Putting Fundamentals: Posture

Bad Posture

We aim to make our mothers proud in this aspect of the putting fundamentals.  Posture is one of the leading causes of inconsistent play on the golf course.  Many people get down to the ground in golf in a way that compromises the strength of their core and limits the support of their skeletal structure.

The two most common posture mistakes I see are:

·         Bending too much in the knees

o   People with too much knee bend get down to the ball in a sitting position.  Their weight in on their heels, which is not an athletic position to be in no matter what sport we are playing

·         Rolling the back and shoulders/Pushing the arms down to the ground

o   The curved spine and stiff arms of this posture make a relaxed, rotational swing nearly impossible…and it is horrible for the back, causing a number of issues with that part of the body when you play golf

Bending from the Hips

What we do want to do is:

·         Bend very slightly in the knees

·         Get down to the ground with the bend in our hips

o   Feels like your rear-end sticks out and up

o   Chest gets out over the ball

·         Back stays relatively straight (not stiff)

·         Shoulders rolled back into the sockets

You know you are in a good posture if:

·         You can let your arms hang straight down underneath the sockets and there is…

o   Plenty of room between your body and hands (one hand width at least)

o   The palms of your hanging hands face each other

o   Your weight is on the “balls” of your feet (this is the round bone that is behind your toes)

Weight Distribution

In golf I believe that we always want to favor the front foot with our weight.  The reason for this is that this is where the axis of rotation takes place in the swing.  At impact of the full swing, a golfer’s weight should be like a stake in the ground on the front leg, with everything going around that axis.

In putting, we do not involve the rotation of the lower body at all.  However, we still want to feel that we are moving around that single axis of the front leg up through the spine.  Because of this, I recommend slightly favoring your front foot/leg with the weight of your stance in the putting setup.  I suggest a 55-60% weight on that front leg to encourage centered rotation in the putting stroke.

Width of Stance

I believe that width of stance is a personal preference in putting.  Some people like the feeling of being rooted in the ground by a very wide stance which has the added benefit of locking in the lower body and limiting movement (something we do want to do in putting). Other people prefer to have their feet closer together to encourage more of a centered, rotational motion in the body.  Standing with your feet closer together also raises up the body and produces a taller lever for the pendulum you are working at producing.

I think it is simply important to understand that there are benefits to both extremes of stance width.  Generally speaking, setting your feet shoulder width apart is a good “middle ground” to start from.  You can experiment with different stance widths to find the one that produces the most reliable, relaxed, rotational motion in your putting stroke.

Combining Grip and Posture in the Putting Setup

When you have these two fundamentals solidly in place, you are well on your way to producing a very reliable “tick-tock” pendulum in your putting stroke. 

You should feel that it is quite easy to hover the putter over the ground from this place.  If it does not feel easy to hover the putter, check that you are supporting the club underneath it with your elbows on your side and a good angle in your wrists (as we want to do) or if you are pushing your arms down to the ground which will force the hands to be high and on top of the club.

If you find that you are pushing down or out with your arms, check your posture.  Are you in a position where your arms can hang down (as we want them to do) or are you slouching or sitting down?