Maintain Correct Spine Angle (Video) - by Pete Styles
Maintain Correct Spine Angle (Video) - by Pete Styles

If you’ve been hitting the golf ball from the toe of your golf club, one of the most common reasons why that might have been happening is because you’ve been losing spine angle during your swing. A ball that’s hitting the toe side of the golf club would probably fly relatively straight to start with, but it might be curving to the right hand side as it comes down, it might not have gone as far as it should have done, and it might have felt a bit awkward and weak in your hands. But actually if it was hitting right on the side of the toe, it could have just be shooting straight off sideways not flying very far at all. Now as I set up to the golf ball, I’m going to check that I’m the right distance away from the ball by lowering the club just above my left knee. That tells me I’m the right distance away; if I’m too far back it could be below my knee. But if I’m the right distance away and I’ve got a good spine angle and posture, the main focus now is to maintain my spine angle and posture.

If I turn back, turn through, that club should come back to the ball at the same height. The most common problem with toeing the golf ball would be to lose the spine angle on the back swing by standing up then not lower the spine angle quite low enough on the way down resulting in a club detaching had been drawn away from the ball and now I can’t quite reach the floor. So good spine angle, bad spine angle, not correcting enough, toe shots that go out to the right hand side. A great way of maintaining that good spine angle, is laying the club over your shoulders here, then rotating to the back swing and feel how the handle of the golf club should point downwards. If that handle points downwards to the floor, I should have maintained my spine angle correctly. If that handle was to point across the driving range here, clearly I’ve stood up my spine angle has not maintained its position and it won’t come back to the ball at the right level. So I tilt and I turn, and I turn back through, and I still maintain my spine angle. I’m looking down with a stable head, I should find it much easier therefore to make good consistent contact on the back of the ball. If you can maintain your spine angle you’ll reduce the amount of times that you toe the ball. 2014-03-17

If you’ve been hitting the golf ball from the toe of your golf club, one of the most common reasons why that might have been happening is because you’ve been losing spine angle during your swing. A ball that’s hitting the toe side of the golf club would probably fly relatively straight to start with, but it might be curving to the right hand side as it comes down, it might not have gone as far as it should have done, and it might have felt a bit awkward and weak in your hands. But actually if it was hitting right on the side of the toe, it could have just be shooting straight off sideways not flying very far at all. Now as I set up to the golf ball, I’m going to check that I’m the right distance away from the ball by lowering the club just above my left knee. That tells me I’m the right distance away; if I’m too far back it could be below my knee. But if I’m the right distance away and I’ve got a good spine angle and posture, the main focus now is to maintain my spine angle and posture.

If I turn back, turn through, that club should come back to the ball at the same height. The most common problem with toeing the golf ball would be to lose the spine angle on the back swing by standing up then not lower the spine angle quite low enough on the way down resulting in a club detaching had been drawn away from the ball and now I can’t quite reach the floor. So good spine angle, bad spine angle, not correcting enough, toe shots that go out to the right hand side. A great way of maintaining that good spine angle, is laying the club over your shoulders here, then rotating to the back swing and feel how the handle of the golf club should point downwards. If that handle points downwards to the floor, I should have maintained my spine angle correctly. If that handle was to point across the driving range here, clearly I’ve stood up my spine angle has not maintained its position and it won’t come back to the ball at the right level.

So I tilt and I turn, and I turn back through, and I still maintain my spine angle. I’m looking down with a stable head, I should find it much easier therefore to make good consistent contact on the back of the ball. If you can maintain your spine angle you’ll reduce the amount of times that you toe the ball.