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Improve Your Ball Flight and Lower Your Score
Ever wonder why some days you strike the ball so well and others
you hit the ball thin, fat, left, right, or just no consistency?
The posture in which we stand while swinging the golf club is
important because it allows the club to swing on the proper
plane. In this article we will look at spine angle and spine
tilt and how they affect the plane of the swing.
Spine Angle
Spine angle can be defined by the angle that the spine and the
ground create. The spine angle is created when we bend from the
hips to take our stance. Once we have taken our stance we want
to maintain this spine angle for most of our swing. At this
point we can think of the spine as the axis or the pivot point
for turning our shoulders.
Another image you can use is imagine your spine and shoulder
create a t-square. While maintaining the angle between the spine
and the ground begin to turn your shoulders. Your shoulders
should pivot around your spine, done correctly the line created
by your shoulder will point to the ground. Turn your shoulders
so your chest faces the target, the line created by your
shoulders should point along the same line as when your chest
faced away form the target.
To illustrate this better, take your stance and place a golf
club across your shoulders. Turn your shoulders so your chest
faces away form the target. Here you can see the shaft's end
point towards the ground. Now take note to where the shaft is
pointing. Turn your shoulders so your chest is facing the
target. At this point your spine angle should remain the same as
at address. Also the shaft's end should point along the same
line as before.
If during the golf swing we stand up, the spine angle becomes
more vertical and this causes the golf club to come outside the
target line. Normally if a golfer stands up during the swing it
occurs in the backswing. In order to make contact with the ball
the club must travel from outside the target line to inside the
target line through impact. This outside to inside swing path
creates a steep plane angle and causes fat shots, pulled shots,
severe slice (open club face), smother hooks (closed club face).
Spine Tilt
When we grip the golf club our trail hand grips the club lower
than the target hand. Since the trail hand is lower the trail
shoulder should be lower than the target shoulder. This creates
a spine tilt.
Spine tilt benefits in two ways. First, it allows the trail arm
to be level with or slightly lower than the target arm. This
will encourage the club to be swung on the proper inside to
inside path.
Second we can align our shoulders parallel to the target line.
If we did not have a spine tilt the tendency to to open the
shoulders to the target line. Meaning a right handed player's
shoulders would be aligned facing left of the target line not
parallel to the target line. An open shoulder alignment will
cause us to swing the golf club on an outside to inside swing
path.
Conclusion
Spine angle and spine tilt are often over looked fundamentals of
the golf swing yet they play an important of the golf swing.
Spine angle in the golf swing determines the plane the club is
swung and how solid we strike the ball. Spine tilt has a direct
affect in our shoulder alignment. Pay attention to these
elements of the golf swing and you will reap the rewards of a a
more efficient and powerful golf swing.
About the author:
Creator and Webmaster of TP Golf Online. Has
taught golfers of all levels as a CPGA Professional in Canada.
Written By: Keith Thompson
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