Here’s what many amateurs do wrong with their golf posture (and tips to fix it!)

You know all those times when your mom told you to stand up straight when you were younger? Well, little did she know that it’s advice you should be using on the golf course, as the proper golf posture is crucial for maximizing your swing.

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Now, look, I’m personally not someone with the credentials to call someone out over their golf posture — especially other amateur players. As I wrote about recently, my golf swing sequence is all out of whack, and part of that starts with my golf posture, as I tend to lean too far forward. But, hey, it’s something I recognize and something I’m working on correcting.

For those reading this who may struggle with bad posture on the golf course, teaching pro Cathy Kim provides some help.

In the video below, Kim addresses some common differences she sees between amateurs and professionals, and explains how players can improve their golf posture with some easy steps.

How to improve your golf posture

You might be wondering why good golf posture is important. Here’s the easy answer: It helps you make good golf swings. The better your posture, the better you should hit the ball.

Kim says the first thing to correct any issues in posture is identifying the problem. The image below shows how your posture should look.

As Kim explains in the video, “if you look on the left, you see there’s a bit of a curve in the lower back. If you look on the right, it’s relatively flat — that’s what I’m looking for.”

So how can someone help fix the problem? Kim says taking a golf club and running it parallel to your back can help, which she demonstrates in the image below.

“So go and take your golf club and stick it on your back with the grip touching the tailbone,” she explains. “You’re going to work on closing up the gap between the lower back and the golf club itself. I shouldn’t be able to see any kind of gapping there.”

While having the right golf posture is important, Kim recognizes that it takes some time to get used to. After all, for a player like myself, leaning forward has been a bad habit since I started playing golf. That’s why she says to practice in front of a mirror, making sure you get the look and feel of things.

“Do this in front of a mirror,” she said. “Practice it. You’re really going to have to engage your core there. The ultimate goal is to make sure it stays that flat when you swing the club.”

As the photo above shows, good posture starts in your trunk, and runs up your back and into your shoulders. By incorporating this into your swing, and engaging your core, you’ll see better ball contact and improved shots.