Proper shoulder rotation or correct golf swing rotation, in general, is one of the most common struggles of amateur and beginner golfers. Although players know the basics and fundamentals of the sport, many players have no way of knowing whether they are rotating their shoulders correctly, or think that they are doing it correctly until corrected by an instructor.
Shoulder movements are very important parts of completing a golf swing sequence. How you turn and tilt your shoulders greatly affects all aspects of the swing from backswing to follow through and other elements including speed, tempo, and balance.
Common mistakes in shoulder movements:
Over the top - a common struggle among high handicap golfers. This is caused by the over-rotating of the upper body on the downswing mostly with the shoulders rotating too much to produce power.
Flat shoulder - Also called a flat shoulder plane, this happens when you turn your shoulders too level in your backswing. It’s on a horizontal plane caused by your spine tilted during the address position.
Steep shoulder - This can happen either in the backswing or downswing. This happens when your shoulders are angled too much towards the ground. This causes erratic shots like slices, fat shots, and thin shots.
How do I know if my shoulder turn is incorrect?
You know you are doing an incorrect shoulder turn when you commit the aforementioned mistakes above. There are factors in your swing that you need to consider and be aware of to avoid wrong shoulder execution. One of them is your hips rotation. When your hips hardly rotate and are almost square to the target. You will likely get a flat shoulder. When your body tilts forward and your torso is not rotating or when your front shoulder moves up and around instead of down and under, this results in too much swaying and steep swings.
Why is proper shoulder turn important in golf?
Executing proper shoulder movements boosts your power and speed which results in good distance. It also results in more consistent shots as it improves your accuracy. Most importantly, it reduces the possibility of injuries due to overusing your shoulder or incorrect alignment.
What is the proper shoulder turn?
In a good swing, both your hips and shoulders should be turning with your shoulders turning more than your hips. Your shoulders should be angled at 90 degrees away from the target line. The front shoulder should be turned down and under on the swing plane.
In proper swing rotation, your shoulder should move with your hips and torso. This gives you more room to rotate your shoulders downward without breaking the alignment while maintaining good posture and staying in the proper swing plane.
Practice your rotation using Swing Motion Trainer to build and instill muscle memory of the proper 90 degrees angle and in sync rotation of your upper body. This training device will help you get into proper position and alignment as well as correct shoulder, torso, and hips rotation.
