When it comes to the golf swing, there’s no one tried-and-true method. Sure, you can try to copy Ben Hogan or Jack Nicklaus, but ultimately you’ll have your own unique flair in the swing.
That’s not necessarily always a bad thing. Take the swing of Scottie Scheffler, for example. No one would confuse his move with Hogan’s, but thanks to the proper matchups, he’s able to make it work. There’s more than one way to swing the golf club and find success.
However, that doesn’t mean every swing will work. There are certain moves that, no matter how much it’s practiced, will not yield solid results. That’s why it’s important that you learn some of the key elements found in all great golf swings and implement them in your own move.
GOLFTEC is a great resource for that. Thanks to their OptiMotion technology, they can pinpoint moves that work — and ones that don’t — to help you swing the club like never before.
Check out the text below from GOLFTEC’s Director of Teaching Quality Josh Troyer for more on a couple of key moves that help promote powerful and consistent ball striking.
Why hip and shoulder bend are important
When it comes to building a powerful, consistent golf swing, two often overlooked keys are how your hips and shoulders bend. According to our findings from OptiMotion, these movements are critical for rotation, control and clubhead speed.
So, what does hip and shoulder bend look like? In golf biomechanics, shoulder bend refers to how much your upper body tilts forward or backward relative to the ground. Hip bend, similarly, measures how much your pelvis tilts as you move through the swing.
“These are the postural movements that let you create and manage energy,” Troyer says. “We pay close attention to them because they help create speed and control low point.”
Backswing: The case for bending back
As you start your backswing, you should slightly bend backward — away from the ball. It might seem subtle, but it’s a move that separates skilled ball-strikers from amateurs.
“That backward bend helps make the swing longer and easier to rotate,” Troyer says. “And it keeps your head centered. That’s huge for low-point control.”
If your chest points too far toward the ground during the backswing, your head and neck drift away from the target. When you move off the ball like this, it can move your low point and make it difficult to make solid contact on the way back down.
Downswing: The squat and explode
As the downswing begins, great players bend forward into the ground — re-flexing their knees, hips and shoulders. Then, as the club approaches impact, that bend reverses. Everything extends upward.
“That’s when we talk about the ‘explode’ — like a vertical leap at the NFL Combine,” Troyer says.
From the top of the swing to impact, shoulder bend shifts from 2° back to over 40° forward before rebounding. The hips follow a similar flex-and-release pattern. This is a product of golfers pushing into the ground and creating ground reaction forces during the downswing.
