Be Aware Of Your Posture For Better Performance!

If you watch the Golf Channel or read any of the Golf magazines (of which there are many), you will see that most instruction begins with the grip. The very first chapter in Mr. Ben Hogan’s book, “Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals Of Golf”, is titled “The Grip”. The second chapter is titled, “Stance and Posture”. So we can see how important grip and posture are to every golfer of every level.

In this blog, I want to focus on your “AWARENESS” of your posture. Although grips and swings may vary from player to player, nearly every professional and single digit handicapper begins with a good, stable posture. Of course there are some exceptions but I want to focus on the most optimal posture for optimal performance.

I played golf recently with a friend from out of town. We only get to play together when he is visiting. I am not a professional golf teacher nor a physical therapist and I want to have as much fun as I can on the golf course. So I rarely…and I mean rarely, offer instruction or comment on another golfers grip, posture, swing or any aspect of their game. I offer only encouragement, and regularly congratulate them on good shots.

Last week we got together to play, and while my friend was preparing to tee off on #10, I made a comment to him about his posture. He has a lot of things moving around in his swing which I was not about to comment on. However, it was very obvious that he was bending over quite a bit and reaching for the ball in the address position. After a really poor tee shot, I asked him if I could make a small suggestion for him to consider. I told him that he shouldn’t necessarily work on it on the course, but it was something to think about while at the range.

With his permission, I pointed out his really bent over stance which made his whole golf swing one of Lift, Turn (sort of), Dip Down, Swing With Arms, Lift Up Before Impact, Stand Up Out Of the Swing, and Watch The Ball Fly Out Of Bounds To The Right.

I showed him how his posture looked at address. He was very Surprised/Unaware of it. I then had him create a more stable stance, add more bend at the hips (instead of the legs), get his back a little flatter with his hands dropping directly under his shoulders.  He took my suggestions very well and actually dropped back in the tee box and began to practice this new found posture as the others of us teed off. This new posture allowed him to rotate more around his spine and eliminate the lateral and up and down swing he was performing previously. The next five driving holes were the best shots he made all day. I say driving holes, because he was hitting off a tee which made it easier to feel. Someone else will have to help him with his fear of the iron/divot thing at another time.

This short video is all about becoming aware of your posture and a simple exercise you can do to ingrain that awareness in a repeatable Motor Pattern. A mirror is a great help here.