Maintaining the upper body angles during the down swing and
the follow through movements is one of the most important principles
of the golf swing, so read this section and remember the content.
At the address position the upper body is set at two particular
angles.
First of all the upper body must be slightly tilted to the
right so that the right hand can be comfortably placed on the
golf club, but you also need to adopt a posture of the upper body
which assume an forward angle of the upper body.
Therefore it is absolutely vital to the success of the golf
swing that once these angles has been created, they must be strictly
maintained throughout the golf swing, but especially as the down
swing and the follow through movement is performed, thus allowing
the right shoulder to rotate
under the chin as the follow through movement is performed.
Back Swing.
You have to learn to rotate a very compact upper body unit
around the central core of the spine (See below) whilst maintaining the forward
upper body angle and a sideways tilt of the upper body so that
the left shoulder is positioned under the chin at the end of the
back swing movement (depending on the flexibility of your body)
Down Swing.
But importantly you must maintain the forward and the sideways
angle of the upper body during the down swing and especially as you perform the follow through
movement.
It is vital that you retain these upper body angles so that the
right shoulder can rotate under the chin as the club
head swings through the contact area whilst square to
the target line, but also giving a boost to the velocity of the
golf shot.
However in order to perform this action correctly, you must
also keep the head firmly held slightly behind the ball until well after the
ball has been struck.
Vital Information.
Most high handicapped golfers allow the upper body angle to
straighten as the club head moves through the contact area.
Ironically this is the precise part of the golf swing when the
upper body angles should be firmly held in place.
So if you want to play very good golf, it is absolutely vital that the upper body angles are maintained and the head remains
slightly behind the ball until well after the ball has been struck therefore you must use the waist as a universal joint.
You must concentrate on this aspect of the golf swing, especially
as the club head goes through the contact area, but importantly,
you must continue to maintain these upper body angles until the
completion of the golf swing.
Exercise
This exercise is performed without holding a golf club.
Therefore whilst facing a wall, place your toes about 300mm
away from the wall and slowly adopt your normal address
position and as you bend over, you will note that your head is
either touching or nearly touching the wall.
If the head is not quite touching the wall, slowly shuffle
your body forward so that as you move closer to the wall, your
head actually touches the wall.
Whilst maintaining both a sideways angle and a forward angle
of the upper body, move the weight of your body on to the balls
of your feet, so that the whole body begins to tilt forward and
the head rest heavily against the wall.
Therefore hold the head firmly against the wall whilst you
carry out this exercise.
As long as you keep the head touching the wall, the head will
be kept firmly in place.
Therefore whilst holding this position, simply rotate the
shoulders back and forth, but to achieve the desired effect, focus
on a spot on the ground.
As the shoulders make a full rotational movement towards the
target area, the right shoulder will automatically to rotate under the chin.
The feeling you experience whilst carrying out this exercise
is exactly how the upper body angles should be maintained as you
carry out the full golf swing.
