The Importance of Golf Posture
By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
Assuming the correct golf posture will help you hit better golf shots and affect how you think about your game and yourself as a golfer – confidence is at least as important as swing mechanics. As my coach used to say, “if you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you do good.”
Two Keys to Correct Golf Posture
Assume your address posture and then use your golf club to check two key relationships that create the feel of a perfect setup:
(1) The first is the flex in your knees
I’ve laid the club shaft over my right thigh so it runs to the tip of my foot, creating the correct amount of flex. Too much flex and I’ll have to rise through impact catching the ball thin – too little flex forces the opposite, a drop-down that produces a fat shot. Note that the correct golf flex is about the same as your regular walking flex.
(2) Your goal here is to be in perfect balance both at the address and while you swing. In the second photo, I’ve taken my address posture, and while keeping my right arm in place, I’ve run the shaft from the tip of my shoulder through my elbow, so it touches the tip of my knee. The shaft should hang straight, and you should adjust your body until you satisfy the above relationships.
When I create an athletic posture, it looks like I can jump across a pit of snakes (represented by the box) without changing my original body posture. Basically, I’m so ready to go that I could jump with no crouching needed.
The Takeaway: At high swing speeds, compensations due to lousy posture promote big-time inconsistency. The correct golf posture at the address allows me to stay in position so my spine angle and knee flex at the impact match at the address. And because my posture is correct, I feel confident, and that’s a good feeling when you’re playing golf.
