When you watch professionals on television drive the ball over 300 yards, you probably notice that they turn their shoulders behind the ball and rotate them at least 90 degrees from their address positions. If you feel stuck in your back swing, and are hitting weak shots with minimal shoulder rotation, you probably need to work on hip action, weight transfer and ball position.
Lazy Hips Make Your Shoulders Look Bad
A full turn behind the ball is the result of teamwork between the hips and shoulders--the shoulders can't do it all. If you lock your legs and keep your hips totally still, you will discover that your shoulders will only turn about 45 degrees. If you allow your hips to turn 45 degrees, the combination of hip turn and shoulder turn will give you the powerful 90-degree turn of the pros.
If Your Weight Gets Stuck, Your Shoulders Will, Too
You may be suffering from a reverse pivot, which occurs when your weight leans onto your left foot at the top of your back swing. This will cause your left shoulder to lean down toward your left hip, and you will be unable to turn behind the ball. To correct this, allow about 75 per cent of your weight to transfer into your right foot during the back swing. This will allow your left shoulder to turn toward your right hip, and you will have achieved a full turn behind the ball.
Bad Ball Positions Equal Bad Shoulder Turns
You can't turn behind the ball if it is too far back in your stance, and you will encourage a reverse pivot if the ball is too far forward. For shots requiring power, position the ball opposite the left-side logo on your shirt. This will make it easy to turn behind the ball, as long as you allow your hips to turn and your weight to transfer to your back foot.
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