One of the biggest differences between elite and amateur players occurs before impact occurs. This is how they stay tilted to the ground throughout the swing.
Your tilt to the ground is set at address and is determined by how much your hips and spine bend forward.
“As you prepare to hit the ball, you can set your tilt to the ground based on your posture (the angle of your spine and how much you bend forward),” says Josh Troyer, director of instructional quality at GOLFTEC. “On average, tour players have a shoulder flexion of about 40 degrees.”
The best players in the world are able to keep that angle very consistent when spinning. But this is something many casual players struggle with.
“They maintain an angle to the ground on the backswing,” Troyer said. “You can think of it like trying to drive a nail into a wall – if your body is moving around while you’re doing it, it’s really hard to hit the same spot.”
So how consistent are good hitters at maintaining this angle? At the top of the backswing, their shoulder tilt is about 3 degrees less than at setup.
“If the average tour tilt is 40 degrees forward at address, then at the top of the backswing the best players will have their shoulders tilted about 37 degrees to the left,” Troyer explains. “It’s this tiny difference that keeps you tilted to the ground.”
Amateurs, on the other hand, tend to lean too little.
“What bad golfers do is start 40 degrees forward, but their shoulders are only angled 20 or 22 degrees,” Troyer says. “It’s a flat shoulder turn – when that happens, their head comes up and they change position to stand up.”
The key, Troyer says, is understanding relation Between your setup and your shoulder tilt at the top – not just chasing specific numbers.
“If a golfer leans 30 degrees forward at address, their shoulders should be angled approximately 27 degrees to the left on the backswing,” he says. “That’s how you keep the tilt going. If the ball is tilted to 37 degrees, they’re actually going to tilt toward the ball.”
It’s not about memorizing measurements, it’s about keeping them correct pattern. “
“Numbers are important, but understanding how the relationship works is what’s really important,” Troyer said.
When your shoulder tilt matches your set-up flex, you can maintain form, rotate effectively and make solid, repeatable contact – just like the pros.
If you’d like to learn how to properly maintain a forward bend in your swing, book a swing evaluation with GOLFTEC below.
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