Tilted Parallelograms

The correct takeaway motion is really--in my opinion--a near total function of the rearward rotation of the right latissimus dorsi muscle, with zero arm lift initially and zero movements of the forearms, wrists, and elbows. By that I mean, once you've established a great setup (P1 position - see GASP), the simple, centered pivot movement of the ribcage (upper torso rotation or the "lat dowel" concept) will relocate the unchanged address configuration of the arms and club into a position (P2), where the club is both parallel to the target line and parallel to the ground, without any movements of the arms, wrists, hands, or elbows, and without any lifting from the shoulders before reaching P2. In all golf shots, including the putt, the right latissimus dorsi muscle can be thought of as the motion initiator from a static address position at P1; the right lat moves the club—not the arms.

The feel for me is that the club and arms move as an unchanged unit more around rather than up (up to P2), due to the immediate rearward and targetward rotation of the right lat muscle (the right shoulder moves back as the left shoulder moves across to a point just under the chin). The word “immediate” means that that the right rib cage turns “inside the feet,” with no sway of the right lat muscle towards the right leg. Because I use a relaxed neutral-to-strong left hand grip (heel of the left palm points at my right hip), the left hand remains initially cupped as it was in its address position, meaning that the angle formed by my left arm and club shaft (from my perspective looking down) at address does not straighten at all; if the angle did straighten, I would be flattening my left wrist and/or rolling my left forearm open--both unnecessary moves that require timed compensations to overcome on the downswing. The grip, arms, wrists, elbows, and shoulders are very relaxed and pliable, moving only in response to the initiating move of the right lat muscle rotating immediately back and towards the target.

Another important feel is that the right latissimus dorsi muscle’s rotation freely “slings” or tosses the arms and club through the P2 postion and up into the P4 position (top of backswing). Therefore, the P2 position can be thought of as a “pass through” position—not a point of definitive rest, and perhaps the “P” designation of golf positions would be better suited to mean “pass through” in lieu of “position,” as only P1 and P9 represent static moments in time.

During this move of the right lat muscle to the rear and towards the target, pay attention to the corresponding motion of the left shoulder. The left shoulder should not dip downward towards the left foot in the takeaway, which is advice that is often given to golfers (i.e., point the left shoulder at the ball going back). Some instructors even demonstrate this faulty move by placing a club across the shoulders and pointing the shaft directly at the ball going back. Often this motion is overdone, kinking the upper spine, and the golfer’s upper spine will tilt towards the target (instead of away from the target as it should); more pressure or “weight” will build into the left leg instead of the right (i.e., reverse weight shift or pivot). In reality, the right amount of “dip” is applied simply by the golfer’s primary spine angle or forward posture that’s set at address; it’s not necessary or beneficial to add more dip of the left shoulder going back in order to “steepen” the shoulders. The correct feel is that the left shoulder rotates across and over to the chin, due to the motion of the right lat rotating back. If you’re a “left shoulder dipper” then this motion will feel very flat—as I said in the beginning “more around and then up.” Remember this for short games shots too, such as chips, pitches, and greenside bunker blasts.

Looking down at P2 from the golfer's perspective, he will see the club's grip as roughly bisecting or lying across the instep of his right foot, with the left arm angled backward; this is an illusion of perspective, because the club shaft is really situated closer to the golfer's toeline from an observer's down-the-line view (i.e. the golfer's eyes are out towards the toes due to his inclined posture).

From this point onward, the right lat continues rotating backwards, towards the target, and now the arms and club's momentum from torso rotation move them very slightly and vertically up, where the hands will be over the right shoulder. The club should feel very light going back and up—almost weightless—as it’s being “flung” to the top, where it feels somewhat like it’s floating there momentarily. The right elbow bends and the wrists cock, creating a top of backswing position (P4), where the club shaft is now roughly parallel again to the target line and the ground. The key is that the arms and club are now in deeper positions than at P2, and that depth was created exclusively by torso rotation--not by pushing or pulling the arms horizontally across and around the body. The two lines formed by the shaft at P2, P4, and P6 (prior to impact) can be imagined as forming the top and bottom of a tilted parallelogram, when viewing a golfer from a down-the-line perspective. Without the depth created at the top (P4) as described, there is little room or hope for swinging the club back down from the inside.

On the downswing, while reversing the vertical drop of the arms and club coupled with torso rotation (moving the “lat dowel”), the shaft will again pass roughly back through the bottom of the parallelogram at P6, just before impact. Both hands make a fast, fairly vertical semicircle from above the right shoulder down to the right thigh, as the shoulders rotate back to parallel with the target line; outside-in swings occur when the hands move out (instead of down) from this deeper vertical position, before or as the shoulders turn. And again, the club should feel light. This motion of the arms and club to get to P6 should feel very vertical; the arms and club return from their deeper position, again, due to the reversal of body rotation—not by moving the arms and club out at the ball, which would make the club feel heavier. There is no outward deployment of the club head towards the ball until the club has passed below P6, when physical forces—not the golfer's intention—will naturally deploy the club head outward from the fulcrum of the wrists. Observe the attached graphics of Rory McIlroy swinging a driver. At the top (P6), notice how far around his right lat muscle has rotated around behind him, towards the target. The red lines depict the top and bottom of the parallelogram, while the green lines represent the difference in depth (or tilt) between P2, P4, and P6 (just before impact). Notice how the club and arms drop more vertically down from the top rather than out towards the ball—the amount of depth is about 1.5 feet between P2 and P4. In reality, this is just another way to think of the classic swing plane. The torso is rotating forcefully, but the arms and club are dropping rather than swinging out, which is a golf swing illusion that causes many problems.

When Things Go Wrong

Performed as described, this is a very effective method of swinging the golf club and producing excellent, consistent contact and ball flights. But there are a few key places where things can go wrong, and you'll notice when contact consistently suffers and you get unpredictable ball flights:

1. Monitor your grip positions—especially the left hand. Remember, the heel of the left palm should point at the right hip at address (palm on top), which is essentially a strong grip position. This helps prevent flipping the wrists at impact, which is often an unconscious compensation for an open club face position. The stronger grip allows you to lag the club and square the face, without any compensations. Keep your left hand grip relaxed and correctly pressured by the fingers. The last three finger tips of the left hand should be pulling the grip upward into the heel of the left palm. Keep the right hand grip fairly neutral (examine Rory McIlroy’s grip).
2. At address (P1), look down at the angle formed by your left arm (with its strong left hand grip) and the club shaft. The angle is rougly 120 degrees or so. You must maintain that left arm-club shaft angle during your torso rotation to P2, before lifting to the top. This means the club shaft and hands will move well inside
3. Be wary of the unconscious tendency to activate any of the arm, wrist, or hand muscles to move the club into the described "tilted parallelogram" positions. For example, noticing where the club and arms move as a result of the right lat moving first, one may unconsciously change focus and begin placing the arms and club into those positions, using the arm muscles (i.e., club shaft bisecting the right instep at P2). These positions are the ends and not the means. The cure is to again focus solely on moving the right lat (the "lat dowel") back and towards the target as the only initiating move, the momentum of which actually “slings” the club into position. The arms, elbows, wrists, grip, and shoulders should remain relaxed and pliable; they are followers—not initiators or assistors.
4. Remember that the feel is more around with the arms and club (due to torso rotation) rather than up (shoulder tilt or arm lift). You may also fall into the trap of the right lat moving back but also forcefully up, which will send the left shoulder sharply down toward the left foot and elevate the arms and club more than necessary. This can cause a reverse pivot and place your upper swing center too far forward. Your maintained posture supplies all the "up" that's required. The correct feel is that the left shoulder moves across from your perspective—not down! When the pivot is conducted correctly, the upper swing center (the base of the neck) stays back where it should be.

However, his shoulder rotation can be considered to be relatively horizontal, and there is no dipping of the left shoulder down towards the ground. From a biomechanical perspective, his shoulders are rotating nearly perpendicularly around the axis of his mid-upper thoracic spine, and this natural upper torso rotary movement should occur naturally/automatically without any need for conscious thought. ~ Backswing

One last thought - avoid dipping your left shoulder as you initiate the backswing. You want to turn away from the ball with your left shoulder, not drop it! To avoid dipping, pull around with the right shoulder. The left will follow without excessive dipping. ~ Maintain a Proper Takeaway to Succeed

First, when turning your right shoulder back you must keep you right arm away from the direction of your right shoulder turn. What you should feel is the right arm should try to stay extended away from your body only allowing the wrist to set back behind your head. Second, simultaneously turn your right shoulder back behind your right ear on as level of a turn to the ground as possible. This way the shoulders should turn flat to what ever spin[e] angle you have at address (no dipping). By the way, your left shoulder is not pulled under your chin, it comes up to under your chin (level shoulders to spin[e] angle). ~ Make a Better Shoulder Turn

I found over the years having my students push straight back using their front shoulder, would wind their shoulders around their spine, BUT I have found some golfers push their front shoulder DOWN instead of around their spine. This can lead to problems. ~ The Takeaway Using the Front Shoulder

The shoulder turn moves the club inward, NOT back and up. So if the player just turned their shoulders, without any hand or arm movement, then the club would be inside but not back and up. These two movements MUST work together to achieve the proper sequence. The trailing forearm moves the club on Plane by "tracing" the Plane. The bending, and folding of the trailing elbow also raises and lowers the club and cocks and uncocks the target side wrist. Never raise the arms and club by lifting from the shoulders sockets! ~ The Golfing Machine

In the completed grip, the main pressure points are the last three fingers, with the forefinger and the palm pad adding assisting pressure. The three fingers pressed up, the pad presses down, and the shaft is locked in between. ~ What Would Hogan Do? - Grip

Many people lift the club too soon with their arms, while even more suck their arms behind their bodies and either come over the top, or lift the arms late and then drop them back behind the body and get stuck. ~ Throw it Over Your Right Shoulder

When you start your takeaway, the first thing you should think of is a one-piece move with your shoulders, arms and hands and club) moving together. There is no independent action with your hands wrists or even your elbows. For the first 2 feet or so, nothing should move independent of your upper body moving together. ~ Using Your Arms in the Takeaway

Once mastered this activation of the Latissimus will pull the right shoulder back and push the left shoulder forward creating the perfect initial takeaway position everytime. This will also set up the body allowing the right sequencing of the kinetic chain from shoulders to tru[n]k to hip motion for an efficient and strong backswing. ~ The Perfect Golfswing Takeaway

Toe-to-Heel Weight Distribution

Proper Weight Distribution

Weight distribution in the address stance involves not only inter-foot distribution (i.e., weight distributed between the right and left foot) but also intra-foot distribution (i.e., vertical weight distribution within each foot); this post will discuss how the weight should settle within each foot vertically, from heel to toe, to create a balanced, stable stance during the setup capable of eliminating many potential downstream errors. Jack Nicklaus is correct: Most golf swing errors (90% or more) occur during the setup (i.e., GASP - grip; alignment/aim; stance/setup; posture/position); golfers should spend more time on GASP and takeaway than they spend on anything else because all that follows is a consequence of a good setup.

A quick Google search illustrates the most common bit of advice from various golf authorities regarding this subject: Most seem to advise the student to position more of their weight in the balls of the feet. For the anatomically challenged, the ball is the fleshy, firm part on the bottom of each foot located below the toes and just above the arch. The bottom of a normal foot contacts the ground primarily in three general areas: the heel; the toes, and the ball; the inside arch, in a normal, standing anatomy, is raised above the ground between the heel and ball of the foot, with the toe pads lightly touching the ground. (Actually the outsole of the foot also contacts the ground, but you should NOT feel that--especially in your golf setup.)

The theory behind the advocacy for positioning weight in the balls of the feet is always explained in terms of other sports; baseball, tennis, and basketball require ready positions that call for more weight situated in the balls of the feet to facilitate reactionary, springlike movement forwards, backwards, or to the sides. The obvious problem, of course, is that golf doesn't require any such sudden "reactions" from its "ready" position, so the reasoning is weak.

Then, of course, are the problems that can arise when skewing weight into the balls of the feet (and thus engaging the toes). As your weight shifts more towards your toes and away from your heels, the toes will begin absorbing body weight and you will notice that your upper body and arms tip excessively toward the ball, creating an unbalanced stance, and so the hosel of your club head will inch ever closer to the ball, introducing an increased risk of shanking. The address shaft angle will steepen, and you are more prone to be steep coming back down. If you go too far, you may unconsciously attempt to regain balance by shifting towards the heels during the downswing, which can move the club head across the line, cause early extension (loss of posture), and an increased chance of hitting pulls and slices. You can also tip further forward if you lose your balance; again, you'll see shanks and fat shots. None other than golf great Tom Watson advocates for this "athletic setup" with weight in the balls of the feet, but I wonder if he doesn't just mean "weight away from the heels." Hank Haney also states emphatically that more weight shoiuld be in the balls of the feet, not the heels. Jim Flick, the coach who helped Nicklaus in his later years, advocated for weight in the balls of feet, while his famous student, Jack, did not (see below). I had a recent local golf lesson from a PGA teaching professional who actually told me to shift more weight into my toes without any explanation!

There are a few who seem to advocate shifting more weight into the heels and with seemingly little in the balls of the feet, but this can cause the opposite problems as described with the "balls of the feet" crowd: Hooks, pushes, toe strikes, thin shots, and an unconscious downswing move that shifts weight towards the toes in an attempt to regain balance, or if unsuccesful, falling backwards. One particular "brand" of instruction in this cohort advocates "balancing on the ankles," though it's possible they actually mean being balanced between the heels and balls of the feet; it's hard to know because they never describe what "ankle balance" is. Too much weight in the heels produces an extremely flat shaft angle and a "sit down" look in the golfer at address, with a very erect posture.

The next largest (and most prestigious) group of golf gurus and professionals unambiguously advises amateur golfers to balance their weight evenly between the heel and ball of each foot. Shawn Clement uniquely describes such weight distribution by asking the student to imagine that the arch of each foot is a "suction cup" gripping the ground. And since we've already established that a healthy arch doesn't really touch the ground, Shawn is actually describing an equal distribution of weight between the heel and ball of each foot. None other than the great Jack Nicklaus advises golfers to distribute their weight this way--evenly between the ball and heel--in his great book, Golf My Way. When utilizing such a stance, you will easily be able to raise your toes very slightly off of the floor of your shoes and leave them that way throughout your swing, because the toes should have no weight on them. Other notable proponents of this advice include Ben Hogan, Jim McClean, Sean Foley, and Nick Bradley.

Japanese Geta Sandles

I believe this last group--Nicklaus's group--has it right: The best way to address the ball is to vertically distribute your weight in each foot evenly between the ball and heel. To find this position if you have address balance problems, you will need to shift away from your tendency; if you tend to concentrate weight in the balls of your feet (probably most golfers because of what traditional golf instruction has preached for years), you will need to rock back away from your toes at address until you feel your heels engage and your toes disengage. You should imagine you're wearing traditional Japanese Geta wooden sandles. Some of these sandles have raised wooden extensions that are roughly located at the ball and heel of each foot; they approximate how you should feel--both the heel and ball of the foot carrying an equal amount of weight. If you've been a toe-leaner, you're going to feel way back on your heels; and if you've been a heel-leaner (less likely and less problematic), you'll feel the ball of your foot engage more.

Other things you may notice when redistributing your address weight in this manner include a taller feeling posture with arms that hang freer (you've created more space for your arms), lower hands that feel more inside your eye line, and a flatter club shaft while at address. You will need to definitely unlock and protrude your glutes with a straight back to remain balanced. Your toes will feel ever so slightly raised off the floor of your shoes. Your quads will disengage and your glutes will engage more. It's easier to produce greater downswing speed by twisting the lower body (knees and hips) forward (swinging more "from the ground-up") when starting down from this balanced heel-to-ball weight distribution.

A drill for ensuring you achieve this position (or at least verifying that you're setup correctly) is to get into your address posture and then hang an iron from under one of your armpits using two fingers, with the club head hanging down. The shaft should hang straight down and pass through your knees and point at the ball of your foot (your armpits are over the balls of your feet). At the same time, you can utilize this drill to ensure your feet are shoulder-width apart (as they should be at a minimum for all fall swings, regardless of club length); in this case, the club shaft will hang down inside the heel. If you're doing video analysis, you can use vertical lines to check these positions as well.

The only times you should favor the heels or toes at address is when you face uneven lies. In the case where the ball is below your feet, shift back into your heels by bending your knees more and try to stay that way through impact. When the ball is above your feet, shift into your toes by straightening your knees more and maintain that feel through impact. You'll hit better shots from those trouble lies when remembering to make these adjustments.

Finally, this method of weight distribution isn't only helpful in the full swing. You can use it to good effect in the short game (chips and pitches) and putting, as well. Try putting with weight concentrated towards your toes in your stance; you will notice that it's very easy to move the lower body unintentionally, while it's easy to keep the lower body stable with the weight balanced between the heels and balls of the feet.

Most traditional golf instruction tells us that your weight should be over the balls of your feet. You’ll read this in books and magazines, and hear it from teachers and TV golf pundits all the time. Not only is this instruction dead wrong, you’ll lose power and consistency this way, but it’s also potentially harmful to your body.

Golf Swing 102c. Setup: The Perfect Golf Weight Distribution and Balance

Your weight should be 50-50 on your left and right legs and between the balls of your feet (those cushioned pads just below your toes) and your heels. I'm surprised how many people think their weight should be supported by their toes. Starting with your weight too far forward is one of the worst mistakes you can make. It throws off all of the critical angles—spine, legs, hips, shoulders and head. That creates a domino effect, resulting in a weak swing and fat shots.

Jim McLean: Find Your Balance

Your weight should be distributed between the balls and heels of your feet and equally distributed between the two. You should be able to tap your heels and wiggle your toes. At this point you have counter balanced your weight. You should be able to draw a vertical line from the back of your shoulders through your knees to the balls of your feet. Now you are in balance.

Set Up for Success

Good footwork, too often overlooked, promotes balance, power, and consistency. Good footwork starts with balance at address. From the beginning of the swing, the weight moves from the middle of the feet back to the heels. When you finish the swing, your weight will finish on your front foot heel. The weight should NEVER be on your toes.

Learn to Squash the Ball at Impact

When hitting shots, you want to make sure that your weight is centered on your arch. Not the balls or heel of your feet. If your weight is on the balls of your feet (Because you're too far from the ball) as you address the ball, your hips will be prohibited. The result is that you'll straighten yourself up in your downswing.

How good is your balance??

The ball tends to be lined up off the heel [when the weight is on your toes] and can lead to pulls and hosel rockets. To set up properly you want to ensure you have the weight in the middle of your feet. I often like to bounce slightly up and down to ensure I have achieved this position. As I go through my swing I am cognizant of trying to keep my weight over my feet and not let it sneak out over my toes or lean back on my heels at impact.

Set up for Success

While developing a sound foundation in your golf swing, focus on where your weight distribution is located. Ideally, you would like the weight evenly distributed between the balls of the feet and heels at address. If you reach too far to get to the ball, your weight will go too much on the toes. If you remain upright and bend your knees with too much flex, your weight has a tendency to go back on the heels.

Golfers need to feel it in the feet

A golfer should settle into the arches of the feet and allow them to compress. This will activate the feelings in the ball and heel of the feet. They will really come alive! This notion that a golfer sets up or balances on the balls of the feet is nonsense! Sure, there is weight on the balls of the feet, but it is a result of compressing the arches. Tiger has this mastered this in recent months. Prior to that he was back on his heels. This one, simple adjustment has paid huge dividends for Woods.

Tiger Woods Golf Swing with Sean Foley

So I just gave it a try, basically going for the feeling that my armpits were over the balls of my feet, and it instantly felt better - more balanced, more relaxed. Then a number of things started falling into place: I actually felt torque between my upper and lower body; I stopped swaying; my tendency to "lift up" at impact disappeared (which I realize now was what my body had to do to keep from falling over forward because of how far I was bent over); and I stopped yanking the club way inside on the backswing and lifting it to the top, which I've always done.

Eureka!!! The setup change that has me BOMBING it - Golf Rewound

Optimally, a golfer's weight should be evenly distributed between the heels of the feet and the balls of the feet, and he should be able to lift up the back of his heels slightly (or lift up his toes) without becoming unbalanced if his body weight is evenly distributed over the feet.

Address setup

What happens when weight distribution is off? The first thing you may experience is a swing that feels out of sync or off balanced. More specifically, if your weight is too focused over your toes, you will lose the whip power of rotation in your swing. You are instead using the "shot put" method with your body. This creates a dramatic loss of power.

Fix Your Golf Swing: Solution 1: Correct Weight Distribution

In ‘five lessons’ he says “Your weight should be a bit more on the heels than on the balls of the your feet, so that, if you wanted to, you would be able to lift your toes inside your shoes.” When you look at him setup from down the line it appears as though that’s where he has his weight distributed. It certainly doesn’t look like it’s on the balls of his feet.

Ben Hogan Feet Placement And Positioning

Hip and Shoulder Separation

Bae's Shoulder and Hip Separation

Many of my blog posts go over the same information, again and again, in different ways. That's because golf is often based on feels, and everyone learns a different feeling to engrain some fundamental. I write about what I try and what I find useful, primarily so that I can go back and revisit these things from time-to-time. I revisit them because they're the fundamentals that can easily be forgotten or overlooked; a round can suddenly go south because a grip has drifted too weak or too strong, pre-shot alignment is rushed and faulty, an unconsious sway on the backswing, improper weight distribution, etc.

I've posted extensively on the hips' role, the shoulders' role, how to pivot, separation, about lag, creating distance, etc. But I wanted to spend a few more electrons on the subject of separating the hips from the shoulders to generate power. Now, I've examined Jim McClean's X-Factor a few times on here, and you'll find the usual for-and-against golf enthusiasts out there on the interwebs debating that very subject. Reputable instructors will offer up valid logic on why you should or should not resist with your lower body while your shoulders turn on the backswing. Take a stance on just about any "unassailable" fundamental of golf and you will eventually find someone--someone with a low or scratch handicap--who disagrees.

I believe that the so-called "X-Factor" of hip and shoulder separation is far more important in the transition and early downswing at generating power and consistency than using separation in the takeaway and backswing to generate potential power. I believe this because there are examples of long-hitting professionals who turn their hips a lot on the backswing (more than they believe or more than Jim McClean says they should). But on the downswing, their hips ALWAYS start first, before ANYTHING else moves; I haven't seen slow-motion video yet of a single professional golfer who moves the shoulders before the hips (if they did, they would immediately be OTT and NOT hitting inside-out). Their entire pelvis shifts towards the target a few inches (and thus so do both knees, pushing weight into the left leg) and then rotates (the belt buckle turns) towards the target, followed closely and sequentially by the belly, shoulders, arms, hands, the club, and finally the club head. This sequential unwinding "from the ground up" produces the kinematic sequence--the use of the entire body somewhat like a whip to send energy from the ground up and out (inside-out) through the club head and into the ball.

Sticking with the belt buckle swing thought mentioned above, try to start your downswing by first moving the belt buckle over the left (or front) leg WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY rotating the belt buckle towards the target. All of this should happen while the shoulders are still mostly closed and the arms completely passive--almost floating. Another way to think of this--to ensure you're not throwing, casting, or hitting with your arms from the top--is to imagine that you have a golf club extending from your belt buckle and that you're trying to hit the ball using nothing but the belt buckle motion, while your arms come through afterwards with a second club. Your arms are lagging behind your belt buckle. FORGET YOUR ARMS! They will naturally, quickly, and fluidly follow the motion of your lower body. I've found that thinking of hitting the ball with my belt buckle (thus shifting my belt buckle targetward and rotating around at the same time) helps keep the instinct to hit the ball with the arms at bay.

A "from the ground up" downswing, that enables hip motion to separate from shoulder motion, starts in the feet and how the weight is distributed in them--front-to-back--to provide balance. Verified when I recently took a golf lesson from a local PGA teaching pro, I've had a bad habit of sitting back on my heels when taking my stance (setup as part of GASP), and this can absolutely destroy the ability to easily shift the hips forward and rotate and properly. I've had to make sure that my weight is shifted into the balls of my feet (shifted towards my toes but not in my toes); the weight is mostly in the arches, balanced evenly between the heels and toes. One should only be on the heels for a lie below the feet, and only on the toes for a lie above the feet. The correct athletic stance that promotes an easy shift and rotation of the pelvis while the shoulders remain closed feels almost as if one is preparing to dive into a pool or receive a serve in tennis. There are a few teaching professionals (e.g., Chuck Quinton) who, predictably, contradict this fundamental, but most touring professionals, like Tiger Woods and Tom Watson, and teaching professionals, like Shawn Clement and his "suction cup" foot analogy, advocate for the balanced ball-of-the-foot approach, and that seems to work best for me. Chuck's admonition seems related to keeping the left knee healthy (implying this is what caused Tiger's knee woes), but someone like Tom Watson is currently in his 60s and hitting the ball a mile. I think I'll believe Tom Watson and the PGA pro I saw on this one.

At the top, the shoulders should momentarily stay put (stay turned away from the target), while the pelvis (hips) execute the motions described above in the transition to the downswing. The shoulders and arms follow because they physically must do so. No thought should be given to moving the shoulders and arms (and club); simply let the hips start the process and let everything follow and unwind. In a sense (at least in terms of how it should feel), you're making a move to hit the ball with your legs and hips, letting everything else follow! The amount of lag generated by doing this correctly is amazing and the distance and consistency that is achievable by learning to trust this one movement cannot be overstated.

This is useful throughout the bag (except for the putter, where you want a stable lower body). You need to do this in the sand. You need to do this when pitching. You can even do this--albeit very slightly--when chipping. Let the lower body lead and find out how easy this game can be.

For me, this works best with a centralized backswing pivot, where the right shoulder pulls directly back and behind the head; in other words, no swaying. For me, a backswing sway can be so slight and so easily and unintentionally introduced when focusing on the right transition and downswing; it will wreck the benefit of a properly executed downswing sequencing. When you're doing it right--putting both a proper backswing pivot and hip-shoulder separation on the downswing--you'll be fully and naturally posted up on your left leg at the completion of the swing.

Watch your favorite guy on the Tour -- Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Vijay, me, anybody -- and forget about his arms and hands and head when he makes a golf swing. Just focus on his belt buckle.

Then watch another swing, this time trying to focus on your guy's hands in relation to his belt buckle. They're always, always just a little behind through contact.

Let your belly lead your hands - Golf - John Daly - ESPN

Rotating your lower body toward the target helps propel the ball from the sand and assists in maintaining acceleration. Try this for a swing thought: Turn your belt buckle to the target.

Tiger Tips: Belt Buckle To The Target : Golf Digest

The way they sequence that power’s delivery to the ball is the key to maximum efficiency and distance. For an effective kinematic sequence to occur they must start the downswing from the ground up. That is to say that the hips start or fire first, followed by the torso, then the arms and finally the club. If this order is compromised power loss and errant shots will occur.

The more turn you have while keeping the shoulders stable/still the greater your potential for the “X Factor” stretch in the downswing and generating power. If you found it hard to do this test you will find it difficult to sequence correctly in the downswing.

Blackburn Golf | Tips & Articles | Sequencing Successfully!

Conventional wisdom states that the downswing begins from the ground up. A golfer must shift his weight forward and begin rotating his hips before swinging his arms forward. Golf instructor Jimmy Ballard explains that when your weight shifts forward and your hips rotate properly your arms “respond naturally, falling into the correct downswing plane” as they approach the ball.

Slide vs. Turn Golf Downswing

The transition from backswing to downswing is crucial to generating power and accuracy. The key is to start the downswing with the lower body.

In the best swings the lower body starts forward while the upper body is still turning back. The left hip turns toward the target as the shoulders continue to coil. That takes terrific timing and a lot of practice.

Tom Watson: Lead With Your Lower Body : Golf Digest

Rotating through impact can be felt in different ways, such as a pull with the left side, push with the right side, downward push off the right foot, inward kick with the right knee, left hip clearing, etc. There are numerous ways to feel the body’s rotation. It doesn’t matter what your feel is as long as it starts with the lower body. It’s not a passive role by any means. There must be a conscious effort to turn the body all the way until the finish.

A great thought is turning the belt buckle to the target as quickly as possible as you swing through the ball. It targets a key area – the hips – and engages the lower body and creates speed in the unwinding process.

But remember, rotation must be sequenced correctly.The lower body shifts weight first and rotation to the target comes second. You maximize everything you got by following that sequence. Some amateurs do the opposite and rotate too early. This tends to throw the club outside the target line and cause slices and pull hooks.

Tour Players Rotate Through Impact | Scratch Golf School

The best way I can describe the feeling of using the body to hit the ball is, it’s an UNMISTAKABLE feeling that I used my legs and hips. After the shot has been hit, I feel a radiating all the way down my right leg and in my hips whereas, I feel nothing in my hands and arms.

Golf Tip - What Starts the Downswing?

Most amateurs just are not able to get the club in the slot because they rotate their shoulders early from the top of their swing. This, of course, throws the club outside the target line and usually results in a slice, a pull, or even a top.

Jim Suttie: The most important move in golf ... get in the slot

At the top of your backswing, your back should be facing your target if you have completed your shoulder turn correctly. Your back should stay facing your target for just a second as you begin your downswing. This will allow the golf club to swing down properly on the correct swing path as you approach the golf ball at impact.

Starting the downswing by opening up the upper body too early will lead to an over the top swing as well as an out to in swing path. This can lead to either a slices or pulled golf shots. At impact, the shoulders should be square to your target line so it's important that they don't open up too early from the start of the downswing.

Perfect Your Golf Downswing Transition

Keep your back facing the target at the start of the downswing.

What this 'feel' will do is keep your club to the inside on the downswing. If you open your shoulders real quick, and NOT have your back face the target, this will throw your club to the outside, and lead to an over the top swing, and hence a bad golf shot. This is a problem slicers are notorious for having.

So when you reach the top of your swing, do this:

Feel that your hips bump slightly laterally, then begin to turn out of the way.

The key is to keep your back facing the target for a split second longer as you make this initial move with your hips. You should feel that your back resists against your lower body. Your upper body stays still, your lower body begins firing, your golf club is automatically dropped into the slot, your golf ball goes straight and far!

Golf Tips - Fixing your Slice - Keeping Your Back to Target

A quick look back at Hogan’s original quote in this essay tells us that “...under no conditions should the downswing be inaugurated by the hands.” I agree wholeheartedly. It is folly. Watson agrees as well:

“A lot of fairly good players try to start everything down together: feet, hips, arms, shoulders. I made the mistake of trying to do that myself for several years with no great success. If you start everything down together, there is a strong tendency to throw the clubhead at the ball with the right hand too soon, dissipating your power and not helping your accuracy, either. I converted to starting down with the lower body and became both longer and straighter.”

Secrets In The Dirt

Do you[r] best to keep your back facing the target for longer and you will set up the ideal DOWN swing sequence that will move the golf club on a path that travels outwards through the ball rather than across the ball. You can do this by controlling your armswing and shoulders consciously and deliberately or by using your lower body in such a way that the result is that the shoulders are delayed.

May, 2012 | Golf Confidence Academy

Professional golfers transition to the downswing by moving their lower bodies. In every great golf swing the legs and hips move first. The torso follows the hips; the shoulders follow the torso; the arms follow the shoulders; the hands follow the arms; and the club follows the hands. That’s the order of the downswing. : The sequence is from the ground up. The lower and upper body have to be synchronized. Strong hips and stabilizers create strong downswing.

Cindy Reid Golf

Just like that basketball player, you want to be on the balls of your feet -- not the heels, not the toes. That's the key to balance. No good athletes in any sport play with their weight back on their heels. It's important that you start with your weight on the balls of your feet and keep it there through impact. You can easily check your set-up position in a full-length mirror.

Tom Watson: To Set Up Right Get On Defense : Golf Digest

If you swing your belly button back and through you are activating and/or energizing many of the muscles that Mike Austin wanted you to utilize in the swing, including the internal and external obliques, the transverse abdominis, the glutes and the sartorius, just to name a few. The good news is that you don’t have to think about those muscles, if you don’t want to. Just swing that belly button. The further and faster you move it (albeit smoothly) the further that ball will go.

The Belly Button | Mentored By The Legend – Mike Austin

 

Standing Too Close to the Ball?

Standing too close.

Most professional golfers would tell you that the biggest and most likely error seen among amateurs in terms of stance distance to the ball is standing too far away--in a sense, reaching for the ball. However, Tom Watson and others' opinions aside, I'm telling you that you CAN stand too close to the ball, because I did it for a while.

What are some symptoms of standing too close? Over-the-top/outside-in swing, pulls, slices, shanks, divots pointing left, fat shots, steep swing plane, standing up through impact, etc. True that these mishits and characteristics can originate from other swing problems, but I believe it's true that many--if not most--errors can be traced to the setup (GASP - grip, alignment/aim, stance, and posture/position).

You will find numerous methods online and in books to explain how you can judge the correct distance to the ball, and you'll notice that it's not an exact science. And two additional factors probably account for this inexact advice: One's body type and equipment (and whether that equipment is fitted to one's body type). For example, maybe you're 6 feet tall and skinny but your arms are short for your height. Or maybe you're 6 feet fall with a long, thick torso but you have short arms and legs. No matter, all of these characteristics can affect how far away you should stand from the ball to get an ideal swing plane. To me, the best advice is to just allow your arm-triangle to hang straight down from the shoulders, such that there's some open space between the arms and body; a down-the-line view would give the arm-triangle plane a perpendicular-to-the-ground appearance (though the arms may reach out towards the ball a bit more with the driver). I like to think of this triangular arm plane as floating on top of the chest and swinging around the neck and NOT underneath the chest; this should help you to visualize how to assume the proper distance to the ball with a given club.

I had experimented with a taller posture, which can cause one to stand closer to the ball, especially if one is not a tall player. Anything in golf can be taken too far, and what was a good thing, in retrospect, had gone too far for my body type. Standing closer to the ball, with a narrower stance and a taller posture, can lead to a swing plane that's too vertical, especially troublesome for shorter players. I had pulled my arms in closer to my chest, such that my elbows were REALLY close to my stomach. My arms were no longer just hanging from my shoulder sockets as they should be; I had been using unconscious tension to pull my arms inward, with my hands too close to my thighs at address. I had become that version of golfer that Tom Watson said didn't really exist: I was standing TOO close to the ball. My arm-triangle plane was angled inward; it no longer hung straight down. I had become TOO connected, meaning my entire upper arm was pressed against my torso, when only the top part of the upper arms should be pressed against or connected to the chest.

To correct my mistake, I had to let the triangle formed by my arms at address hang a little more freely from my shoulders, and because of this, I had to back away from the golf ball a few inches and bend over more. The club shaft automatically lowered into a flatter position at address, and I could focus a bit more on the inside of the ball instead of the top of it. It felt like I was much further away from the ball, and my posture was more bent over, covering the ball more. If you're 5-9 like me, chances are your posture should be more bent over, and your swing plane more flat. Getting further away from the ball (still only far enough so that one's arms hang freely) automatically shallows the swing plane and makes it easier to hit from the inside-out. It's also easier to stay in one's correct posture, covering the ball through impact, because the arms have space to move through without crashing into the body.

I finally started seeing a push again, which was a welcome sight after lining up on the left side of tee box, hoping to hit a push-draw, and instead, ending up with a pull-hook into the left rough or trees. If you do this and start pushing the ball, you will only need to close the club face more to get the ball drawing. If it starts hooking too much, you'll need to work on closing the club face less. This works hand-in-hand with a correct takeaway; be sure to keep the club outside the hands in the takeaway and avoid jerking the club inside, which will just cause another pull situation due to rerouting the club on the downswing.

Standing too close to the ball causes golfers to stand too upright, losing the forward upper body tilt. The arms won’t have enough room to hang and swing freely, causing the club to be lifted by the hands in the backswing, forced down on the downswing, and lifted again to the finish position. Since the hands are overly active, the body will remain relatively inactive resulting in poor club contact with the ball and very weak shots.

How's Your Distance to the Ball at Address? ~ Create Golfers

Your posture determines your swing plane to a large degree. It seems that golfers who stand very tall and close to the ball have very upright swings and golfers who bend over a lot and are farther from the ball tend to have flatter swings. I would encourage the average golfer to bend forward more in order to make it easier to make a flatter (more rounded) swing as this will help him hook the ball and also help him take a divot after the ball is struck.

Jim Suttie: How far is too far and how close is too close? » Naples Daily News

Heck, if we can stand too far where we're reaching or stretching for the ball that takes us out of dynamic balance. It should be obvious that the exact opposite could be true. We can stand too close to the ball and be out of dynamic balance. In fact, being way too close to the ball, we're in trouble when we swing down with our hands and arms and club to impact the ball. We could very likely start bumping our arms into our body or into our hips or into our legs and have to spin out of the shot too fast to make room. So yes, we can definitely stand too close.

The Proper Distance to Stand from the Ball at Address | Swing Surgeon

Interestingly enough, Martin Kaymer just brought this up last night on the Fix. He said when hitting a draw, he sets up a bit further away from the ball. This results in 2 key things for shaping a draw: I allows him to come more from the inside without getting stuck, and it flattens out his swing plane a bit more.

OTT pull swingers may be standing too close

Standing with your body too close to the golf ball so you don’t give yourself enough room, then you try and lean back to create room, there’s another big cause of the fat shots.

Causes and Cures: Fat Shots, Golf Video

If you stand too close to the ball the club gets too steep in the back swing and if you are too far away, the club becomes too flat. You need to get a feel for this and ensure that your weight is in the center of your feet. If you are too far away from the ball, you will feel like you are too much on the balls of your feet. If you are too close you will be on your heels.

Golf Ball Position In Stance, Golf Stance Tips, Lesson, Ideas

 

Preset Open Hips

Open hips/open stance.

If you're struggling with solid contact, it's always best to try something different in your setup. The swing itself is best when the setup, posture, grip, and alignment (GASP) create a somewhat automatic backswing and downswing. Trying to control small muscles in the arms in an attempt to provide power and club face control (i.e., steering) is a recipe for disaster. A good setup should help you "automatize" the swing.

Here's something I've found that really helps me create consistent, solid contact. Please note that, depending on your body type and swing mistakes, trying this may cause you more problems than it solves. Try it as a drill (at the very least) before you determine whether this is of any help. Of course, I can only theorize why it's helpful, and I will get to that shortly.

First, let's get to the heart of it: Setup like you normally would with feet, knees, hips, and shoulders aligned square to the target line, as the fundamentals tell us to do. You can even setup with slightly closed feet, and the correct shoulder position should feel somewhat closed, although in reality it's square (shoulders pointing left is a major no-no). Now, before swinging back, preset your hips into a slightly open position. Yes, you can do this even though your feet are square/closed and the shoulders are square, due to the mobility available in the hips (assuming you have no restrictions in the movement of your hips). In essence, you're starting from a correct preset impact position, and your hips are "out of alignment" with the target line compared to your shoulders.

Starting my swing from this position created very powerful near-center-face hits on all clubs, so I decided to analyze potential reasons why this apparent break from the fundamentals is helpful to me, especially given that open hips are supposed to contribute to slices and pulls.

First, I think simulating the impact position before starting the swing pre-programs the brain on what the impact position should be for a particular club and lie. You're giving your brain a "pass-through" point in the swing; instead of trapping the ball between backswing and followthrough, you've added a middle waypoint to connect those dots.

Next, you'll notice that opening the hips while keeping everything else square automatically puts a little more weight on the front leg and positions the remaining weight into the right instep where it should be. In reality, your knees will move slightly to the left when opening the hips, so you should let them (don't think about moving the knees consciously); the right knee will automatically tick inward a bit, which is a solid setup tip unto itself.

Next, when you swing back and rotate your shoulders to 90 degrees, you'll notice now that your hip turn is VERY restricted and that it's difficult to stay in a fully rotated position. The shoulders instantly want to release the tension, which means more power for your downswing. You're basically presetting a greater "X-Factor" or differential between the shoulder line and hip line at the top, which is what the X-Factor calls for. This tension is a good thing because it's going to provide automatic unwinding power from your body down to your arms and club.

You'll also notice that your weight automatically concentrates into your right instep where it should be at the the top of the backswing and thus you can't really sway to the right off the ball with the hips or shoulders.

The hands and end of the club handle also move fractionally more forward of the ball, which is where they should be at impact.

Finally, when you let that automated unwinding happen, your weight gets instantly back to your left leg as it was at address, because there was no sway off the ball. You're moving left well before impact without even thinking about it.

There may be other reasons, but I believe these are probably the main reasons why presetting open hips assists me in making reliable, solid contact.

I believe that there are other versions of this same line of thinking out there. Opening the left foot while keeping the right foot perpendicular to the target line (espoused by Hogan) or using a slightly open stance with closed shoulders (like Trevino or Couples) are really designed to do the same thing. It's important to note that all of these golfers favored a fade, and open body lines at impact are associated with a left-to-right ball flight. However, you can still hit a draw using this technique; experiment with different grips, ball position, turning the club, swinging more right, concentrate on hitting the inside of the ball, etc. Trevino stated that he used the same setup for draws and fades; he pictured a row of four balls, and for fades he would try to hit all four in a row, while he would only pick off the first ball without hititng the others for a draw.

You can preset open hips for all shots, especially including the short game and even for putting (it locks the knees into place and prevents swaying), and for full shots, you may choose to use it merely as a drill.

Speaking of Hogan, I believe DTL views of his swing show that he also preset his hips slightly open, because you will notice his right knee ticked in slightly and his left foot flared out with the right foot perpendicular.

Last but not least, all three main horizontal planes, i.e. feet, hips and shoulders should never be parallel to one another. Hence the idea of increasing the diagonality of the stance in three planes - hips open in relation to feet, shoulders closed in relation to hips. Of course shoulders are used for visual aiming while feet seeks for ultimate balance and ultimate benefitting from ground forces.

Biokinetic Golf Swing Theory: Setting the Swing Motion

Pre-Set Drill: A great drill to properly train the feel of Key #2: Weight Forward is to pre-set your impact position before making a golf swing. Here's how:

1. Set up over the ball as you normally would.

2. Move your left knee and hip towards the target and open them slightly. Let your hands shift towards your left thigh as you do this. You'll feel more weight on your forward leg.

3. Make a half to three-quarter backswing leaving your left knee and hip forward.

4. From there, bump the hips even farther forward, hit the ball, and swing to an abbreviated finish.

Doing this drill properly will set you on the path to achieving Tour-quality impact.

5 Keys | GolfTipsMag.com

A common error of golfers of all levels is lining up too far to the right of the target. This forces you to come over the top on the downswing to reroute the club on line, then release the hands quickly to prevent a slice and send the ball toward the target. These corrections put too much pressure on the small muscles of the hands to release the club at precisely the right time. You may be powerful, but you'll find yourself missing the target in every direction.

If you're going to make mistakes in alignment, make them to the left of the target. An open stance presets your hips in a cleared position, as they begin slightly rotated toward the target. You don't need a quick release of the hands; instead, you can square the club with the big muscles of the shoulders and back and approach the ball from an inside path. Keep your stance square to slightly open to develop a repeating swing. Don't let yourself drift to the right.

Set up for straight shots | Golf Features | IntoTheRough.co.uk

For pitch shots and chip shots, there is a much less aggressive turning of the body through impact. This is especially true for chip shots, as the chipping motion more closely mirrors a putting stroke. To overcome the less aggressive hip turning through impact, ideally we want to set up with an open stance to the target line with our body lines. This ensures open hips through impact, and the result is our arms can swing freely without manipulation to the follow-through position.

Believe it or not, this also comes into play with putting. Although it is common for teachers to tell students that their entire body alignment should be parallel to the target line, most tour professionals set up with open feet, knees, and hips (with the shoulders remaining square to allow a proper putter path). Again, this open alignment of the lower body allows the arms to swing down the target line in a free manner.

Golf Teaching Pros: Why the Open Stance?

If that sounds familiar, here's a drill to help you start the club back straighter and shallow out your downswing. Set up in a dramatically open stance, with your feet aimed 30 or 40 degrees left of the target. Then swing back along your stance line. This will prevent you from pulling the club to the inside and will create a wider arc. You'll get into a lower, flatter position at the top (below).

Jim McLean: Open Up To Fix Your Slice: Golf Digest

Straight Arms Across Chest at Setup

Arms straight, elbows together

There's another very important, fundamental aspect to the golf setup, and this time it has to do with the arms and elbows.

When establishing the address position, one must absolutely ensure that the arms are straight. I don't mean tense and ram-rod straight, but the elbows should not be bent to any extent, and both elbows should be located relatively close together, pointed down towards each respective hip, and the hands and club in the middle of the torso.

The upper arms should be lying tighty along the sides of the chest (especially the left arm), and this feeling will vary depending on the thickness of the golfer's chest and upper arms. This is the feeling of "connection" that should be maintained throughout the swing, where the arms are moved by the torso turn--not the other way around.

Some instructors have stated that the upper arms should rest across the top of the chest (and I use to believe this), but I now believe this is incorrect--at least for me. I get much better results by pinching the upper arms into the side of the chest and leaving them there for as long and as much as possible.

Elbows close

Getting into this position establishes the triangle at address and ensures the arms maintain the width and radius established at address. Keeping the elbows straight and close together also keeps the arms always in front of the body during the swing!

When done properly it's as if the arms and club are moved by the torso during the swing! If the arms ever begin moving independently, they will start sliding on the torso...or worse, coming off the torso altogether.

Establish these arm positions away from the ball and then use foot/stance adjustments to "move the crane" to the ball; in a sense, the arm-club unit then acts as a measuring stick to attain the correct distance.

To make it work, take your address position and place a soft ball about the size of a volleyball in the gap between your elbows. Take some small, relaxed swings, taking care to keep the ball in place. Try to keep your arms relaxed and only take half-swings or less.

Westchester Magazine | Golfing and Swinging Tips for Slice-Free Golf

We do not want loose arms or elbows that crook and point outward, left and right. These lead to a loose and sloppy swing.

The arms should be very nearly straight, though by no means locked. The elbows, especially, should be pointed down, toward the ground, not out to the sides.

You will notice, if you put the elbows in this position, that the very act of doing it brings the arms and the elbows closer together.

The Golf Stance Part 3: The Arms and The Open Position

At address, the arms should be held close together in front of the body, and the back of each elbow should point at each related hip. One should avoid allowing the elbows to point sideways away from the body, so that the antecubital fossa (hollow in the front of the elbow) of each elbow faces towards the opposite elbow's antecubital fossa.

Address setup

The final step in our setup is to simply march over to the golf ball. From the setup position with the clubhead resting on the ground at the center of the stance, simply shuffle over to the ball while maintaining setup posture. Basically we create the setup while standing a few inches too far away from the ball, then slide the clubhead up behind the ball as the feet take a small step forward. We literally use the club as a yardstick to measure the body distance from the ball.

Golf Setup Lesson – Foundation for a Golf Swing

 

 

Driver Shaft Lean at Address

I've noticed that I can set up to hit a driver with the shaft leaning too far forward when I'm not paying attention, with the club shaft pointing at my left hip. The mishits from a shot like this include fat shots and pop-ups, because this sort of setup encourages a downward hit into the ball. With the woods, we want an upward angle of attack.

If you look at video or photographs of professional golfers showing their driver setup positions, you will notice that most set up with their hands directly over or just behind the club head (and thus ball) at address, and the club shaft is either vertical or leaning slightly away from the target. The club shaft will point at the belt buckle or just to the left of it, and the angle of the club shaft matches the angle of the left leg. In other words, the club DOES NOT lean towards the target as it does for iron shots.

Setting up with the shaft vertical or leaning very slightly away from the target will encourage a sweeping driver or wood swing rather than a downward driver swing, which is encouraged by the opposite setup. To reach this position, don't move the arms; rather, adjust the stance to get the shaft (and thus ball position) adjusted properly.

Remember to keep the shaft pointing towards the belt buckle and this will assist in getting the driver shaft in the correct position. Also keep in mind that ball position in the stance is directly associated with the degree of shaft lean, either forward or backward, at address. The ball position for the driver should be relative to the hands and upper body, not the feet, and poorer players tend to push the ball position to far forward, especially when hoping to hit a push-draw.

It's important to experiment. It's possible that a hand position very slightly forward of the ball with a driver might assist in hitting inside-out and promoting a push-draw. Taken too far, however, will cause fat shots, pop-ups, pushes, and push-slices.

So if your hands are ahead at address, they will try to be ahead of the ball at impact promoting a "compression" of the golf ball equaling more distance and accuracy. The backward lean of the driver will promote a "sweeping" of the ball off the tee to create the optimal launch angle for your drives.

Jake Spott Golf Instruction: Shaft Lean Angle

One of the most common errors with the driver is to lean the club shaft too far forward. This club shaft alignment promotes a steep attack angle, robbing you of power and accuracy. Rory [McIlroy] is a great example of someone who doesn’t lean the driver forward at address, allowing him to get behind it and achieve the necessary attack angle.

Tip from Travis: Avoid the shaft lean « PGATOUR.com The Tour Report

The shaft of the club will appear to lean slightly toward the target with your short irons because the ball is positioned in the center of your stance. With your middle irons, the shaft of the club will lean only slightly toward the target (or not at all) since the ball is forward of center. With long irons and woods, your hands and the shaft of the club will appear to be in line. Again, as the ball position moves forward, the hands stay in the same place so the lean of the shaft disappears. With a driver, the shaft will lean away from the target.

Golf Setup - Proper Positions

With the driver, most golfers play the ball too far forward and stand too far away from it. This might feel powerful, but it sets some bad things in motion.

Lesson Tee: Butch Harmon: Rule No. 1: Position The Ball: Golf Digest

 

Aim Putts at Spot 6 Inches Away

I've found this to be the best way to get the putt rolling on the correct line. After standing behind the ball to choose your line, pick a spot on that line about six inches in front of the ball and keep staring at it as you address the ball. Align the putter head so that it's pointing to that spot.

In order program the distance in your mind, take a look at the hole (or breaking point) and then back at the spot. Now, using the correct stroke length for that distance, roll the ball over the spot that's six inches away. If you read the break correctly, you should come very close to the hole or even nail the putt!

Dave says not to look at the ball when you putt, but rather to pick a spot a couple of inches in front of the ball, right on the putting line you have chosen. Then when you make your stroke, simply focus on rolling the ball right over that spot.

Weekend Tip: Don't look at the ball when you putt: The Instruction Blog: Golf Digest