Instruction
Understanding How The Body Affects The Golf Swing: Shoulder Bend
Generally speaking, in all sports, if the head is moving the body is moving with it.
In football, if you grab someone’s face mask and pull their head, the rest of the body tends to follow. So it would be of the utmost importance in a sport where the ball is not moving to eliminate any excess head movement in the backswing to prevent the body from moving excessively.
To better understand why this happens, we need to have a better understanding of what is causing it. For that, I introduce you to what is called the “shoulder bends.”
Above: Shoulder bend will always read in degrees.
In the photo above, the golfer on the left is currently standing straight up and down with NO shoulder bend. That’s why number on the image reads 0 degrees. The golfer in the middle is bent over and has 47 degrees of FORWARD shoulder bend. The more he leans forward, the more degrees of shoulder bend he will have. Finally, the golfer on the right is standing tall and leaning back and his shoulder bend reads 21 degree BACKWARD. The more he leans back, the more backward shoulder bend he will have.
Now that you understand basic shoulder bends, let’s talk about how they relate to golfers who moves their head off the golf ball and golfers who do not move off the ball.
In the golf swing, all golfers will start in a position of FORWARD Shoulder Bend as seen below.
As the golfer starts their backswing, they are slowly losing their FORWARD shoulder bend and will eventually make it to the top of the backswing and a point which ideally will have ZERO Shoulder Bend forward.
Golfers who move their head off the golf ball will start in forward shoulder bend, make their backswing, and by the time their club is up to the top of the backswing they will maintain some or the majority of their forward shoulder bend, looking like the image below. The more forward shoulder bend they have the more they will move off the golf ball.
Maintaining too much forward shoulder bend at the top of the backswing not only moves the head off the golf ball, but it creates a variety of other miscues such as fat shots, a lack of distance and directional problems.
How To Fix The Problem
Without a golf club in your hand, stand next to a door frame with your left foot nearly touching the left door jamb.
With your arms crossing your shoulders, turn and begin to simulate a backswing. This backswing shouldn’t allow your shoulder blades to move farther away from the left door jamb. In fact, feel like they are moving closer to it!
If you notice that your shoulders at the top of the backswing are farther away from the left door jamb, you have maintained too much forward bend, which is a problem. From this position, take your shoulders and begin to move or push them closer to the left door jamb. This will take your head and move it back over the golf ball and create the feeling we call “extension.” Repeat until this feel more natural.
If you can do this drill properly, you will eliminate your excessive head movement during the backswing and most likely hit the ball more solid!
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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John
Jun 5, 2016 at 6:23 pm
Why are you referring to this as ‘shoulder bend?’ The shoulders don’t bend. This is spine tilt, often referred to as primary tilt (forward tilt / back tilt).
Jason
Nov 12, 2014 at 11:56 am
Couple of questions: 1:) why when measuring shoulder bend, do we measure it from the down the line angle at address, and then from the front view at the top of the backswing? Isn’t this really measuring two different things?
2:) at address, a player should have a slight amount of spins tilt away from the target. So, at the top of the swing, if that tilt was maintained, how could we ever attain a 0 degree measurement if we didn’t reverse that initial tilt? Am I thinking of this correctly?
Scott Yurgalevicz
Nov 12, 2014 at 3:36 pm
Hi Jason, Thanks for the comments and questions. Let me see if i can answer these for you.
#1 – So technically we don’t measure shoulder bend from either angle. It is actually in 3-dimensions. In the picture about explaining shoulder bend there is a motion sensor on my back. So technically at address you can estimate shoulder bend from the down the line view, but it wont be perfect.
#2 It is true that you will start with some kind of spine tilt at address. Not a large amount though. During the backswing the golfer begins to turn and tilt, as the golfer continues back, to maintain their inclination to the ground and eliminate excessive upper body translation they will also extend their spine. That is essentially the goal of the above drill. If a golfer doesn’t extend they will then begin to translate significantly off the ball.
Essentially a golfer will be in a position of flexion (forward shoulder bend) at address, during the backswing they will be going from flexion to extension(where shoulder bend goes to somewhere around zero degrees).
Does that help?
For a visual here’s a picture i quickly googled to show Johnny Miller doing the same thing….starts with a spine tilted to his right (away from the target a few degrees).
http://asafgolf.free.fr/images/golf/swings/miller_face.jpg
Feel free to email me at syurgalevicz@golfTEC.com and I can try to explain it a bit more in depth for you
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antonio
Nov 11, 2014 at 4:17 am
Thanks a lot Scott for the very interesting article. I saw myself in the forward bend position and have been working lately to limit that which has improved a lot my ball striking. Also I have been using your drill basically as part of my warm up routine. Please confirm where your weight should be (left or right foot) when you make the full turn in the drill. Thanks again
Scott Yurgalevicz
Nov 12, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Antonio,
Great to hear this drill helps! I would recommend you feeling more weight on the front foot esp if you are working on eliminating forward shoulder bend at the top.
Let me know if you need anymore help. syurgalevicz@golftec.com
Steve Lippincott
Nov 10, 2014 at 11:30 am
The information Scott presents in this article is part of the GolfTEC system of coaching. It represents the change in the spine from forward to lateral flexion that every golfer does to varying degrees as verified by testing more then a million tour professionals and amateurs a like on the 3d motion capture system Golftec coaches like Scott, and myself use everyday.
After teaching more then 17,000 lessons on that system the most common pattern I see in the highest handicap golfers is too bend too far forward at the top of the swing. This greatly limits their ability to rotate and limits the amount the left arm can orbit the torso. It can also produce a greater risk of injury, though any discussion of why a golfer gets injured is subjective conjecture at best.
Lastly, Scott’s measurement of how the spine changes from forward to lateral flexion is consistent amongst the best players in the world. It’s not a Stack and Tilt invention it’s a common pattern amongst those who strike a golf ball the best.
Matt Christian
Nov 9, 2014 at 3:01 pm
http://youtu.be/_i6ucMMuzU0
Stewart Graham
Nov 9, 2014 at 8:30 am
No doubt Scott is full of enthousiam his pupils seem to be good junior / high school players well done Scott .Have you ever worked with real ordinary club golfers 50/60 / 70years old? Stiff business men, overweight ladies seniors with arthritis if they tried to keep the head still ,turn around the same axe ,they would probably end up in hospital .too many people are been taught like tour pros ,find golf more difficult than it should be and the give up the game .Just look at the Senior Tours they swing the clubhead with minimum stress on ther body ,swings that last à lifetime .Most of the players that are on the world tours at the moment wont even make it to the senior tours.By the way can anybody name me a sport where the head stays fixed? Stewart Graham PGA GB 42years Positive Impact Golf.
Scott Yurgalevicz
Nov 9, 2014 at 9:23 am
Thanks For the comment Stewart, quite frankly the majority of my students are aged 40-60, with office jobs where they don’t move around most of the day. I fact one of my favorite students is a 75 yr old man who is about 5 feet tall and 150lbs max, who just this year wanted to learn the game. His swing is really not much different than what I show above. He started with more shoulder bend at the top (he was actually around 35* of forward shoulder bend), he generally couldn’t hit the ball very far (a la mr. Havercamp In caddy shack 🙂 ) Now we hover around 5-8* of forward shoulder bend at the top and he strikes the ball really well. Some people can’t get to zero, others can only get to 8*, as with anything there is a range of acceptable that I look for.
Thanks again,
Scott
Scott Yurgalevicz
Nov 9, 2014 at 9:27 am
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vYej_2wxX38
Thought I could throw this video of Albert Pujols up to show how stable his head remains with zero translation of the upper body going backward.
Thanks again,
mike
Nov 9, 2014 at 9:56 am
Great point Scott. Albert is very still woth his head. Also, I would say thay it doesn’t matter how old you are, physiologically, extending the spine and shoulder and neck and hip and knee and ankle joints is completely healthy as that’s what joints are designed to do.
I’d also like to post this video of a slapshot. Even though Chara is moving on his skates, look at how he turns his shoulders back and through without moving his head. Pretty cool stuff.
Brandon
Nov 8, 2014 at 8:50 pm
Scott, great article!
mike
Nov 8, 2014 at 8:32 pm
Scott,
Great work. For all that are questioning Stack and Tilt, if you do your research you will find that no player who has ever worked with Mike and Andy have had a back injury while working with them. Tiger’s back problem was not a result of a centered turn. Also, tilting the spine to keep it centered is referring to left side bend and extending and turning at equitable rates to to keep the head in place. An overwhelming majority of current and past champions have done the same thing.
This article is perfect for starting to introduce 3D thinking and measuring into the typical description if a backswing.
Also, you have a typo in your Bio, Scott.
mike
Nov 8, 2014 at 8:34 pm
2nd paragraph “….He started my golfing career…”
James
Nov 8, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Stack and tilt is a good thing…I do it my self. I’ve been to the seminars where Andy and Mike talk about the exact same thing.
James
Nov 8, 2014 at 6:47 pm
This is Stack and Tilt. Tilting the spine as you make your backswing to keep your head centered!
Scott Yurgalevicz
Nov 8, 2014 at 7:19 pm
Hey James, thanks for the comment. This article is about how to eliminate excessive upper body translation/keeping a steady head during the backswing.
Not sure if you were pointing out stack and tilt as a bad thing or a good thing but what I do know is that 99% of all pga tour pros are closer to the picture with 0 shoulder bend at the top of their backswing than the golfer with excessive shoulder bend forward.
Thanks for the comment & feel free to ask any questions about shoulder bends or stack and tilt for that matter and I would be more than happy to answer them for you!
Cheers,
Scott
NT
Nov 13, 2014 at 1:06 pm
That’s right 995 of all tour players look closer to the 0 shoulder bend. Many mistake keeping the head still in the same position during the backswing as stack and tilt.
dan
Nov 8, 2014 at 5:53 pm
Just a thought. When tiger woods was winning everything he looked at his head moved off the ball. This allowed for a more natural movement into impact and put less stress on his back. It has been noted by other coaches that since he now keeps his head still through impact it has contributed to his back issues m just saying…
Scott Yurgalevicz
Nov 8, 2014 at 6:13 pm
Hey Dan, thank you for your comment. I completely understand your position. The article is merely a way for the average golfer to understand why they may move off the ball excessively.
Technically speaking a golfer will tend to encounter more back problems the more they stay in forward flexion, while attempting to turn. Most expert golfers will generally have very little if not zero head movement at all, but again there are always going to be the anomalies that do it a different way.
Thanks again for the comment!