Body Tilt: The Start Of Something Good

GOLFERS HAVE HEARD the term ever since they began playing — “stay behind the ball.” And it has been misunderstood as often as it's been said. Which is to say, in the downswing, golfers should keep their weight on their right leg or side. Wrong! Staying behind the ball has nothing to do with weight shift, as it is generally understood. Even then, it refers only to the upper body.

It is the upper body (including the head) that stays back or behind the ball and moves to the left with the lower body in the downswing. It is a matter of retaining the tilt of the spine (or upper body) that was set at address. This can happen only if you have tilted your body. So if you haven't, you definitely should. It is crucial in consistently making effective golf swings. It allows you to hit shots with maximum power and flight control.

From the top of the swing, the arms need to move down and out prior to contact with the ball. They should not move out and down, which is one of the biggest problems for average golfers and the basic cause of the dreaded slice. Establishing a spine tilt away from the target and maintaining it through the swing can easily and effectively solve this issue.

The golf swing is essentially a sidearm or underhand motion. When you throw a ball overhand, the primary movement is the arm above the head. In this particular motion, the spine is tilted away from the throwing arm. Conversely, in order to throw a ball sidearm or underhanded, the spine must be tilted toward the throwing arm. In order to move the arms down from the top of the golf swing, the spine must be in a similar position.

Creating The Tilt
When you first set up to the ball at address, your spine will be mostly straight or vertical. However, when setting the club into position behind the ball, you must tilt your spine (or upper body) to the right. It's hard to put a specific number on just how much you should tilt, but it's safe to tilt about 5 degrees, on average.

A good way to get the right amount or to simply create the tilt in the first place is to jut the left hip forward and up or drop your right hip down and in, which is what happens when you work the left hip as directed.

Another way is to make sure your hands are ahead of the ball. This slight thrust of your hands to the left has a way of developing the tilt of the right side. You will know you have tilted by the fact that your head will be slightly behind the ball. An image I often associate with this position is to imagine your upper body looking like the letter “K” in reverse.

At the same time, your overall weight is evenly distributed between the right and left leg. You do not put more weight on the right side at address. The hips have to kick slightly toward the target to keep your weight evenly distributed. Remember, the tilt is strictly an upper-body business.

How To Maintain The Tilt During The Swing
When you start the takeaway, turn your right hip over your right heel. At the same time, your left shoulder moves slightly down but more importantly, toward the right leg. This should occur by virtue of the right hip turning as described. The movement of the right hip is the most important element in not only retaining the spine tilt but also in assuring you don't slide or sway laterally. Of course, now your overall weight will be shifted over to the right side.

The most crucial factor is in the downswing and how you start it. Your weight will definitely shift to the left, but that shift must begin with the lower body and onto the left leg. Footwork can help you attain this shift. If you raise your left heel in the backswing by even a slight amount, you should begin the downswing by setting that heel into the ground. Even if you don't raise the left heel, you can press it into the ground to start the downswing.

You can also think of it in terms of a slight lateral slide of the hips to the left, followed simultaneously by a turn of the hips, known as “slide and turn.”

Another way to retain the tilt is to not allow your head to move past or ahead of the ball but to move slightly to the right in the backswing. It is a natural effect of the turning of your upper body and particularly your shoulders. Your head will naturally follow.

Too many golfers think that keeping your head still means it must be riveted in position throughout the swing. However, that creates tension and can also lead to an incomplete or even reverse-pivot backswing position. The trick is, as your downswing develops, your head moves back to the left and should stop when it reaches the ball.

The late Byron Nelson once said he liked to feel that his head was moving backward as his body moved to the left and he hit the ball. That may not have actually happened, but it is interesting to think about.

The only way to lose that tilt is to start the downswing with the upper body. Even though your overall weight will move to the left, you want to feel as though your upper body is dead still. Sometimes, just thinking of starting the downswing with only your arms helps keep the upper body “quiet.”

Golfers who start the downswing with the upper body almost invariably throw the club out and away from them, from outside to inside or across the target line. This will undoubtedly bring a pulled shot or a slice.

Those who misinterpret staying behind the ball and keep their weight on their right side will very often hit the ground behind the ball, hit it higher than normal or top the shot.

All good golfers, and those who aspire to be better, create and maintain the spine tilt, some more than others depending on their swing plane. Normally, those with a somewhat flatter or a more rotary plane, one in which the club swings more or less around the body, have less tilt than those with a more vertical swing plane. No matter the swing plane, the tilt will also be more pronounced the longer the club you are using.

By the same token, taller golfers with a vertical swing plane will need a bit more lateral movement in the downswing to slow their hip turn and allow their hands to catch up with their body for a synchronized action. These players will not have to pay as much attention to keeping their head back. If they do, the tilt will be too much at impact.

The tilt helps shallow the swing plane through impact, creating a flat spot. In other words, the club is moving straight down the target line at and through impact. This, in turn, generates greater clubhead speed and a square clubface when the ball is struck. Hence, maximum power and accuracy are the result.