There have been a few questions and possibly some confusion about what a proper shoulder turn is.
I have said level shoulder turn many times on this blog, so I want to clarify what that is. Level can be said several different ways, whatever makes sense to you. Level to the spine angle, 90 degrees to the spine, around the spine, etc.
First, I have to explain proper posture, because if you don’t have good posture, the shoulders won’t turn anyway.
(All of the following is what it should look like when viewing setup from behind or down the line, where looking straight ahead you see the target as in the picture below.)
1. Weight should be over balanced feet, with no leaning toward the heels or toes.
2. A nice comfortable knee bend.
3. Bent over enough at the waist so the arms can hang down comfortably.
4. A nice straight spine. If you drew a line from the tailbone into the middle of the neck, it would be a straight line and not curved as it would be in most golfers who looked hunched over.
5. Nice straight shoulders that aren’t rounded…rounded shoulders often happen when the ball is too far away from you and you are reaching for it.
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Now that there is a proper setup, the shoulders are free to turn properly. Here is what a level shoulder turn is. If you draw a line at the golfer’s spine and then a line from shoulder to shoulder, you will draw a big capital “T” and you want to maintain that capital “T” throughout the swing. The top part of the “T” is rotating, but you always want that top part of the “T” to be at that 90 degree angle and not tilt one way or the other.
Looking at it in a different way from a different angle…in the picture below, if this golfer made a level shoulder turn, the short yellow line would remain parallel to the long yellow line through the whole swing.
Why is the guy in your picture hitting yellow golf balls??
Because the driving range he was hitting on had yellow balls?
I got this picture off the net, it wasn’t one of mine.
Hey Monte, can you explain in a future blog topic the role of the “tush line” in the swing? Is it important and how do you maintain it consistently throughout your swing so you don’t come out of a shot. Would really appreciate your thoughts on it. Thanks!
Sure. I agree with you that many people have trouble with that…me included.
By the way, your explanation of the correct way to turn the shoulders “level” during the swing in relation to the spine is terrific. Makes it very clear and easy to understand. I’m guessing many golfers THINK “level” means parallel to the ground which unfortunately can lead to an OTT move and disastrous results. Thanks for helping clarify that. Love your way of explaining concepts that can sometimes be overcomplicated by others.
Thank you…and I totally agree about many golfers turning level to the ground. Being told to swing “inside/out” also contributes to that issue.
Wow, that’s kinda ironic, I’ve been to that range, Windermere CC, Orlando FL a couple of times and had lessons with that guy. He does have a good setup 😉