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Good afternoon once again from Classic Swing Golf School in Myrtle Beach!  Work on your swing while on vacation, with a Classic Swing golf instruction package. Our golf instructors are some of the best!

And now… another awesome tip from Ted!

Posture

If your mom ever reminded you to, “Stop slouching,” or “Sit up straight,” it was no doubt important to her that you retain good posture. While appropriate posture in golf may look very different from what she had in mind, it is equally important to me as an instructor that yours be not only good, but also effective.  When referring to posture in golf, we look at the following areas of the body: the tilt, or forward bend, as well as the side bend of the spine; the flex of the knees; the angle of the head when standing over the ball; and the relationship of the hands and arms to the body once the forward bend of the spine has been established.

Before looking at the pictures to study posture, keep in mind that strength, age, flexibility, injuries and ailments will all have an influence on the posture each golfer can obtain.

Posture Drill/Picture 1-With the 7 iron club head resting  on her head and the handle on the base of  her spine, notice Natalie’s back is  relatively straight.  Her chin is up, her knees are slightly flexed, and her weight is on the balls of her feet. Where your weight is distributed is key — not on the heels, not on the toes — think arch to the balls of the feet.

Observe in Picture 2 that, from lob wedge to driver, your posture changes very little, if at all! A useful checkpoint is to notice how the butt end of the golf clubs are both pointing very close to Natalie’s belt buckle and she is no more than a fist to a thumb relationship away from the handle — not stooping over with a short club or standing up with a longer club.

 This head on view in Picture 3 reflects the secondary tilt of the spine. For a right handed golfer, the right hand is naturally lower than the left when placed on the grip. Therefore the right shoulder must rest slightly lower than the left shoulder at address.

Your spine is the axis around which your torso rotates. Try to keep the spine constant by focusing on a steady head throughout your swing. Your posture needs to be assumed as athletically as your body will allow. Good posture and a steady head will absolutely help promote balance which, according to Homer Kelley, author of The Golfing Machine, is one of the Three Basic Essentials. (And so is a steady head!)