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Spine angle and maintaining it

My spine angle doesn't even last 1 second into the backswing, let alone the downswing...and it pretty much limits my potential as a golfer and it right away limits what any pro/teacher can do with me until I get it rectified.
Is my problem a lack of core strength? A lack of athleticism? Try as I might I just cannot get past this massive swing flaw that I've built my game around.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Swinging too hard from the top. Trying to watch the ball. Standing too close to the ball and creating room on the way down. To name a few
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That's exactly what I'm struggling with. When my tempo is good, I'm hitting my irons pretty good, but somewhere in the round it goes away and I start hitting thin or fat shots. I've always had a problem with swinging too hard from the top, I'm getting with an instuctor next week, gonna start a series of lessons and try to get this worked out.
 
sudseh said:
I've been taking swings with my entire bag randomly this evening, and find that with my longer irons I don't have as much of a problem maintaining spine angle as I do with my shorter irons. I'm using a chair behind me to try and touch it during the entire swing, but the more bent over I am, the more issues I'm having.

Thoughts please.
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It sounds like a posture issue to me
 
Great thread Panda. Spine angle has been a struggle for me for a few years now. Dayuuummmmm physical issues causing a ton of balance issues which leak over to maintaining my spine angle near impossible.
 
I agree with spine angle , and that is something that all of us can maintain and improve on. I also liked how Fred mentioned the swing happens so fast . This I also agree with more than anything , control the things you can control . The others just will happen . Good thread
 
freddie- i definitely struggle with maintaining this. i've done yoga, stretching, core work, and it hasn't helped as much as i hoped. but correct me if i'm going down the wrong path now: my thought is to get into a good setup position with good pre-swing fundamentals, then swing on plane, and the spine angle will take care of itself. said differently, losing the spine angle is often the body's way of compensating for other flaws in the swing as it tries to achieve the goal of hitting the golf ball. is it putting the cart before the horse to assume that fixing setup and plane will get the spine angle right? does fixing the spine angle then lead to fixing the plane?
 
caeleric said:
freddie- i definitely struggle with maintaining this. (a) i've done yoga, stretching, core work, and it hasn't helped as much as i hoped. but correct me if i'm going down the wrong path now: my thought is to get into a good setup position with good pre-swing fundamentals, then swing on plane, and the spine angle will take care of itself. said differently, losing the spine angle is often the body's way of compensating for other flaws in the swing as it tries to achieve the goal of hitting the golf ball. is it putting the cart before the horse to assume that fixing setup and plane will get the spine angle right? (b)does fixing the spine angle then lead to fixing the plane?
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(a)These are good things to do regarless, keep at it.

(b) Maintaining spine angle will in fact keep your plane intact. But maintaining the angle is only part of it. The turn has to be the same in order to find the same plane each time. This is one reason I do not teach plane because unless you are working on this everyday, it will not happen. But maintaining the spine angle will compensate for little movements in the rotation and get you closer to the center of the face more often then not.
 
Tadashi70 said:
(a)These are good things to do regarless, keep at it.

(b) Maintaining spine angle will in fact keep your plane intact. But maintaining the angle is only part of it. The turn has to be the same in order to find the same plane each time. This is one reason I do not teach plane because unless you are working on this everyday, it will not happen. But maintaining the spine angle will compensate for little movements in the rotation and get you closer to the center of the face more often then not.
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makes total sense. thanks for the response!


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I work damn hard on my flexibility in my hamstrings and hip flexors so I can maintain my spine angle through impact. I totally agree that this is a huge problem for all levels of golfers and really gets difficult once you get into your mid 40's and really start to lose flexibility. 75% of my misses are because of this.
 
Is there such thing as a spine angle drill? Or just looking in the mirror...
 
I think the best way to combat a loss of spine angle is through practice. The stick in the ground or chair in the back side really is basic but it helps. Its a matter of getting reps in and learning what it feels like when done correctly.
huhhh said:
Is there such thing as a spine angle drill? Or just looking in the mirror...
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Freddie,
Is that spine concept similar to the ball goes where you belt buckle is pointing? On your low/left shot, you are also facing that direction.
 
Tadashi70 said:
You are correct. I have a tendency to lose my angle due to my bad right hip. I'm Taking steps to build my core to compensate
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Thanks for the thread and the answer to this Freddie. That has always been my thought as well, as it was confirmed during my knee PT, that I have a weak core and poor flexibility in my hips.
 
staticline said:
Freddie,
Is that spine concept similar to the ball goes where you belt buckle is pointing? On your low/left shot, you are also facing that direction.
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This is an interesting concept. If you maintain spine angle, but rotate your upper body, wouldn't your belt buckle also face down and left(right)?
 
Worked on this today, Freddie. Thanks for the tips.
 
Not really, there really is not correlation between the two. Maintaining spine angle is key for your clubs and swing to realize their true potential. If you come up and out of the swing, lose spine angle, you will hit the ball low on the face and produce a very ugly low ball. More than likely your belt buckle will be pointed in a different direction than the ball traveled.

staticline said:
Freddie,
Is that spine concept similar to the ball goes where you belt buckle is pointing? On your low/left shot, you are also facing that direction.
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Freddie, I've been working on this and keeping my right elbow bent at impact. Could be just me, but is getting the proper lateral side bend the answer to both? As I cannot keep the bend in my arm without a proper (or what i perceive to be proper) lateral side bend, and doing that seems to maintain the spine angle. Just a thought.
 
Could you talk a bit more about the turn in relation to swing plane? How can I work on and better ensure my turn is consistent with each swing?

Tadashi70 said:
(b) Maintaining spine angle will in fact keep your plane intact. But maintaining the angle is only part of it. The turn has to be the same in order to find the same plane each time. This is one reason I do not teach plane because unless you are working on this everyday, it will not happen. But maintaining the spine angle will compensate for little movements in the rotation and get you closer to the center of the face more often then not.
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mhroche said:
Could you talk a bit more about the turn in relation to swing plane? How can I work on and better ensure my turn is consistent with each swing?
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A good drill is to take a golf club with your arms crossed over your chest region. Add some bend to the waist and bend in the knees. Work on turning your crossed arms over the I side of your right leg and holding it. This a drill to get you to feel the weight shift.

Once you have this down, place the butt end of the club into your sternum. Make the same shoulder turn but make sure you swing back to address position. The same flex in the knees and bend in hips is needed for this drill. If done correctly, the butt end is in your sternum and your hands are close to the head of the club. As you turn the but end will leave it's location but will return once you start the down swing.

Now the final step is to take this to a real setup and swing. Start slow and keep that club in front of you. Also keep on plane by turning the shoulders to get the club into a good position.
 
Freddie, what do you think about this closet rod idea? It's similar to placing the club across the chest, but doubles as a lever to help stretch as well.



I've been working on this and really feel like it's helping me, especially with making a full turn both ways. I also was told to use my rear shoulder to start the turn back, not the lead because using the lead will potentially push you back and out of your spine angle while using the rear will activate the bigger back muscles and help you turn around your spine. It seems to be helping me be much more consistent as well.
 
-CRW- said:
Freddie, what do you think about this closet rod idea? It's similar to placing the club across the chest, but doubles as a lever to help stretch as well.
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I could swear Tom Watson had that in one of his videos, calling it his "secret move" or something like that.
 
Maintaining my spine angle through impact is the main thing I have been working on this year and my ball striking has improved because of it. For me at age 50, hamstring and hip flexibility exercises are critical for me being able to maintain correct spine angle throughout the swing. This aging thing is a lot of work!!
 
-CRW- said:
Freddie, what do you think about this closet rod idea? It's similar to placing the club across the chest, but doubles as a lever to help stretch as well.



I've been working on this and really feel like it's helping me, especially with making a full turn both ways. I also was told to use my rear shoulder to start the turn back, not the lead because using the lead will potentially push you back and out of your spine angle while using the rear will activate the bigger back muscles and help you turn around your spine. It seems to be helping me be much more consistent as well.
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Thanks for posting this! I really like the explanation & I'm gonna start working on getting more flexible & build up that muscle memory!
 
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