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Beginning of the Season...Beginning of the Swing
Achieve perfection in your set-up with the correct posture.

by Adrian Davies

 

After a long, hot summer with many Tour players from different professional tours, it never surprises me that almost every time a player has problems with his full swing, it is the set-up or address position that needs attention first. A poor set-up will cause a chain reaction of body compensations, which will affect how the golf club moves and therefore, the result of the shot. First and foremost, we must set-up correctly to the ball if we wish to achieve success, which we can achieve through practicing the right things.

There are five major factors in the set-up to achieve perfection.

1. Posture

2. Grip

3. Ball Position

4. Stance

5. Alignment of the Body (Shoulders, Hips, Knees and Feet)

 

This month, we will look at the one factor that all my tour players have greatest difficulty in consistently maintaining over a period of time&endash; posture.

 

Posture

One of the body's primary functions is to seek balance. If our body is not in balance at address, it will seek it during the swing, eventually affecting how the golf club moves. Good posture is therefore imperative to a powerful, accurate, repetitive swing. Many players have different physiques and this will also affect their posture and how they address the ball. A tall, thinner-chested player (e.g., Davis Love) will have a more upright posture, while a shorter, thicker-chested individual (e.g., Arnold Palmer) will bend forward more from the hips in order to allow his arms space to swing.

 

Problems

The following describes the four main types of postural problems:

1. The Quasimodo Bellringer Look This individual has a very hunched appearance when he addresses the ball. It is important to understand that if the back is rounded at the address position, it will cause the muscles surrounding the spine to work incorrectly and limit the range of motion during the swing, resulting in a lack of power, accuracy and consistency for the player.

2. The Motorbike Look This player has too much knee flex at address. This causes the hips to work incorrectly, and the player will often have trouble with weight transfer during the back-swing. This player will also lack power, accuracy and consistency.

3. The Waterskier Look This player stands too far from the ball and has to reach out to address the golf ball. This naturally affects his posture and quite often, the resulting shots are topped or thin (hitting the top half of the golf ball) with no power, accuracy or consistency. The player will struggle to get the ball airborne with the irons.

4. The Gardener Watering The Flowers Look This player stands too close to the ball, which causes poor posture and limits the correct use of the body during the swing. The club is primarily swung with the arms and often the resulting shots are fat (hitting the ground before the ball), with little power, accuracy or consistency.

Click Here for Adrian's Solutions to the problems outlined above.