keeping spine angle

Hello All:

While on the subject of the spine, I wanted to touch base on another sometimes overlooked aspect of the spine position and that is the tilt away from the target. This tilt should be created in a proper set-up by the fact that the right hand (for righties) is on the grip lower than the left hand. Unfortunately, many players set-up with the shoulders and spine perpendicular to the ground if viewed from face on or behind (picture a capital letter T set straight up and down) versus the correct tilt away from the target of several degress that should be established and maintained during the swing. As I reviewed the set-ups of many pros, they all have this tilt (more on longer clubs and progressively less on shorter) but they all have it. This naturally sets the body behind the ball which is imperative on full shots. It also creates a better balance for the pivot.

I as at the range recently and I was having a very difficult time hitting my fairway woods. I was getting very poor contact and I felt that I could not strike the ball with good trajectory. I knew I was not getting behind the ball so I tried to remedy the situation by shifting significantly off the ball during the back swing. This caused other issues including swaying and more inconsistent contact as a result. Still I was getting a handfull of really solid shots because I was staying behind the ball during impact. Then it hit me... I did not have any spine tilt established at address!!!! I am fully aware of the importance but over time I had gotten lazy in getting set up to the ball correctly and I was not establishing this. Once I got the tilt back, I was striking the ball very purely. My backswing felt more relaxed and I was really able to turn my shoulders behind the ball without having to sway. At impact I was able to hit with a firm left side and my fairway woods were being killed. I then proceeded to hit some drives and full iron shots being aware of my improved set-up and consistently all shots where better.

Next time you all are out to hit balls, remember the "other" spine tilt. Obviously the tilt of the spine toward the ground is very critical and getting this correct and maintaining it is key but I believe the tilt of the spine and shoulders away from the target can be equally critical. It is also an aspect of the swing that is often misunderstood and easy to "forget" at times because it is a subtle position of only a few degrees of tilt.