How can I improve spine tilt at impact?

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

priceunderpar

New
Whenever someone breaks down a top pro's swing, they'll point out the dynamic spine tilt of the upper body away from the target at impact.

How do you get to that position? Is it a bump of the hip to the target, weight shift forward, a combination? When I look at myself on video, I may have a small degree of tilt away from the target at impact, but I don't see the dynamic spine tilt away from the target like you see in a really powerful golf swing. Sometimes on video, my head will actually move foreward, almost over the ball, instead of back. When I try to keep my head back behind the ball, I shift my weight back and hit high weak shots.

Any help is appreciated.
 
Last edited:
bts

bts

New
You can do it, but...... there you go.

priceunderpar said:
Whenever someone breaks down a top pro's swing, they'll point out the dynamic spine tilt of the upper body away from the target at impact.

How do you get to that position? Is it a bump of the hip to the target, weight shift forward, a combination? When I look at myself on video, I may have a small degree of tilt away from the target at impact, but I don't see the dynamic spine tilt away from the target like you see in a really powerful golf swing. Sometimes on video, my head will actually move foreward, almost over the ball, instead of back. When I try to keep my head back behind the ball, I shift my weight back and hit high weak shots.

Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
It's a by-product (or the "effect A") of "releasing beyond impact" or "sustaining the lag through impact" (or the "cause A").

You get something else (the "effect B"), if you "release at impact" or "throwaway prior to impact" (the "cause B").

You can intentionally do it (the "effect A"), like what you did ("try to keep my head back behind the ball, I shift my weight back"), and could get what you got ("hit high weak shots") or what others got (hit it fat), the "effect C".
 
J

JeffM

New member
I think that spinal tilt is mainly due to driving the lower body forward while keeping the head stationary (back where it was at the end of the backswing). During the downswing, the hips are squared and shifted towards the target and that causes the lower lumbar spine to move to the left. That produces spinal tilt - if the head is kept back (often positioned just inside the right foot at impact - see Brian's analysis of Badds' new swing). Some golfers (like Tiger Woods) even drop their head backwards at the start of the downswing - see
http://perfectgolfswingreview.net/TWbackview.jpg

Jeff.
 
P

puttmad

New
...

JeffMann said:
I think that spinal tilt is mainly due to driving the lower body forward while keeping the head stationary (back where it was at the end of the backswing). During the downswing, the hips are squared and shifted towards the target and that causes the lower lumbar spine to move to the left. That produces spinal tilt - if the head is kept back (often positioned just inside the right foot at impact - see Brian's analysis of Badds' new swing). Some golfers (like Tiger Woods) even drop their head backwards at the start of the downswing - see
http://perfectgolfswingreview.net/TWbackview.jpg

Jeff.
Click to expand...

Jeff, a slight consolidation....:)
Spinal tilt is mainly caused by compression of the muscles on the right side of the torso, which throws the left hip targetward at the same time as the right hip starts moving around the left and the left side of the body starts stretching...
The head doesn't stay stationary, it rocks, centered around the 7th cevical bone ("between top of the shoulderblades." If it stayed stationary while the spine was tilting you would hurt your neck muscles in the long run...
 
P

puttmad

New
...

KnighT said:
Brian has talked about this extensively in many of his videos. Have you seen 'The Brian Manzella Golf Show' episodes 1-6 ?
Click to expand...

K...bear in mind over 50% of us are still on dial up and most of these videos are untenable due to size of the downloads...:)
 
P

puttmad

New
...

Jim Kobylinski said:
Can't you stream them on youtube? Or is dialup not fast enough for that?
Click to expand...

Dial up is awesomely slow Jim... you still have to download the whole thing and even on streaming the file sizes are big.......
I've done it with a couple, e.g Brians anti-shank vid, but even that took ages to download...
 
L

Leek

New
I came up with a foolproof solution! I got a really mean woman to kick my right hip and pull my hair in the downswing!
 
J

Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
Here's a great drill to work on this:

Hit 3/4 wedge shots where you go no higher than between hip/shoulder high in the follow swing but don't let your right foot come off the ground.

The ball should start straight and draw SLIGHTLY.

---------------

If you can start doing that well than take that over to your full swing but go to the finish.
 
B

Brian Manzella

Administrator
It doesn't "Just happen"

priceunderpar said:
...dynamic spine tilt of the upper body away from the target at impact.

How do you get to that position?

Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Price,

You do it by centering your weight between your feet on the first move dowm, then COMBINING both a LEFT SHOULDER UP/RIGHT SHOULDER DOWN "rock skipping" upper body, while your chest and his open to the target.

Your hips will "fill up" a wall just left of your left foot, but when you get there it will be with the FRONT of your left hip area! :eek:

Good luck!
 
J

JeffM

New member
Brian - do you perceive the left shoulder up/right shoulder down "rock skipping" upper body movement to primarily be a spine tilting maneuver, or do you perceive it to be the end-product of a shoulder rotation that is perpendicular to a spine that is tilted to the right (because the head is kept back while the lumbo-pelvic junction is moving forward)?

Jeff.
 
P

priceunderpar

New
Brian I don't quite understand what you mean in your last sentence.

What do you mean when you say my hips will "fill up the wall" in front of my left hip area?

I haven't gotten a chance to watch all of your Manzella Shows. is the there one that will give me a visual of this?

Thanks.
 
B

Brian Manzella

Administrator
OK, ok....

priceunderpar said:
Brian I don't quite understand what you mean in your last sentence.

What do you mean when you say my hips will "fill up the wall" in front of my left hip area?
Click to expand...

Your left leg is on an ANGLE at address. The imaginary WALL straight up from the outside of the left foot is VERTICAL...

So you have to move the hips left to "FILL IT UP."

But, I want you to do it with opening hips!
 
Erik_K

Erik_K

New
Brian Manzella said:
Price,

You do it by centering your weight between your feet on the first move dowm, then COMBINING both a LEFT SHOULDER UP/RIGHT SHOULDER DOWN "rock skipping" upper body, while your chest and his open to the target.

Your hips will "fill up" a wall just left of your left foot, but when you get there it will be with the FRONT of your left hip area! :eek:

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Superb advice, Brian.
 
D

dodger

New
Tried Jim's suggested drill with keeping right foot planted at half to three-quarter follow through. Why am I shanking? If I try to move left with lower body and right heel coming up, no shank but not a real crisp impact. Am I losing axis tilt, clubface issue? any idea why keeping right foot planted through impact would make me shank? If you watch Mickelson, his right foot is well planted through impact. Any ideas?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top