Spine Tilt In The Golf Downswing (Video) - by Pete Styles
Spine Tilt In The Golf Downswing (Video) - by Pete Styles

So we’ve now worked hard on establishing the correct setup spine tilt. So the spine tilt is slightly to the right of the setup for a standard iron as I've got here a 5 iron. My setup would have a little bit of spine tilt to the right-hand side. Nothing too aggressive, but slightly to the right. Now during my swing what should happen to that spine tilt, how should it remain, or how should it change. Well actually during my swing, my backswing my spine tilt will remain largely similar. Yes, I’ll turn slightly to my rear foot. I’ll load up slightly on my rear foot.

But I'm not going to increase or decrease spine tilt massively. But then at the point of impact, my spine tilt will have increased a little bit. So during my downswing, my lower body should be driving around towards the target, turning nicely and opening up. My head and my rear shoulder should remain largely behind the golf ball. So not sliding on top of the ball too much, not really following the hips. And as I open up my bottom half, leave my top half slightly back, my head and my right shoulder slightly back. I am often going to find an increase to the spine tilt. But if you look at the better players, the professionals that play the game, some go as much as doubling their spine tilt. So if they're 5 degrees back at setup, they are 10 degrees back at impact for example. Now one of the easiest ways for you to check this position is to freeze frame your impact position, and then have a look in that mirror that you should have in front of you effectively where my camera is. So to be able to freeze frame impact, we want to have something like an impact bag. So sort of an old duffel bag, stuffed with towels. So you can actually buy specific impact bags stuffed with towels or bed sheets or whatever. Something that you can hit against that will slow the club down and freeze frame your impact position, but won't cause damage to the bag, you or the golf club. So we get ourselves in a nice setup position here. We turn to the back side and hit into the ball and then we see how that spine angle by looking up into the mirror is either increased or decreased. Now definitely don't want to see you have a straight spine angle or a forward leaning spine angle at impact for middle and long iron or a driver. It’s just going to have you hitting down on the ball far too steeply. So hitting into your impact bag, nice turn back, hit into the bag and see how you can freeze frame that spine angle with you tilted slightly away from target. And that's how your spine should tilt during the downswing. 2016-07-08

So we’ve now worked hard on establishing the correct setup spine tilt. So the spine tilt is slightly to the right of the setup for a standard iron as I've got here a 5 iron. My setup would have a little bit of spine tilt to the right-hand side. Nothing too aggressive, but slightly to the right. Now during my swing what should happen to that spine tilt, how should it remain, or how should it change. Well actually during my swing, my backswing my spine tilt will remain largely similar. Yes, I’ll turn slightly to my rear foot. I’ll load up slightly on my rear foot.

But I'm not going to increase or decrease spine tilt massively. But then at the point of impact, my spine tilt will have increased a little bit. So during my downswing, my lower body should be driving around towards the target, turning nicely and opening up. My head and my rear shoulder should remain largely behind the golf ball. So not sliding on top of the ball too much, not really following the hips. And as I open up my bottom half, leave my top half slightly back, my head and my right shoulder slightly back. I am often going to find an increase to the spine tilt.

But if you look at the better players, the professionals that play the game, some go as much as doubling their spine tilt. So if they're 5 degrees back at setup, they are 10 degrees back at impact for example. Now one of the easiest ways for you to check this position is to freeze frame your impact position, and then have a look in that mirror that you should have in front of you effectively where my camera is. So to be able to freeze frame impact, we want to have something like an impact bag. So sort of an old duffel bag, stuffed with towels.

So you can actually buy specific impact bags stuffed with towels or bed sheets or whatever. Something that you can hit against that will slow the club down and freeze frame your impact position, but won't cause damage to the bag, you or the golf club. So we get ourselves in a nice setup position here. We turn to the back side and hit into the ball and then we see how that spine angle by looking up into the mirror is either increased or decreased.

Now definitely don't want to see you have a straight spine angle or a forward leaning spine angle at impact for middle and long iron or a driver. It’s just going to have you hitting down on the ball far too steeply. So hitting into your impact bag, nice turn back, hit into the bag and see how you can freeze frame that spine angle with you tilted slightly away from target. And that's how your spine should tilt during the downswing.