One of the best ways to make progress in your golf game is to understand the common problems that you need to watch for with regard to whatever you are working on at the moment. In this case, it is chest rotation, and there are a few problems which will frequently pop up when trying to improve your performance in this area. As you practice your chest rotation, watch out for signs of any of the mistakes listed below.
Loss of balance due to over rotation. There is a real risk of overdoing it when trying to improve your chest turn. Yes, you want to make a full turn in order to maximize your swing speed through impact, but going too far can throw your swing off track. Specifically, you are likely to fall off balance if you force yourself to turn farther than you can turn comfortably. By going beyond the comfortable limits of your flexibility, you will probably lean to the right at the top of your swing, and it will be nearly impossible to recover from there. The best way to avoid this mistake is simply to be aware of it. Pay attention to your balance and dial back your chest rotation if you feel yourself getting out of control. Balance is one of the most important fundamentals in your swing, and it is not worth sacrificing your balance in order to make a bigger turn. Instead, you should be trying to make the biggest turn possible within the confines of your ability to remain balanced.
Mechanical tempo. While it is important to make a big turn, you also need to remember to maintain the rhythm and feel of your golf swing. As mentioned earlier, making a big chest turn can help your tempo, but only if you approach this topic from the right direction. You don’t want to swing like a robot, forcing your body to turn back and then through in a mechanical manner. Rather, you want to have a smooth rhythm to your action, turning back and through with great tempo. If you feel like your swing is becoming too mechanical, try to soften up your arms at address. Relax the muscles in your shoulders and arms and let the club swing freely while still using your chest to make a big turn. Once you strike the right balance, your swing will feel smooth, yet powerful.
Potential for a hook. As you already know, countless amateur golfers struggle with a slice. The slice is such a common ball flight problem because most players fail to make a good turn. Without a good turn away from the ball, the club will end up over the ideal swing plane, and it will come down on an outside-in path. When that happens, a slice is nearly inevitable. So, if you do manage to make a big chest turn, you will be safely away from slice territory – but you may flirt with a hook as a result. If you let your arms drop too far at the top of the swing, you’ll wind up coming into the ball dramatically from the inside. That means you will be hitting from inside-out, and hook spin is going to be produced. Sometimes, this kind of swing will produce a gentle draw, while other times it will result in a nasty hook. To maintain control of your ball flight while using a big chest turn, make sure to keep your arms in sync with your upper body. As long as your arms don’t drop dramatically at the top, you shouldn’t have any trouble staying away from hook territory.
There are no perfect moves in the golf swing. Everything you do in golf is a tradeoff, sacrificing something in order to gain something else. This is certainly true when it comes to chest rotation. Yes, you can add power to your swing when you make a big turn, but you also will run the risk of hitting a hook or falling off balance. As you practice, watch out for any signs of trouble and take steps to correct your errors before they become too serious.
