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Golf Tips: Perfect Your Posture With This Simple Drill

By Brendon Elliott, PGA
Published on

Understanding the importance of maintaining proper posture in your golf swing is key to achieving consistent and effective ball striking.
Posture is the foundation for superior swing mechanics, and proper posture equips you to execute a more efficient and powerful swing utilizing your body's full range of motion. Better posture = a more fluid and powerful swing on the course.
Let's take World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Despite his unique swing, Scottie, like all the best players in the world, maintains a consistent and stable spine angle throughout his swing. It's helped Scottie go on a historic tear this year.
Scheffler maintains the same posture through his entire swing.
Scheffler maintains the same posture through his entire swing.
Posture is an easy thing to get wrong, but it's also an easy thing to work on. Here's a great drill to try:
1. Start by taking your stance as you would for a regular golf swing, with your feet shoulder-width apart and the ball positioned in line with the logo on your shirt.
2. Place a club across your shoulders, holding it with both hands.
3. With the club on your shoulders, practice making half swings, focusing on maintaining your spine angle throughout the swing.
4. A helpful visual is to imagine your spine as the axis around which your upper body rotates and try to keep that axis stable as you swing back and through.
5. As you swing, pay close attention to whether you're standing up out of your posture or maintaining a consistent position.
6. Repeat this drill several times, gradually increasing the length of your swings while still focusing on staying in your posture.
7. Practicing this drill in front of a mirror can also help you visually confirm that you're maintaining your posture throughout the swing.
Brendon R. Elliott, PGA

Sorrento, FL

Brendon Elliott

Executive Director/Founder

Brendon Elliott is considered by his peers in the industry as one of the top youth golf coaches in the world. He is a multiple local, state, regional, national, and world award-winning instructor who focuses on junior golfers ages 3-18. With numerous appearances on Golf Channel's Morning Drive, local TV, nationwide radio, and countless publications, Elliott is one of the foremost experts in the youth golf arena. His Little Linksters organization is recognized as an example for introducing children as young as three to the game as well as how to help introduce youth with disabilities to our golf. Elliott has been recommended by industry titans such as Nicklaus, Player, Floyd, Sorenstam, Speith, and more. Among his numerous accolades, Elliott was named the PGA of America's 2017 PGA National Youth Player Development Award Winner in 2017. Additionally, Elliott is a very busy freelance golf writer who works for various golf media outlets, including PGA.com, Golf.com, and many more. You can catch his three weekly columns on both GolfWRX.com and rg.org/news/golf.

Meet Brendon