How to Teach Golf, the Stance - Golf Pro Tips
Tips for Golf Stance and Posture, Alignment in Address Position
May 18, 2009
Having explained the importance of a good grip in the first of a series of articles about how to teach golf, the second article deals with the muscle groups that are responsible for a good takeaway. Once again this can be taught at home with a seven iron, and the pupil should not be allowed to hit balls until they have cultivated a good stance.
Teaching Good Posture
The essence of a good golf swing is when the upper body turns round the spine. The way the spine is set at address is therefore crucial. If the spine is set at the wrong angle it will lead to a tilt or reverse pivot and can often hurt the golfers back.
- The most important thing is to keep the golfers back straight. They must learn to bend over from the hips keeping the back straight and not stoop with rounded shoulders.
- The chin must be kept up. Many beginners look down at the ball with their chin almost resting on their chest. The head must be kept up to promote a good and easy turn.
- The knees must flex. Often a golfer forgets to bend their knees at address and this leads to a stiff ungainly swing.
- The arms must be relaxed and not rigid. They should hang almost vertically from the shoulders with the hands resting about six inches from the thigh.
Once the golfer had learned the correct posture they must appreciate how to line themselves up correctly. Once again this should be practised at home.
- Place a club on the floor and get your pupil to stand with their toes against the shaft.
- Explain the importance of feet, hips, shoulders and a line across your forearms all pointing in the same direction.
- Make sure that the ball position is in the middle of the stance.
Practise Makes Perfect
Grip, alignment and posture are the fundamentals that will either help or hinder the swing. Unfortunately, mastering these aspects of the swing are boring. But explain to your pupil other tasks where getting the first step right is vital for future success.
- Building a wall with bricks - placing the first two correctly on top of one another is crucial in building a high wall.
- Learning the scales on a musical instrument - if you don’t have the basics of fingering it will be impossible to finish the piece.
- If you don’t hold and aim the gun correctly - you wont hit the target.
It is the job of the teacher to make sure these lessons are learned and learned well. Rather than too much explanation take a picture of a pro golfer standing to the ball and simply copy it. Get your pupil to look carefully at the photo, and then take a picture of them on your mobile phone to show how close they are getting. Then you do it, see who has the best stance – it might even improve your own game.
Above all keep encouraging through this boring period and don’t hurry to the range. Don’t let your pupil try to run before they can walk.
See also: How to teach a One Piece Takeaway - PGA Advice
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