This months tip results from working with my student Chip Linville, who was having problems staying in his posture on the backswing, through the impact area and the follow through.

As you can see in picture #1, Chip is in his address position.

In picture #2 he is at the top of his backswing, and you can see that he has raised up, coming out of his posture. This was due to his picking the club up too steeply, causing the right elbow to "fly". This position also sets up the dreaded "over the top" move that causes most golfers (including Chip) to slice.

 Picture #3 shows a typical position at the end of the swing for someone with this problem. Notice the right shoulder is higher that the left, a sure sign that the ball is going to the right of target.

The Solution

This is something anyone can do at home in the backyard to get the feel of maintaining  your spine angle both on the backswing and through the shot.

Take a rope, attach it to a hook or peg in the ground, and loop the rope around your neck as in picture #4

In picture #5 Chip is swinging through the impact position without raising up and making sure that he makes a good extension of the arms through impact. Notice that the clubface angle indicates a good "release" through the impact area. This is facilitated by keeping a good spine angle.

By doing this drill at home, Chip’s body is receiving the necessary feedback to help him improve this position. After some practice, those shots to the right on the course will be a thing of the past.

If you have questions about any of our golf tips, please feel free to call us toll free at 1-800-624-4653. Read all of Mel's tips in the Golf Tips Archive.

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