Point the stick at or past the golf ball by the time you get to impact.
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There are only a handful of things that every golfer, no matter their ability or skill level, does when they swing a golf club. They grip the club, they take a stance, and they turn — both back and through.
Turning is what most of us call it, but teachers will also often call it a “pivot.” Think of it as the engine of your golf swing: If your golf swing’s pivot is too slow, or not operating correctly, you’re going to struggle hitting the ball well.
But don’t fret, because GOLF Top 100 Teacher Tony Ruggiero, alongside his student and former U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, has a swing thought to help.
Place an alignment stick in your belt loops, like you see Andy demonstrating below, on the back of your trousers and take your setup. If you don’t have an alignment stick, use a mental image of one.
Make a backswing…
…and then, as you turn through, you want to make sure your hips are facing the target — which means the stick in the back of your belt loops is pointing at or past the golf ball.
That’ll give you the feeling of swinging through, which will keep your golf swing pivot in good shape.
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.