This Years Top Tips on A Proper Shoulder Turn

How is it possible that professional golfers that weigh 160 or 170 pounds hit the golf ball so far? When you look at other athletes, size and muscle mass seem to have more effect on their performance.

First of all, let’s make it clear what is meant by a full shoulder turn. It is one of the most misunderstood concepts in golf and it tends to confuse golfers to no end.

The term “shoulder turn” seems straightforward. Push your left shoulder under your chin and lift your right shoulder behind your head. Boom. Full shoulder turn.

Yes it is, but this simple process alone will not get the golf ball going in the right direction. Pulling your shoulders out of posture this way might make it feel like you’re getting plenty of coil, but you’re not exploiting the powerful muscles in your core. Activating your core muscles is the key to allowing the rest of your muscles to get on board and energize the golf swing. If your core muscles have gone on strike, your swing will be a weak, all arms attempt that will end up high and right all day long. Once you have developed, or reenergized your core muscles, it is important to keep them as tense as possible throughout the golf swing. This will help wind up the spring (shoulders, hips and spine) and increase your swing speed exponentially.

Here are three swing thoughts that I hope will help you be conscious of getting your right side through to the target without coming over the top:

1. At the top, think of replacing your left shoulder with your right. That will help you turn through while keeping your right shoulder under your head instead of spinning out in front of you.

2. Hold your finish. Check that the outside of your right shoulder points at the target and not in front of you (which is evidence of an unfinished swing).

3. Practice this drill: Place the head of your driver in front of your left foot so that your left arm is fully extended (parallel to the ground) and the shaft is straight up and down. Swing your right arm to the top of your backswing.

Ben Hogan used to wear out his shirts in two spots; the spot that his left shoulder brushed against his chin on the backswing, and the spot that his right shoulder brushed against his shirt when he followed through.

Although it is imperative to work on developing a strong shoulder turn, make sure you pay attention to any physical limitations that you may suffer from. Aggravating an existing chronic condition is not what the doctor ordered, so to speak. Work within the boundaries your body is setting up for you.

Steps you can practice every time you begin your golf exercises. Including it regularly in your golf fitness routine enables your body to get used to the correct shoulder turn.

It’s easier to remember the right turn by remembering that your shoulders must turn perpendicular to the spine.

Rotating your shoulders on a tilted axis enables you to swing on the correct path and make proper center-face contact. By rotating in this manner, the left shoulder moves down and the right shoulder moves up during the backswing and vice-versa.

Make sure that you’re in a forward-tilted position so that your shoulders can tilt by bending from the hips, and lifting your arms to carry your club above. With this position, your front shoulder doesn’t get behind the ball.

Before starting your swing, relax your shoulders, arms and hands. Make a full turn by keeping your chin up at address to allow your shoulder to pass underneath it.

Avoid Incorrect Shoulder Turns Rotating your shoulders the wrong way results to poor contact or pulled shots. While practicing your shoulder turn, look out for these moves and make sure to stop doing them as early as now!

Rotating your shoulders back and through level with the ground can give you problems with executing a proper golf swing.

Don’t hold your breath when rotating your shoulders. Also, don’t rotate your shoulders too rapidly since you might injure some parts of your body.

To get the correct shoulder plane when rotating, always remind yourself that a golf club is not swung on a plane parallel with the ground, since the plane is tilted. Don’t forget to constantly improve on your shoulder turn so that you can stay on plane during your swing, and you’ll be more flexible when initiating your swing with your hips. Stay dedicated to keep yourself for golf!

As we age, we need to pay attention to things that want to up and retire on us. Muscles are the first to do this. Maintain at least a stretching routine before golf. At the bare minimum this alone will get you on the right track when it comes to increasing your shoulder turn.

Summary

Now that you understand the importance of having a proper shoulder turn in your golf swing, where do you go from here? Do you need to develop your core muscles so that they encourage all the rest of their muscle buddies to join the team? Maybe you need to stretch properly before you play golf just so that your shoulders are loose enough to make a full shoulder turn. My advice is to truly understand the whole concept of a shoulder turn before developing and implementing a game plan.