Hello and welcome to this week's newsletter. 

Despite the cold weather and frozen greens in this country it appears to be the official start of the European tour season as the big names tee it up in Abu Dhabi. A I speak, it's great to see local lad, Andy Sullivan joint top of the leaderboard on 10 under, as I know a lot of you will be keen to hear of his progress. It's refreshing to see a lot of the world's top places early on in the season on the European Tour. Indeed it's interesting times for the tour, possibly even exciting with the new chief executive, Keith Pelley taking over and looking to get some kind of parity with the PGA Tour. He has certainly set his stall out thinking big and looking to attract the big names over with bigger prize funds and increase the profile of the competitions and tour. Hopefully this will prove to be a winning formula and sustainable.


 

Why Is Posture Important In Golf? 

You don't have to be an athletic build to achieve a perfect posture, but bad posture can lead to a poor quality club motion, swing planes too flat or upright or even golfing injuries! 

A posture too upright (standing too tall) can cause the club to be swung flat around the body. The common ball flight to see with this is a right to left shot, this happens because where the club is swung around your body, the club face becomes closed at impact. The club face becomes closed because it over rotates and it's inclined for the heel to hit the ground first, therefore flipping the club face shut. A flat swing plane can cause a shallow inside attack on the ball and you will usually find you top or thin a lot of shots. 

A posture where the weight is too far forwards and the spine angle is too low can cause the club to be swung too upright. You will usually see the ball flight become more left to right with this, divots become deep and lots of fat shots are created. 

The golf swing is a turning motion around the spine and core area of the body, different people will have different natural postures from day to day activities. Having a better posture will allow an improved spine angle through impact, therefore creating a consistent, powerful and accurate ball strike.


How to check your posture: 

1- Stand tall, shoulders back, feet shoulder width apart and hold the club directly in front of your belly button with your arms straight. 

2- Tilt forward from your hips (not your lower back) until the club touches he ground. Flex your knees slightly. 

3- Bring your hands and arms closer to your body until they feel relaxed.

A good way to check your spine angle is to practice your posture in a mirror or lay a club along your spine so one end touches the back of your head and one end touches the base of your spine.

Next week Rob will take you through the ball positions, the common faults and the ball flights associated with this.

Good luck, and come and have a chat if you have any questions about this.

Sarah Smith 
PGA Professional


 

Winter Playing Lesson Offer! 

9 holes of golf, playing with a Professional to learn course management & improve your swing for the season ahead.

Was £75  
Now Only £50 !

Come and have a chat with us in the pro shop, or click here to get in touch if you would like to organise your winter playing lesson.