Side Bend First
Many golfers have a hard time balancing torso rotation and side-bend in the backswing. This can lead to a few common swing faults, most notably a loss of posture or a flat shoulder plane. For players that fall into this category, it can be helpful to focus on side-bending immediately at the start of the take-away. This will help create more of a 1-to-1 ratio of side-bend to rotation. It will also prevent the need for any additional compensations at the top. Too often, players will start their take-away with a very flat shoulder turn and then try to excessively side-bend as they work to the top of the swing. This can really throw off the timing and load of the upper body and cause a number of issues in the downswing.
Many golfers have a hard time balancing torso rotation and side-bend in the backswing. This can lead to a few common swing faults, most notably a loss of posture or a flat shoulder plane. For players that fall into this category, it can be helpful to focus on side-bending immediately at the start of the take-away. This will help create more of a 1-to-1 ratio of side-bend to rotation. It will also prevent the need for any additional compensations at the top. Too often, players will start their take-away with a very flat shoulder turn and then try to excessively side-bend as they work to the top of the swing. This can really throw off the timing and load of the upper body and cause a number of issues in the downswing.
Video Transcript
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.280
This drill is side bend first. So many golfers struggle with loss of posture or
2
00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:10.360
standing up and they're told to keep their head down or you've probably thought
3
00:00:10.360 --> 00:00:13.840
about you know just trying to keep your chest over the golf ball. What usually
4
00:00:13.840 --> 00:00:17.960
happens is when your head is raising in the backswing it's because you don't
5
00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:21.440
have enough of side bend. So in this drill we're gonna talk a little bit more
6
00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:25.480
about the timing and how to practice that during your takeaway. We know that
7
00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:25.720
when
8
00:00:25.720 --> 00:00:31.000
we get up to the top of the swing we roughly want the shoulders pointing
9
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:35.360
down at the golf ball. We don't want them pointing at the horizon and you can
10
00:00:35.360 --> 00:00:35.560
see
11
00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:39.880
the difference between me standing up and staying in my posture is actually
12
00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:44.560
side bend because this camera I'm now I've turned from where I was at start and
13
00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.800
now I'm facing this camera. So if I lower my left shoulder that's actually
14
00:00:49.800 --> 00:00:55.200
tilting to the side. Same thing happens in the follow through where if I've
15
00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:55.560
stood
16
00:00:55.560 --> 00:01:00.520
up here it's not so much that I've extended my spine it's that I don't have
17
00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:06.520
enough side tilt of my hips and my pelvis. But this drill is focusing on the
18
00:01:06.520 --> 00:01:10.640
takeaway and focusing on the backswing because what I tend to find is that many
19
00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:15.520
golfers who lose their posture they start with a very level shoulder turn and
20
00:01:15.520 --> 00:01:20.400
then try to correct it from there but by then everything's kind of got sucked
21
00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:24.800
inside. The shoulders have already started on a very flat plane you've
22
00:01:24.800 --> 00:01:29.480
probably shifted off the ball it's hard to play catch up. What's better is to
23
00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:34.880
have a pretty even ratio of a little bit of side bend for every little bit of
24
00:01:34.880 --> 00:01:41.840
rotation almost a one-to-one relationship. So if you fall into that more flat
25
00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:46.400
shoulder takeaway what I want you to feel is you're going to feel like you
26
00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:52.080
just straight side bend to start the backswing. Very few golfers actually do
27
00:01:52.080 --> 00:01:56.160
that when I ask them to straight side bend it looks more neutral more like that
28
00:01:56.160 --> 00:02:00.120
but they'll often feel like they're just bringing this shoulder down towards
29
00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:06.160
this foot and the hip is actually going out that way. So they'll feel just kind
30
00:02:06.160 --> 00:02:12.000
of a little side bend and then that movement if I get to about halfway I can
31
00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.400
double check and just make sure that the shoulders are pointing closer to the
32
00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:22.920
golf ball instead of to the horizon. So working through the the drill you're
33
00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:27.240
going to do first just a little side bend extra side bend during the takeaway
34
00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:27.520
and
35
00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:33.600
just do a little 9 to 3 action from a little pause position exaggerating that
36
00:02:33.600 --> 00:02:38.760
shoulder going down before it rotates. So I'm feeling like I'm going like this
37
00:02:38.760 --> 00:02:39.040
and
38
00:02:39.040 --> 00:02:44.120
then rotating in reality I'm probably blending them together. The next one I'll
39
00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:48.880
try is a hit from the top so I'm going to do a little side bend get up to the
40
00:02:48.880 --> 00:02:53.720
top of the swing just kind of check that shoulder angle and then from here
41
00:02:53.720 --> 00:03:01.600
transition and just extend those arms and then lastly I'll do the side bend
42
00:03:01.600 --> 00:03:06.200
movement without any pause without any gimmicks just trying to feel it in my
43
00:03:06.200 --> 00:03:15.320
takeaway. So if you struggle with getting proper tilt or you look like you
44
00:03:15.320 --> 00:03:15.600
stand
45
00:03:15.600 --> 00:03:19.960
up in your backswing your early extend you can focus on getting that side bend
46
00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:25.320
before the rotation that often helps create the kind of the proper spine
47
00:03:25.320 --> 00:03:29.720
angle when we're making the backswing and if you are struggling with the stand
48
00:03:29.720 --> 00:03:33.320
up in the follow through you could focus on the right shoulder down too but in
49
00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:36.880
this particular one I'm usually just focusing on one side at a time this is
50
00:03:36.880 --> 00:03:40.920
focusing on the takeaway and the backswing pivot.
Have questions?
Ask Mulligan for helpSide Bend First
Many golfers have a hard time balancing torso rotation and side-bend in the backswing. This can lead to a few common swing faults, most notably a loss of posture or a flat shoulder plane. For players that fall into this category, it can be helpful to focus on side-bending immediately at the start of the take-away. This will help create more of a 1-to-1 ratio of side-bend to rotation. It will also prevent the need for any additional compensations at the top. Too often, players will start their take-away with a very flat shoulder turn and then try to excessively side-bend as they work to the top of the swing. This can really throw off the timing and load of the upper body and cause a number of issues in the downswing.
Many golfers have a hard time balancing torso rotation and side-bend in the backswing. This can lead to a few common swing faults, most notably a loss of posture or a flat shoulder plane. For players that fall into this category, it can be helpful to focus on side-bending immediately at the start of the take-away. This will help create more of a 1-to-1 ratio of side-bend to rotation. It will also prevent the need for any additional compensations at the top. Too often, players will start their take-away with a very flat shoulder turn and then try to excessively side-bend as they work to the top of the swing. This can really throw off the timing and load of the upper body and cause a number of issues in the downswing.
Video Transcript
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.280
This drill is side bend first. So many golfers struggle with loss of posture or
2
00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:10.360
standing up and they're told to keep their head down or you've probably thought
3
00:00:10.360 --> 00:00:13.840
about you know just trying to keep your chest over the golf ball. What usually
4
00:00:13.840 --> 00:00:17.960
happens is when your head is raising in the backswing it's because you don't
5
00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:21.440
have enough of side bend. So in this drill we're gonna talk a little bit more
6
00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:25.480
about the timing and how to practice that during your takeaway. We know that
7
00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:25.720
when
8
00:00:25.720 --> 00:00:31.000
we get up to the top of the swing we roughly want the shoulders pointing
9
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:35.360
down at the golf ball. We don't want them pointing at the horizon and you can
10
00:00:35.360 --> 00:00:35.560
see
11
00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:39.880
the difference between me standing up and staying in my posture is actually
12
00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:44.560
side bend because this camera I'm now I've turned from where I was at start and
13
00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.800
now I'm facing this camera. So if I lower my left shoulder that's actually
14
00:00:49.800 --> 00:00:55.200
tilting to the side. Same thing happens in the follow through where if I've
15
00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:55.560
stood
16
00:00:55.560 --> 00:01:00.520
up here it's not so much that I've extended my spine it's that I don't have
17
00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:06.520
enough side tilt of my hips and my pelvis. But this drill is focusing on the
18
00:01:06.520 --> 00:01:10.640
takeaway and focusing on the backswing because what I tend to find is that many
19
00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:15.520
golfers who lose their posture they start with a very level shoulder turn and
20
00:01:15.520 --> 00:01:20.400
then try to correct it from there but by then everything's kind of got sucked
21
00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:24.800
inside. The shoulders have already started on a very flat plane you've
22
00:01:24.800 --> 00:01:29.480
probably shifted off the ball it's hard to play catch up. What's better is to
23
00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:34.880
have a pretty even ratio of a little bit of side bend for every little bit of
24
00:01:34.880 --> 00:01:41.840
rotation almost a one-to-one relationship. So if you fall into that more flat
25
00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:46.400
shoulder takeaway what I want you to feel is you're going to feel like you
26
00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:52.080
just straight side bend to start the backswing. Very few golfers actually do
27
00:01:52.080 --> 00:01:56.160
that when I ask them to straight side bend it looks more neutral more like that
28
00:01:56.160 --> 00:02:00.120
but they'll often feel like they're just bringing this shoulder down towards
29
00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:06.160
this foot and the hip is actually going out that way. So they'll feel just kind
30
00:02:06.160 --> 00:02:12.000
of a little side bend and then that movement if I get to about halfway I can
31
00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.400
double check and just make sure that the shoulders are pointing closer to the
32
00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:22.920
golf ball instead of to the horizon. So working through the the drill you're
33
00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:27.240
going to do first just a little side bend extra side bend during the takeaway
34
00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:27.520
and
35
00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:33.600
just do a little 9 to 3 action from a little pause position exaggerating that
36
00:02:33.600 --> 00:02:38.760
shoulder going down before it rotates. So I'm feeling like I'm going like this
37
00:02:38.760 --> 00:02:39.040
and
38
00:02:39.040 --> 00:02:44.120
then rotating in reality I'm probably blending them together. The next one I'll
39
00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:48.880
try is a hit from the top so I'm going to do a little side bend get up to the
40
00:02:48.880 --> 00:02:53.720
top of the swing just kind of check that shoulder angle and then from here
41
00:02:53.720 --> 00:03:01.600
transition and just extend those arms and then lastly I'll do the side bend
42
00:03:01.600 --> 00:03:06.200
movement without any pause without any gimmicks just trying to feel it in my
43
00:03:06.200 --> 00:03:15.320
takeaway. So if you struggle with getting proper tilt or you look like you
44
00:03:15.320 --> 00:03:15.600
stand
45
00:03:15.600 --> 00:03:19.960
up in your backswing your early extend you can focus on getting that side bend
46
00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:25.320
before the rotation that often helps create the kind of the proper spine
47
00:03:25.320 --> 00:03:29.720
angle when we're making the backswing and if you are struggling with the stand
48
00:03:29.720 --> 00:03:33.320
up in the follow through you could focus on the right shoulder down too but in
49
00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:36.880
this particular one I'm usually just focusing on one side at a time this is
50
00:03:36.880 --> 00:03:40.920
focusing on the takeaway and the backswing pivot.
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