Great Swing Start with a Good Tilt
by Senior Instructor, Jonathan Dudley
Great Swings start with good tilt
- Tilt your way to better impact position
- Correct head position anchors your body during the swing
- Take time to note the difference
Tilt your way to better impact position
Many golfers think “level shoulders” are important for a square set up in golf. However, more often than not level shoulders place the head either right above or in front of the ball (face on angle). This not only restricts good rotation in your backswing, but it often causes a lot of spine inconsistency through the swing as the body tries to “regain balance” from an imbalanced start.
A balanced start can be found utilizing the drill in this video. Some simple keys in this drill are:
- Place the club flush against the left side of your face with your left hand
- Assume your proper balanced set tilting forward to recreated your set up posture
- Now shift your upper body away from the target until the club hits the inside of your thigh of the leg closes to your target
You are now in a balanced position and your head can be an asset rather than an obstacle in your swing.
Correct head position anchors your body during the swing
This new position may “feel” awkward, but if your ball position is center to slightly forward in your stance, it will place your golf ball under your ear that is closes to the target and keep your head behind the golf ball.
This is important because moving your head ahead of the ball before impact in your swing is a sure thing of ruining great rotary movement and leg posting through impact. In other words, if your head “moves ahead” you lose a ton of power and stability in your swing.
Take time to note the difference
Hit 50 shots doing this drill before each one and notice the difference in impact consistency. I have a feel that you will notice a less “extreme” miss and much more balance in your finish. Start off with some three quarter shots and then work your way to a full swing. Now that your spine is staying steady you can start to add more dynamics to the way you swing the club.
