Good Golf Posture (How to Address the Golf Ball)

[hoselpalooza]

@NM Golf, thanks for adding some levity to the discussion. 🙂

what you think about the picture of DJ and mike?

50 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

this is getting weird. but maybe those other two pictures i shared just weren't clear enough? nevertheless, i trust that DJ is capable of knowing what it feels and looks like to have his chin up a bit and a slight curve in his lower back. 

(^ source for DJ photo)

@Vinsk, kindly take a look at the image i just shared above. unlike mike on the right there is clear daylight between DJ's chin and chest, the bill of DJ's cap is clearly NOT pointing directly at ball, and there is obviously a slight curve in DJ's lower back. 

 

[lastings]

I have no idea what is right or wrong.  what makes you a better golfer, or what creates less back pain.  but, I'll tell you this:  I would happily trade weekly trips to the chiropractor in exchange for a 2 handicap. 

Edited March 20, 2019 by lastings

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, hoselpalooza said:

@Vinsk, kindly take a look at the image i just shared above. unlike mike on the right there is clear daylight between DJ's chin and chest, the bill of DJ's cap is clearly NOT pointing directly at ball, and there is obviously a slight curve in DJ's lower back. 

Yes but I just don’t think it’s anyrhing of any consequence. DJ also has a bit of a curve in his lower back just from his build. He’s got a long thorax and low body fat and his upper body is well developed...thus the gunslinger stroll he has.

[DeadMan]

1 hour ago, hoselpalooza said:

this is getting weird. but maybe those other two pictures i shared just weren't clear enough? nevertheless, i trust that DJ is capable of knowing what it feels and looks like to have his chin up a bit and a slight curve in his lower back. 

(^ source for DJ photo)

@Vinsk, kindly take a look at the image i just shared above. unlike mike on the right there is clear daylight between DJ's chin and chest, the bill of DJ's cap is clearly NOT pointing directly at ball, and there is obviously a slight curve in DJ's lower back. 

Those pictures look virtually identical. DJ's butt is slightly more out than Mike's, and his chin is slightly further away from his chest. The differences could be because DJ has a longer neck than Mike, is wearing a tighter shirt, and is using a shorter club.

If you want to try to mimic DJ, nobody is going to stop you. I would guess, however, that you're not a 6'4" super athlete like DJ is. It's entirely possible (read: likely) you cannot physically do what DJ does. And if you're really worried about back pain, take up bowling instead of golf.

[hoselpalooza]

2 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

DJ also has a bit of a curve in his lower back just from his build.

yes! thank you for acknowledging DJ has a bit of a curve in his lower back. it's weird that other people implied this wasn't the case and pulled the "feel isn't real" card?. 🤔

6 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

He’s got a long thorax and low body fat and his upper body is well developed..

how do you compare where DJ is looking to the picture of mike? look at the lines from their eyes or the bills of their caps. or you could draw another line passing through the base of their skulls and the tips of their chins. mike's angles are significantly steeper. don't you notice this, too?

 

8 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

DJ's butt is slightly more out than Mike's, and his chin is slightly further away from his chest

@DeadMan, thanks for your comment. i agree with this 100%. did you notice how DJ's lower back has a slight inward curve (red line) while mike's is curved a bit outward (green line)? and did you also notice how mike is looking directly at the ball (see the red arrow) but DJ is looking much farther away (see the red line)?

[DeadMan]

18 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

@DeadMan, thanks for your comment. i agree with this 100%. did you notice how DJ's lower back has a slight inward curve (red line) while mike's is curved a bit outward (green line)? and did you also notice how mike is looking directly at the ball (see the red arrow) but DJ is looking much farther away (see the red line)?

DJ's back is slightly inward, possibly because his butt is further out than Mike's. It's tough to tell, because Mike's shirt is looser and you can't see if his lower back curves. Also, DJ is using a shorter club than Mike, which could impact his posture.

I definitely don't agree that DJ's is looking farther away from the ball. He's definitely looking right down at the ball. He's looking through the bottom of his eye socket, I suppose, but there's no way he's looking on the line you drew.

EDIT: My point, though, is that the pictures are virtually identical and probably down to physical differences between Mike and DJ. If you want to try to mimic's DJ's posture with this stuff, then go ahead. I'm guessing you're physically closer to Mike than DJ. Essentially, what @billchao said below.

Edited March 20, 2019 by DeadMan

[billchao]

13 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

yes! thank you for acknowledging DJ has a bit of a curve in his lower back. it's weird that other people implied this wasn't the case and pulled the "feel isn't real" card?. 🤔

how do you compare where DJ is looking to the picture of mike? look at the lines from their eyes or the bills of their caps. or you could draw another line passing through the base of their skulls and the tips of their chins. mike's angles are significantly steeper. don't you notice this, too?

Dude you need to get off this horse. Both of the pictures of @mvmac you're dissecting in the OP are exaggerated to illustrate a point. Neither are his actual posture when playing, though it's much closer to the right one (as is the vast majority of pro golfers) than the left.

You can sit here and break down the minor differences between DJ and Mike all day long, but what would be the point? Of course they look different, they have different builds. They aren't the same height, don't have the same length arms, clubs, etc.

If you're looking for justification to do whatever you want in your own swing, cool. Do that. Nobody cares if you don't listen to our advice. I'll stick to getting my information from people who study golf for a living though, thanks.

[hoselpalooza]

Just now, DeadMan said:

DJ's back is slightly inward, possibly because his butt is further out than Mike's. It's tough to tell, because Mike's shirt is looser and you can't see if his lower back curves. Also, DJ is using a shorter club than Mike, which could impact his posture.

I definitely don't agree that DJ's is looking farther away from the ball. He's definitely looking right down at the ball. He's looking through the bottom of his eye socket, I suppose, but there's no way he's looking on the line you drew.

i'm sorry, you're exactly right. if i could edit my previous post i would also say DJ's looking down through the bottom of his eye sockets, he's definitely not looking through the center of his eye sockets.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, hoselpalooza said:

this is getting weird. but maybe those other two pictures i shared just weren't clear enough? nevertheless, i trust that DJ is capable of knowing what it feels and looks like to have his chin up a bit and a slight curve in his lower back.

They were clear. They just showed DJ is more like Right Mike than Left Mike.

9 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

i'm sorry, you're exactly right. if i could edit my previous post i would also say DJ's looking down through the bottom of his eye sockets, he's definitely not looking through the center of his eye sockets.

No he isn’t.

Look, at the end of the day, you should be able to play golf golf and see the ball even with bifocals on.

YOUR OWN chin drops a bunch so you can see the ball out of your central vision.

[hoselpalooza]

@billchao, as @DeadMan pointed out, DJ is looking at the ball through the bottom of his eye sockets. an important part of OP seemed to be looking at the ball out of the middle of our eye sockets, or what was called "foveal vision". but DJ is used as an example of the type of good golf posture OP encourages. 

separately, i was basically asked a question. if i could summarize it would be this: which picture does DJ look more like? to me it looks like the one on the left:

[lastings]

12 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

@billchao, as @DeadMan pointed out, DJ is looking at the ball through the bottom of his eye sockets. an important part of OP seemed to be looking at the ball out of the middle of our eye sockets, or what was called "foveal vision". but DJ is used as an example of the type of good golf posture OP encourages. 

separately, i was basically asked a question. if i could summarize it would be this: which picture does DJ look more like? to me it looks like the one on the left:

As an impartial bystander here, I would say that DJ looks much more like Mike on the right than Mike on the left. 

Edited March 20, 2019 by lastings

[Vinsk]

10 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

to me it looks like the one on the left:

So did you see the blue or the gold dress? 

[Vinsk]

Just something to note here: As @iacas mentioned earlier the posture will change in the golf swing. We’re wanting a relatively relaxed position that allows for a good take away with balance. Here’s DJ at A5..as you can see there’s no lower back curve at all.

[billchao]

47 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

@billchao, as @DeadMan pointed out, DJ is looking at the ball through the bottom of his eye sockets. an important part of OP seemed to be looking at the ball out of the middle of our eye sockets, or what was called "foveal vision". but DJ is used as an example of the type of good golf posture OP encourages. 

@iacas pointed it out, but I don't believe he's looking through the bottom of his eye sockets, which is more like looking down your face to see your tongue or something.

1 hour ago, hoselpalooza said:

separately, i was basically asked a question. if i could summarize it would be this: which picture does DJ look more like? to me it looks like the one on the left:

I don't know what to tell you if you think DJ looks more like left Mike than right Mike. Look at the angles formed by the upper back and the backs of their heads. Left Mike's head is almost vertical. There's a slight curve to right Mike's lower back that you can't really see due to clothing and lines. He's not in posterior pelvic tilt (which from a bent over position like address would make your lower spine appear almost vertical) and DJ is not in full anterior pelvic tilt as left Mike is. Protraction of the shoulder blades which gives that rounded upper back which both DJ and right Mike have.

[hoselpalooza]

so nobody's going to get any more disagreement from me that "right mike" looks more like DJ. i just ran the basic shapes through an image processor that calculates the similarity of pictures. here were the results:

i'm glad to put this one to bed!

still a small arch in that back and chin up a bit though 😉 

2 hours ago, Vinsk said:

So did you see the blue or the gold dress? 

🤔

[mvmac]

@hoselpalooza in case it's not clear, I'm not saying everyone should look exactly like my posture on the right or that it's even "perfect", both pics are a bit exaggerated (mostly the left one) to highlight the pieces. Think it would be best if we didn't nitpick examples I was trying to provide, goes against the point of the thread/advice.

That's why I included a bunch pros, each a little different than the other but all share similarities and none have that ramrod straight back with the eyes up look.

[hoselpalooza]

Just now, mvmac said:

@hoselpalooza in case it's not clear, I'm not saying everyone should look exactly like my posture on the right or that it's even "perfect", both pics are a bit exaggerated (mostly the left one) to highlight the pieces.

That's why I included a bunch pros, each a little different than the other but all share similarities and none have that ramrod straight back with the eyes up look.

@mvmac, thank you, i appreciate you adding this. it's crystal clear now, it just took a while to get here 🙂 

looking back i suppose it might've been more effective had we compared some of the pics of you toward the end of OP (instead of the over-exaggerated examples of what not to do 😅), but hindsight's 20/20. i feel i've learned some things through this process and i hope some other people did, too. 👍

[Tepi90]

On 11/11/2017 at 12:16 AM, mvmac said:

It could, depends on what your tendency is. With a more upright posture, the pivot can get locked up, shoulder turn too level, only way to create some "down" is to go over-the-top. Better posture/setup can help golfers make better pivots which can then improve the downswing.

 

Great!

Absolutely golden video, thank you!

I personally have my butt out at the address, coming from over ten years of ice skating in my youth. Would you say having your butt out can lead to early extension aswell, because your butt has to move off the wall to give freedom for your upper body to rotate?