Understanding the importance of a stable lower half
“More distance and consistency!”. I can guarantee all teaching professionals hear this answer when they ask their students what they would like to get out of a lesson. Every person who has ever swung a golf club will either want more consistency in their game or the ability to create more distance, and in most cases both of these things. After all, the best players in the world not only hit the ball a mile, but are able to hit their targets time after time. Now there are numerous aspects of the swing that need to be technically sound in order to achieve these goals, but ultimately these attributes come from balance and stability both pre-swing and in-swing. The lower half provides the foundation and support to allow the upper half to work simply and efficiently as well as create power.
Excessive lower body movement can cause the upper body to act as a counter balance in order to keep you upright. Its a natural human reaction to support the body and keep it upright, when an unbalance occurs. When this occurs its only natural for your subconscious to correct this imbalance which can significantly affect the shot outcome. A simple exercise to get a sense of this is to stand up right, with feet shoulder width apart, and slowly shift you hips left/right. You’ll notice that your body will naturally tilt your spine angle away from the direction of your hips. Consequently if you move your hips forward, you’ll notice how your spine angle will tilt backwards. These simple exercises show that the slightest movement in your hip/pelvis region will significantly affect how your spine angle will change. So what are some key thoughts we can use to address this.
Ensuring a strong balanced set up.
Your legs should be supporting your weight at address. Key features of a sound set-up position I like to see are your hips directly over the ankles with knees flexed over the toes. This will induce a more squatted athletic position. A correct address position will take a lot of pressure away from your lower back area and focus it in your quads. This in turn will preserve any back issues you have. A good routine to use is to stand in a neutral upright position. Keeping your hips over your ankles tilt your spine angle over the ball, until your on the cusp of falling forward. This is expected as you have created an imbalance. Now its time for your legs to correct this and support the upper body. Maintaining your spine angle simply flex the knees producing more of a ‘squatted’ position.
Maintaining knee flex during the swing
I feel this is a common issue I see amongst many amateur golfers is straightening the knees during the swing, especially the backswing. Not only is this a motion that can potentially lose a lot of power, but again it can significantly change the spine angle, which would require counter movements during the swing to reposition for impact. A good focus is to maintain softness in the legs and knees through out the swing, this should help simplify body movements.
Maintaining stance width.
Maintaining width between the knees will prevent tilting in the hips which can prevent the spine angle from tilting. This is a great key to think about if often find yourself hitting behind the ball. Having a mental image of a stool or large ball between your knees can help promote and maintain that width
Swinging in a barrel
A popular saying in the golf community is ‘swing in a barrel’. If your not familiar with this theory, it simply imagining swinging within a barrel so that your hips don’t make contact with the barrel. The idea of this exercise is to keep your hips and your core section underneath your torso. This in turn maintains stability throughout the swing so that your body can make efficient motions.
In summary these keys and exercises will help improve your balance and stability which in turn will allow your upper body to work more effectively and efficiently, which will set the foundation to create more power and consistency in your game.
Look at many of the leading athletes in their respective sports. Their motions are so athletic, balanced and in control. They make it look so easy.
There are two common factors that many students desire when coming to me for lessons. Distance and consistency. Mastering both of these attributes will most definitely advance your game to new levels, however there are numerous aspects of the swing that need to be technically sound in order to achieve these goals.
