time because of this. What was happening was that during my downswing, I was actually falling towards the ball. The only way to keep balance was to quickly rotate my arms back to the left. This caused many shanks and off center hits. My instructor recognized this and had me start putting more weight towards the center of my feet so that I felt more "grounded". If there was ever an instruction tip that helped me more, this was it.

[MizunoPlayer]

I think a better description is weight on the arches of your foot. "Balls of your feet" often makes people think of an infielder or defensive back position. You're anticipating a sudden burst forward.

By balls of your feet, I was more trying to get the point of not having the weight on your toes or heels. It's important to stand correctly as you do not want to be flat footed and by saying arches, it can come across as standing flat footed, which is not what you want to do.

[KwSipp]

Thanks guys the replys above have been extremely helpful! To david when you say that the correct spine tilt will look minimal to the eye, well I guess this is what I have always emulated so maybe I shouldnt change that part lol.