Good Golf Posture (How to Address the Golf Ball)

[djfajt71]

Thanks for the feedback!  Yeah, I'm not sure where the 14 came from either.  I didn't think I was too slouched but, he seemed to disagree.  My images, in my initial post, are my before and current posture pics.  I tried to incorporate the more upright posture and just couldn't do it comfortably!  I will try to focus on being more on the balls of my feet than my heels.  Again, thanks for help!

[iacas]

[colin007]

People seen unwilling to think past what they've been told by the masses

[mvmac]

People seen unwilling to think past what they've been told by the masses

Or just simply use their eyes

[MrDC]

Here's the analysis, yeah, I can see the point here, at first glance you would think Cheyenne has the better address, but I see/feel the truth now, Tiger is in a great setup, Cheyenne not so much, it's certainly not bad, just too much butt sticking out and shoulders back.

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/swing-analysis-tiger-vs-cheyenne/

[iacas]

Here's the analysis, yeah, I can see the point here, at first glance you would think Cheyenne has the better address, but I see/feel the truth now, Tiger is in a great setup, Cheyenne not so much, it's certainly not bad, just too much butt sticking out and shoulders back.

Yeah, neither are "bad" but I definitely prefer Tiger's setup a little bit more.

Cheyenne's back might be a bit more "S" curved naturally, too, for all we know. That may be a totally neutral setup for Cheyenne. The main point is to not exaggerate that kind of setup.

[saevel25]

Yeah, neither are "bad" but I definitely prefer Tiger's setup a little bit more.

Cheyenne's back might be a bit more "S" curved naturally, too, for all we know. That may be a totally neutral setup for Cheyenne. The main point is to not exaggerate that kind of setup.

I like Tiger's posture better as well.

Do you think women golfers, especially on the LPGA, tend to have that type of posture more often than men do?

[mvmac]

Yeah, neither are "bad" but I definitely prefer Tiger's setup a little bit more.

Cheyenne's back might be a bit more "S" curved naturally, too, for all we know. That may be a totally neutral setup for Cheyenne. The main point is to not exaggerate that kind of setup.

Yeah I noticed that when I watched her round yesterday. Her natural standing/walking posture has some S curve to it.

I like Tiger's posture better as well.

Do you think women golfers, especially on the LPGA, tend to have that type of posture more often than men do?

Yes in Cheyenne's case, a "straight" lower back for her is going to have some curve.

[outlaw1984]

I think that everyone who reads this needs to also look at how supple Sam Snead's arms are in that picture in the setup. They're not ramrod straight kinda just relaxed

[timbamania]

Thank you so much for this information! For years I was plagued by weak strikes, slices and pulls. Nothing helped, I had some lessons from a few different teachers in the past, none of them identified what the problem was (sadly enough the general level of the teaching pro's in the Netherlands is pretty underwhelming, at least in my experience).

In the past I used to read a lot about the golf swing, mostly on the internet. Sadly enough, most of the information was confusing, vague, irrelevant (for my level of play), misleading or flat out incorrect (Golf Digest type stuff). As a result, like so many golfers, I only found the latest bandaid that would help me for a short while until it would break down and left me searching for the next 'secret'.

Recently I regained interest in studying the swing. With the 'new' teachers putting some great content online (f.i. Shawn Clement >>>>>>>> David Leadbetter ), swing analysis etc.

Thanks to the new ball flight laws I some of the stuff I read/watched, I finally understood that my problems were caused by a (sometimes severe) out to in swing path. But getting rid of that path was a whole different story...

Last week I finally found out about 5SK and some of the stuff I read really clicked in my head. I practised some (at home, without a ball) and I made a decision: my new goal in golf is to learn to play a draw. No, that's not good enough. I tried that before, and sometimes with success. No, from now on I will try to play a draw at all times.

That's a much better (and more positive) goal than to try to get rid of my slice.

And then I stumbled upon this thread. What an eyeopener. I was this guy you have been describing - straight back and all. I practiced a better posture and it really felt amazing. Suddenly I had so much more freedom of movement and my arms would not get away from my body or get stuck behind me. All because of a better upper back position.

I took the new posture to the range today and I felt great. I went for the draw with every shot, which at times worked. If it didn't, I hit mostly dead straight. No more pulls and slices. Only the driver was somewhat problematic as I had a tendency to push and/or fade it.

It was so much fun trying to draw the ball that I decided to go play a round. And it was amazing. I hit it farther than ever, I gained at least a club with my irons. And my 3 wood, which was so erratic in the past, became my new favourite club. Before, a very good strike would be 195 yards for me, with most shots only reaching a meagre 175-185 yards. Today I hit my best 6 shots with the 3 wood ever. Commanding strikes, great flight path, 220 yards, five dead straight, one with a wonderful draw. Sidewind, into the wind, it didn't seem to matter. What a feeling!

A million thanks, you really changed my golfing life!

[colin007]

@timbamania Hey dude, welcome to the SandTrap! There's so much good info here, I think you'll find the best info online regarding the golf swing here. Hope you stick around!

[MrDC]

Obviously it's hard to say just from this video, but looking at this you can see how relaxed Tigers shoulders look, just like Sam, where her shoulders look pulled up and tight, but maybe it's just a physique thing.

[timbamania]

@timbamania

Hey dude, welcome to the SandTrap!

There's so much good info here, I think you'll find the best info online regarding the golf swing here. Hope you stick around!

Thanks, given what I already found on the site I'll probably not go away any time soon ...

[shalabe]

@mvmac, great thread - I have an all new perspective of what the best players are doing at address.

[Jameson]

Thank you so much for this information! For years I was plagued by weak strikes, slices and pulls. Nothing helped, I had some lessons from a few different teachers in the past, none of them identified what the problem was (sadly enough the general level of the teaching pro's in the Netherlands is pretty underwhelming, at least in my experience).

In the past I used to read a lot about the golf swing, mostly on the internet. Sadly enough, most of the information was confusing, vague, irrelevant (for my level of play), misleading or flat out incorrect (Golf Digest type stuff). As a result, like so many golfers, I only found the latest bandaid that would help me for a short while until it would break down and left me searching for the next 'secret'.

Recently I regained interest in studying the swing. With the 'new' teachers putting some great content online (f.i. Shawn Clement >>>>>>>> David Leadbetter  ), swing analysis etc.

Thanks to the new ball flight laws I some of the stuff I read/watched, I finally understood that my problems were caused by a (sometimes severe) out to in swing path. But getting rid of that path was a whole different story...

Last week I finally found out about 5SK and some of the stuff I read really clicked in my head. I practised some (at home, without a ball) and I made a decision: my new goal in golf is to learn to play a draw. No, that's not good enough. I tried that before, and sometimes with success. No, from now on I will try to play a draw at all times.

That's a much better (and more positive) goal than to try to get rid of my slice.

And then I stumbled upon this thread. What an eyeopener. I was this guy you have been describing - straight back and all. I practiced a better posture and it really felt amazing. Suddenly I had so much more freedom of movement and my arms would not get away from my body or get stuck behind me. All because of a better upper back position.

I took the new posture to the range today and I felt great. I went for the draw with every shot, which at times worked. If it didn't, I hit mostly dead straight. No more pulls and slices. Only the driver was somewhat problematic as I had a tendency to push and/or fade it.

It was so much fun trying to draw the ball that I decided to go play a round. And it was amazing. I hit it farther than ever, I gained at least a club with my irons. And my 3 wood, which was so erratic in the past, became my new favourite club. Before, a very good strike would be 195 yards for me, with most shots only reaching a meagre 175-185 yards. Today I hit my best 6 shots with the 3 wood ever. Commanding strikes, great flight path, 220 yards, five dead straight, one with a wonderful draw. Sidewind, into the wind, it didn't seem to matter. What a feeling!

A million thanks, you really changed my golfing life!

I´m exactly at this point. I slice the ball, and I´m not able to hit my driver properly. Reading a lot, and having classes, but I don´t find the answer yet....

[outlaw1984]

I used Dana as a reference for me just because we are probably more of the same height... I noticed immediately that my hips are not as slanted as his. And his knees are a little more flexed than mine. What do I do to get my hips/ belt line to face down.

[Mike Boatright]

This may be a very old thread but I always thought a stooped posture reduced rotational turn like when you get old. I can see it both way now stooping is bad where standing up like you have a something were the sun don't shine is bad too.

[mvmac]

This may be a very old thread but I always thought a stooped posture reduced rotational turn like when you get old. 

Well, not the case with most golfers in the hall of fame