Fairways • Summer 09
Two Fundamentals
to Good Ball Striking

Sty Nelson
Assistant Head Professional
Wasatch Golf Course at Wasatch Mountain State Park

Here are two keys that will help you make solid contact with the golf ball. First, is to maintain the correct spine angle and second is to keep your right foot down as long as you can.

Your spine angle is set at address so during the downswing the spine angle should remain as close as possible to the original position that it held at address. Inconsistency comes from the golfer changing positions during the swing. By keeping your right foot down it helps your spine and club stay on plane.

It is almost impossible to keep your spine angle intact if you allow your right foot to come up too early. Early release of the right foot allows the body to move forward too fast thus changing the impact position.

A good drill to help develop these two fundamentals of good ball striking is to swing at 50% while keeping both feet on the ground. This will keep you from moving forward too fast and will also help keep the spine angle intact.