Instruction

Three common swing faults: The hunched setup posture

Published

12 years ago

Mar 7, 2014

I work in a busy golf Australian golf academy, so I get to train with a lot of different golfers who come to us for instruction. They vary greatly in abilities, and range from professionals to plus-figure handicaps all the way to rank beginners. And while it’s true that everyone is an individual and no two swings are the same, I do tend to see some of the same patterns over and over again from golfers, regardless of their golfing ability and body shape.

This article is the first of a three-part series that focuses on three common swing faults, and what golf fitness experts like me can do to fix them.

The Issue: Hunched Setup Posture

While a hunched setup posture is not swing fault in itself, it causes so many poor movements that it simply has to be included. Hunched posture basically consists of a combination of a forward head position, forward and inwardly rotated shoulders and a rounded upper back. It is becoming more frequent and starting at much younger ages due to long periods of time with a fixed focus on phones and computer screens.

The Fix: Release and Activation Exercises

We target the tight muscles that are dragging the posture forward — pecs, biceps, abdominals — with a combo of massage therapy, spiky ball release (self massage) and stretching. Once these muscles have been loosened up, we look to activate the essential postural muscles that were switched off: upper back muscles, lumbar erector spinae, deep neck flexors and deep core. We do this by using activation drills that can be done at home with minimal equipment and double up as a great pre-round warm up.

What we mean by the muscle “switching off” is that the neural connection between brain and muscle has been under-utilized and control of the muscle is far from ideal. This results in being literally unable to use that muscle for the purpose for which it was intended, in this case holding us in good posture.

For the majority of the exercises we prescribe we use the Ramsay Posture Belt (above), a great bit of kit that allows us to get into good posture and then make small but very rapid muscle activations and reopen that neural pathway back to the brain. That makes us more aware of those key postural muscles and more likely to use them during setup and swing. Many of the postural exercises we use involve going through the levels of 33, 66, 99. Here is a basic explanation as to what that means exactly:

The late Ramsay McMaster developed the 33-66-99 principle as a guideline for intensity. He believed it could be applied as a philosophy to everything from your energy levels, pre-round warm up and golf swing tempo out on the course.

“It’s about making people aware of their energy levels as well as their feels, range of movement, endurance and body controls,” Ramsay said. “If 99 percent is your peak and when you feel sharp, then 33 percent is when you feel sluggish, tired and fatigued physically.”

My understanding and interpretation when applying the principle to posture exercises and golf movement pattern drills is to consider 33-66-99 as three different levels. “33” is like the start level, doing the movements slowly and really concentrating on using good technique and learning the exercise. Golfers can move to “66” once they have mastered 33 and are able speed the movement up and use more intensity while still holding good form and posture, thus increasing bio feedback and gaining more awareness of key areas in your body. “99” is where golfers are working at near maximum intensity and speed, and looking to really fire up their golf body “feels” and ingrain the movement pattern into muscle memory.

Check out this mini program of release and activation drills to help you with your posture and set up!

Equipment Needed

Ramsay Posture Belt: The ultimate tool for training golf posture and movement patterns.
Spikey Ball: Versatile self massage and release tool.
Knee Band: Can be used around the knee, ankle or foot to activate and strengthen glute muscles.

Note: All product are available from http://www.randallfitsystems.com/content/products

Here are some alternatives you might find lying around at home that you can substitute for the recommended products. They are not as effective, but adequate for lower-level exercises.

For the Ramsay Posture Belt, golfers can substitute a resistance band or theraband tubing.
For the Spiky Ball, golfers can substitute a tennis ball, cricket ball or golf ball.
For the knee Band, golfers can substitute a resistance band tied in a loop.

The Program

Self-Massage Pec: 30 seconds each side
Bent Arm Chest Stretch: 30 seconds each side
Wall Initial Posture Drill: 45 seconds
Setup Posture Drill: 45 seconds

Perform the four exercises as a circuit, doing three sets of each with 20 seconds rest between exercises.

No. 1: Self-Massage Pec

Purpose

Reduce muscle tension/increase range of motion.

Positioning

You are lying face down.
Position spikey ball under pectoral muscle close to shoulder.
Elevate that same arm.

Form

Slowly move the ball around on you find sore spot. Stay on it until pain reduces.
Move on to the next spot.
Spend no more than 2 minutes on one spot.

Tips

Try to differentiate between “good” and “bad” pain. Good pain will reduce after 10-to-30 seconds. Bad pain will feel sharp and not reduce at all.
Lift the hips slightly off the floor to add more pressure through the pectoral.

No. 2: Bent Arm Chest Stretch

Purpose

Stretches pec major and internal rotators.

Positioning

Facing away from anchor (doorway,wall, strap).

Form

Step away from anchor point with arms in 90-90 position.
Push torso forward and away.
Aim for externally rotated position.
Feel stretch in chest and under armpit.

Trainer Tips

Watch for the rib cage lifting up.

No. 3: Wall Initial Posture Drill

Purpose

Initial stage of exercises for development of postural awareness.

Positioning

Posture belt, knee band.
Stand with your back against the wall.
Hands and arms in front position.

Form

Stomp and pulse working through three speeds 33-99.

Tips

Watch head position, retract chin.

No. 4: Set Up Posture Drill

Purpose

Initial stage of exercises for development of postural awareness.

Positioning

Posture belt, knee band.
In setup position.
Hands and arms in front loop.

Form

Stomp and pulse working through three speeds 33-99.
Maintain posture.

Tips

Watch head position, retract chin.
Check form in mirror.

Instruction

How to play your best golf when the temperature drops

Published

3 months ago

Feb 3, 2026

Brendon Elliott

The LPGA Tour is kicking off its 2026 season this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, and the pros are dealing with something most Florida golfers rarely face: freezing temperatures.

“It’s colder here than in the UK at the minute, which is a first,” said England’s Charley Hull during Wednesday’s media day at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Even Lydia Ko, who lives at Lake Nona, seemed surprised by the cold snap. “We’re pretty much getting to below zero in celsius here, which maybe in other parts of the country they would be thankful, but when you’re in Florida it is a little bit of a surprise,” she said.

If the world’s best players are adjusting their games for cold weather, recreational golfers should, too. Here’s how to play smart when the mercury drops.

Understand What Cold Does to Your Game

Before you change anything, you need to know what you’re fighting against. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means your ball won’t fly as far. Period.

Hull noticed this immediately during practice rounds at Lake Nona. She mentioned hitting a gap wedge into the 18th hole during a previous win but needing a 4-iron during Tuesday’s practice round. That’s a difference of four or five clubs for the same shot.

Action item: Expect to lose 5-10 yards on every club in your bag when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Plan accordingly and don’t be stubborn about club selection.

Layer Up Without Restricting Your Swing

Hull admitted she wore three pairs of pants during practice. While that might be extreme for most of us, staying warm is critical to playing well in cold conditions.

Your muscles need warmth to function properly. When you’re cold, your body tightens up and your swing gets shorter and faster. Neither of those things help you hit good golf shots.

Action item: Wear multiple thin layers instead of one bulky jacket. Look for golf-specific cold weather gear that stretches with your swing. Keep hand warmers in your pockets between shots. And don’t forget a good hat because you lose significant body heat through your head.

Take More Club Than You Think You Need

This is where ego gets in the way of good scores. When it’s cold, the ball doesn’t compress as well off the clubface. Combined with denser air, you’re looking at serious distance loss.

The pros at Lake Nona are dealing with a course that measures 6,642 yards but plays much longer this week. If they’re adjusting, you should too.

Action item: Take at least one extra club on every approach shot. In temperatures below 40 degrees, consider taking two extra clubs. It’s better to fly the ball to the back of the green than to come up short in a bunker.

Adjust Your Expectations on the Greens

Cold weather affects putting in ways most golfers don’t consider. The ball is harder and doesn’t roll as smoothly. Your hands are cold, making it harder to feel the putter. And if there’s any moisture on the greens, they’ll be slower than normal.

Ko mentioned that she still sometimes reads the greens wrong at Lake Nona despite being a member for years. Cold weather makes that challenge even tougher.

Action item: Hit putts more firmly than usual. The ball needs extra speed to hold its line on cold greens. Take a few extra practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before you putt.

Embrace the Mental Challenge

Hull said something interesting about cold weather golf: “I like the mental toughness of it.”

That’s the right attitude. Everyone on the course is dealing with the same conditions. The player who stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated by the extra difficulty will come out ahead.

Action item: Lower your expectations by a few strokes. If you normally shoot 85, accept that 90 might be a good score in 40-degree weather. Focus on solid contact and smart decisions rather than perfect shots.

Warm Up Longer and Smarter

This might be the most important tip of all. Cold muscles are tight muscles, and tight muscles get injured easily.

World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul revealed she’s been protecting a wrist injury that bothered her late last season. Cold weather makes those kinds of injuries more likely if you don’t prepare properly.

Action item: Spend at least 20 minutes warming up before your round. Start with stretching, then hit easy wedge shots before working up to your driver. Keep moving between shots on the course to maintain body heat and flexibility.

The pros at Lake Nona this week will adapt and compete at the highest level despite the cold. You can do the same at your local course by following these tips and keeping a positive attitude.

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 “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, 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!

Instruction

3 lessons from Brooks Koepka that’ll actually lower your score

Published

3 months ago

Feb 2, 2026

Brendon Elliott

Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, and whether you love him or hate him, the guy knows how to win when it matters. After his LIV Golf stint, the five-time major champion returns this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.

What makes Koepka fascinating? He doesn’t fit the mold. His swing isn’t textbook. He doesn’t obsess over mechanics. Yet he’s won three PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens, regularly making it look easier than guys with prettier swings.

So, what can average golfers learn from someone who treats the game so differently? Quite a bit.

Stop Overthinking Every Shot

Koepka describes his approach as “reactionary” rather than mechanical. While most tour pros grind over swing thoughts, Brooks sees the target and hits it. No mental checklist.

This might be the most valuable lesson for weekend golfers who’ve watched too many YouTube swing videos.

How to actually do this:

On the range, hit five balls where you stare at the target for three seconds prior to addressing the ball. Don’t think about grip or stance. Just burn that target into your brain. You’ll be shocked at how pure you hit it when your brain focuses on where the ball is going instead of how you’re swinging.

Next time you play, give yourself a rule: Once you pull the club, you’ve got 15 seconds to hit. Koepka is one of the fastest players on tour because he doesn’t give his brain time to sabotage him.

If you feel tension in your hands at address, you’re trying to control too much. Koepka’s grip pressure is famously light. Loosen up until the club almost feels like it might slip, then add just enough pressure to hold on. That’s your swing thought: soft hands, see the target.

This approach works better under pressure. When you’re standing over that shot with water left and OB right, the last thing you need is a mental checklist. See it, feel it, hit it.

Play to Your Strengths (Even If They’re Not Pretty)

Koepka uses a strong grip that wouldn’t pass muster in some teaching circles. But he’s built his game around what works for him, elite driving distance and recovery skills. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.

Here’s how to build your game like Brooks:

Look at your last five rounds and figure out where you’re actually gaining strokes. Bombing it off the tee, but can’t hit greens? Lean into it. Play courses where distance matters more than precision. On tight holes, grip down on your 3-wood instead of trying to thread a driver through a keyhole you’ll miss seven times out of ten.

Koepka knows he can scramble, so he’s not afraid to miss greens. If you’re deadly from 50 to 75 yards, start leaving yourself those distances on the par 5’s instead of going for them in two every time.

Know when to take your medicine. Koepka in the trees at the PGA? He’s punching out to 100 yards, not trying to bend a 6-iron around three oaks. You’re in the rough with a flyer lie and water short? Hit your 8-iron to the middle and move on. That’s not playing scared, that’s playing smart.

Save Your Best for When It Counts

Here’s a wild stat: Koepka’s putting average in majors is often more than a full stroke better per round than in regular events. He elevates when pressure is highest.

How does an amateur tap into that gear? It’s not about trying harder, it’s about caring differently.

Here’s what actually works:

Decide which rounds matter to you. Club championship? Member-guest? That annual trip with college buddies? Circle those dates and treat them differently. Koepka doesn’t care much about regular tour events, but majors? That’s when he locks in.

Two weeks before your big round, change your practice. Stop beating balls mindlessly. Play nine holes in which every shot has consequences. Miss the fairway? Hit from the rough on the next hole too. Three-putt? Twenty push-ups. Koepka’s practice intensity ramps up before majors because he’s rehearsing pressure, not just swings.

Develop a between-shot routine that resets your brain. Koepka is famous for his blank expression after bad shots. Try this: After any shot, take three deep breaths while walking, then find something specific to notice, a tree, a cloud, someone’s shirt. That’s your reset button. By the time you reach your ball, the last shot is gone.

The Bottom Line

Brooks Koepka’s return reminds us there’s no single path to success in golf. His “substance over style” approach proves that results matter more than looking good.

You don’t need a perfect swing; you need a reliable one that holds up under pressure. You don’t need to hit every shot in the book; you need the shots you can count on. And you don’t need to play great every time; you need to play great when it matters.

Welcome back, Brooks. Thanks for the reminder that golf is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole, not winning style points.

Instruction

What we can learn from Blades Brown’s impressive American Express performance

Published

3 months ago

Jan 29, 2026

Brendon Elliott

Blades Brown made a big impression last week in the California desert, and not just because he’s only 18. He put up numbers that would catch any weekend golfer’s attention. Most of us won’t hit 317-yard drives or find 86% of our greens in regulation, but there’s a lot to learn from how Brown managed his game at The American Express.

Here are three practical lessons from his performance that you can use on your own course this weekend.

Step 1: Give Priority to Accuracy Over Distance Off The Tee

Brown’s driving stats are impressive. He averaged almost 318 yards off the tee, ranking 12th in the field. More importantly, he hit 76.79% of his fairways, tying for fourth place in the tournament.

Think about that ratio for a second. Brown could have swung harder, chased more distance and tried to overpower the course. Instead, he played smart golf and kept his ball in play.

Your Action Item: Next time you’re on the tee box, ask yourself a simple question before pulling the driver. Do you need maximum distance here, or do you need to be in the fairway? If there’s trouble lurking or the hole doesn’t demand every yard you can muster, take something off your swing. Grip down an inch. Make a three-quarter swing. Do whatever it takes to find the short grass. Brown’s approach illustrates that fairways lead to greens, and greens lead to birdies. He made 22 of them last week, along with an eagle.

The math is simple. When you’re hitting three out of every four fairways like Brown did, you’re giving yourself legitimate looks at the green with your approach shots. That’s when scoring happens.

Step 2: Commit To Hitting More Greens

This is where Brown really separated himself. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation, an 86.11% clip that tied for first in the entire field. Read that again. An 18-year-old kid tied for the lead in one of the most important ball-striking statistics in professional golf.

How did he do it? By keeping his ball in the fairway (see Step 1) and giving himself clean looks with mid-irons and wedges.

Your Action Item: Start tracking your greens in regulation. You don’t need a fancy app or a statistics degree. Just mark down whether you hit the green in the regulation number of strokes. Par 3s in one shot. Par 4s in two shots. Par 5s in three shots.

Once you know your baseline, set a goal to improve it by 10%. If you’re currently hitting five greens per round, aim for six. The beauty of this approach is that it forces you to think strategically about club selection and shot shape. Brown’s strokes gained approach number was positive (0.179), meaning he was better than the field average. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be on the dance floor more often.

When you hit more greens, you eliminate the need for heroic short game shots. Brown only had to scramble 10 times all week, and he got up and down 70% of the time. That’s solid, but the real story is that he rarely put himself in scrambling situations to begin with.

Step 3: Minimize Mistakes And Stay Patient

Here’s the stat that jumps off the page: Brown made only three bogeys all week. Three. In four rounds of professional golf against the best players in the world.

He also made just one double bogey. That kind of clean card doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you play within yourself, avoid the big miss and trust that pars are never bad scores.

Your Action Item: Before your next round, decide that you’re going to play boring golf. No hero shots over water. No driver on tight holes just because you can. No aggressive pins when there’s a safe side of the green.

Brown’s performance shows us that consistency beats flash every single time. He didn’t lead the field in any single strokes gained category, but he was solid across the board. That’s how you post numbers and cash checks.

Give these three steps a try. Your scorecard will thank you.

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” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.