Panda tip: Turn the shoulders for consistency

Tadashi70

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Do you have an erratic ball flight? Do you miss low right or left? Do you ever come up short with a club that should travel further? If this is you, then you are not turning your shoulders. You are sending your arms. The danger is that it feels like a full turn but you're actually moving the arms up and down. There is some shoulder turn but enough to realize a proper weight shift.

A full shoulder turn will get ypur weight to the inside of the right leg. It will get you behind the ball. It will build up stored power. And if done properly the club should be at or short of parallel.

The danger of not turning the shoulders is that the club will be in a different position on every swing. Weight stays at address or shift to left with an overswing. It also plays havoc on your hip release. If you're swinging from the bottom up and just have an arm swing, your swing plane will flatten as the hips release.

So turn those shoulders and realize your golf swing and golf game.
 
Good thought FK, something I struggle with from time to time.
 
This thread could be called T4K's daily tip
 
Thanks! Definitely something I need to do better!
 
thanks pandaman. definitely something i try to work on regularly. especially since i have the tendency to over swing thinking its a full shoulder turn.
 
At my age, this is something I struggle with all the time. It's the one swing thought I use before every swing and I still don't always do it. I just get in a hurry to HIT the ball. If I turn my shoulders, then I swing the golf club. Stupid but true!!
 
a bad habit of mine is to stop my backswing short of parallel. i don't really know why i do it, i think it has something to do with tension and being concerned about "losing" the head in the swing. i played a round with clients last friday, and my cartmate made several comments about how good the backswing looked but how much shorter the real swing was (freddie- sound familiar?!). a couple times he dropped a ball and had me make a fuller real swing that mimicked the practice swing, and i had some really good shots. something i definitely need to work on.
 
Do you have an erratic ball flight? Do you miss low right or left? Do you ever come up short with a club that should travel further? If this is you, then you are not turning your shoulders. You are sending your arms. The danger is that it feels like a full turn but you're actually moving the arms up and down. There is some shoulder turn but enough to realize a proper weight shift.

A full shoulder turn will get ypur weight to the inside of the right leg. It will get you behind the ball. It will build up stored power. And if done properly the club should be at or short of parallel.

The danger of not turning the shoulders is that the club will be in a different position on every swing. Weight stays at address or shift to left with an overswing. It also plays havoc on your hip release. If you're swinging from the bottom up and just have an arm swing, your swing plane will flatten as the hips release.

So turn those shoulders and realize your golf swing and golf game.

Great tip there. Will focus on this next round.


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Great thoughts FK. I can always tell when I'm not turning enough because my swing gets too long (read lifting my arms). This is most noticed on the driver and fairway woods for me and its my clue to start examining my turn.

JM
 
Turning my shoulders and keeping the club on plane at the same time is an issue I have been working to address. Thanks for posting your thoughts Freddie!
 
Turning correctly is honestly my biggest issue right now, and it seems like it should be so easy. I have this duck and tilt move I'm trying to get rid of.
 
a bad habit of mine is to stop my backswing short of parallel. i don't really know why i do it, i think it has something to do with tension and being concerned about "losing" the head in the swing. i played a round with clients last friday, and my cartmate made several comments about how good the backswing looked but how much shorter the real swing was (freddie- sound familiar?!). a couple times he dropped a ball and had me make a fuller real swing that mimicked the practice swing, and i had some really good shots. something i definitely need to work on.
You saw how much it helped me during our round with Freddie, if I could only get a little more I could hang with you guys. Doing a lot of stretching on this trip. Hope it helps
 
Thanks for the tip Freddie. Thought about it a good bit during my range session today since my fault is getting too "handsy" in my swing, and had some good results.
 
Very good tip for people Freddie, it's one thought I have on the range during warmups

One question though I have is when you have flexibility. It's not uncommon for my shoulder turn to go past 110 degrees. How do I keep from over swinging when I can just keep turning?
 
Awesome reminder Freddie. I know when I start spraying balls and struggling it's because I start arm swinging and it causes everything to go wonky.
 
Freddie, I am working on this right now with my swing. Have lost one to two club distance and saw video that confirmed a poor shoulder turn. I am struggling with making sure I get 90 degree shoulder turn without turning my hips more than 45 degrees. I believe I want my hips to resist (somewhat) a full shoulder turn to help with power. I have also been thinking "back to target" but also without turning my hips too far as well.
 
Very good tip for people Freddie, it's one thought I have on the range during warmups

One question though I have is when you have flexibility. It's not uncommon for my shoulder turn to go past 110 degrees. How do I keep from over swinging when I can just keep turning?
I use my chin as the stopping point for my shoulder turn. I also look for the tension in my upper back. Once I feel either one, it's time to uncoil. And that's when the fun begins.
 
Freddie, I am working on this right now with my swing. Have lost one to two club distance and saw video that confirmed a poor shoulder turn. I am struggling with making sure I get 90 degree shoulder turn without turning my hips more than 45 degrees. I believe I want my hips to resist (somewhat) a full shoulder turn to help with power. I have also been thinking "back to target" but also without turning my hips too far as well.
My hips move as well. As much as I'd like to think they dont, my 45 year body just won't allow for a belt buckle at the ball any longer. If the hips turn that is fine
 
So I think this is something a lot of us higher handicaps struggle with. Add age and loss of flexibility and it's even worst.

So I ask, how can you tell during a swing (other than the poor result :D) that you didn't make much of a shoulder turn and just used arms?

is there a feel we should be looking for. I have heard the shoulder under the chin before. Is thst the best measuring stick?

Thanks for the great tip.
 
Thanks a lot, Freddie. You must have been watching me
 
Awesome stuff Freddie, I will start feeling the arm swing about at the 10th hole, Then there is no telling where the ball will go. Next time out I will think about this thread.
 
My hips move as well. As much as I'd like to think they dont, my 45 year body just won't allow for a belt buckle at the ball any longer. If the hips turn that is fine

That is good to know. I still feel tension even if hips might turn a bit too much.
 
That is good to know. I still feel tension even if hips might turn a bit too much.
I like the idea of turning against the hips. The hips are probably going to turn a little. For me, it's best to just focus on the shoulders and let the hips do what they must.
 
I love Panda tips. They seem to be simple fundamentals but something that I tend to lose focus on. Always helpful.
 
I like the idea of turning against the hips. The hips are probably going to turn a little. For me, it's best to just focus on the shoulders and let the hips do what they must.

I agree blu. My opinion is, as these guys try and restrict the hip turn as much as possible, you will see a lot of injuries as they get older.
 
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