“Stand up straight!” “Quit slouching!”
You might remember hearing these commands as a kid. There’s a good reason for that. Good posture is important! It will keep your spine and other areas of your skeletal system in proper condition as you get older. The chances of experiencing back and neck pain are diminished with good posture.
The risk of injury increases when you perform sports moves using poor posture. In golf, good posture will reduce your likelihood of many injuries, specifically in your back.
Reducing injuries is a huge benefit of good posture in sports. That alone would be enough reason to work hard on having good posture, but there is another huge benefit. Good posture increases your performance in sports. Whether it’s the ready position in baseball, a defensive stance in basketball, or running tall in a race, just to name a few, posture plays an important role in performing well in all sports. Golf is certainly no exception.
Good posture in the golf swing makes it easier to turn your shoulders and hips in the backswing, and also allows you to more easily get the golf shaft at a good angle and then uncoil through the downswing. At least for me, I would early extend (stand up) in my downswing before improving my posture.
Many golfers “slouch” as they address the ball. They bend at their waist instead of tilting at their hips, which causes their back to be curved, as seen below.
It is better to have the back as straight as possible from the hips to the head, with your shoulders pulled back, as seen below.
Follow these steps to properly address the golf ball with good posture:
- Stand up straight and tall.
- Tilt forward with your hips, keeping your back straight and your shoulders back.
- Finish up by bending your knees slightly, allowing your hips and backside to move away from the ball as needed.
Incorporate good posture into your pre-shot routine as you address the ball. Work on it setting up for each shot on the course and the range.
If your posture isn’t as good as it could be in everyday life, it will be difficult to just turn on good posture at the golf course. Practice good posture every minute of every day. Walk proud and tall and sit up straight in that chair, whether that is at work, your living room, or car. The bigger the habit you can make good posture, the more second nature it will become on the golf course.