Your Feet Are Fine, But What About Your Shoulders?

I think that most amateur golfers are aware of where their feet are pointing in relation to the club face when they’re standing over the ball. Sure, every once in a while you see someone who usually slices the ball point their feet way left, but for the most part, golfers are generally aware of their feet. What I see a lot of the time, however, are golfers whose feet are pointed in the right direction, but their shoulders are way off. As we’ll discuss in this post, having your shoulders too open or closed at address could lead to a plethora of other issues later in the swing.

How do I check where my shoulders are pointing?

There are multiple ways to check shoulder alignment. One of the easiest ways is to stand over the ball with a club or alignment stick parallel to your feet line, and then hold another club or alignment stick across your shoulders. If the two are not parallel, then your feet and shoulders are not properly aligned. Another easy way is to stand next to a mirror, with the mirror facing down the line. This method can be a little imperfect, however, because it requires you to turn your head, which could lead your shoulders turning as well. Finally, another great way to see where your shoulders are pointing is to film yourself from down the line, either by propping up a camera or having someone else film you.

Why are my shoulders too open/too closed?

Several factors could be contributing to shoulders being too open or too closed, which could then lead to a lot of different swing problems. By far the biggest of these is ball position. Having the ball too far forward in your stance can cause the shoulders to be too far open, and having the ball too far back can make the shoulders too closed. This is usually the result of people having to reach for the ball if it’s too far forward or back, causing the chest and shoulders to turn too much. Another possible factor is swing thought. If you’re trying to hit a fade, for example, you may find yourself opening your shoulders to help get your path to the left. Conversely, if you’re looking to hit a draw, you might subconsciously close your shoulders to help get the path to the right. 

What sorts of problems can this lead to?

Slightly turning the shoulders can help with hitting fades and draws, but too much misalignment can lead to many problems. If your shoulders are too open, for example, this will likely produce a very steep over-the-top swing, which leads to a slice. If they’re too closed, then there’s a good chance that you’ll either swing way too shallow, or you’ll loop around and still swing over-the-top. And so if you’re someone who slices the ball or hits chunks and you can’t figure out what’s wrong with your swing, well maybe it’s not your swing. Maybe it’s as simple as pointing your shoulders in the right direction.

What can I do to point my shoulders in the right direction?

If the problem is your ball position, then you should start there. There’s nothing wrong with having the ball slightly forward or back in your stance, it doesn’t have to be exactly in the middle, but too much either way is not optimal. Once you have your ball position in a good chance, make sure to avoid turning your upper body towards the ball. Focus on keeping the shoulders and club face pointing in the same direction. If the ball is forward in your stance then the club will be slightly on your left side of your body, and if it’s back in your stance then it will be slightly on the right side of your body. This will seem strange at first, but this is okay. And it’s still much better than having your shoulders pointed in the wrong direction.

Let us know where your shoulders point and how that influences your swing. As always, let’s #MakeItHappen together!