Photos by Mike Norris

A) Avoid a “slouched” posture by using a golf club to align your back at the proper angle. The correct back tilt will also automatically give you the proper setup distance from the ball. B) Placing a water bottle behind your back foot at address is a good way to make sure you are not “spinning out” of your swing and instead shifting your weight laterally. C) A proper finish position should see your belt buckle facing the target and your right toes slightly touching the ground – with the water bottle remaining upright.

Reminders from the range

By Lou O'Keefe

Golf Country’s Lou O’Keefe outlines a couple simple drills that you can do at the driving range this spring that are bound to make your rounds out on the course a lot more enjoyable this summer.

Posture

The key to correct posture is bending from the hip joints. Most golfers bend from their waist, which puts them into a “slouched” position over the ball. You must bend from your hips; simply push your hips and rear end back with the sensation of “bowing” over the ball with your knees slightly flexed.

The amount of knee flex in the setup is equivalent to the amount of knee flex you have when you are walking. Take a step forward and stop, this is the correct amount of knee bend you should feel when you hit a golf ball.

Here is the most effective way to feel correct posture: place a golf club behind your back and tilt forward to the ground. Make sure that your lower back and head are both touching the golf club, this insures that your spine is straight and your weight is distributed evenly from heel to toe. The correct spine tilt will seem extreme at first, but now you will have better balance over the golf ball. Plus, this posture will also show you the correct distance you should stand from the ball because your arms will hang freely below your shoulders. If you feel that your club won’t rest on the ground, don’t bend your knees more; instead tilt your upper body towards the ground without curving your back. Now all you have to do is grip the club and swing.

Weight Shifting Drill

A key component to a successful golf swing is to shift your weight over your left foot (for right-handed golfers) continuing to a full finish position. An effective drill to feel this movement is to place an empty plastic water bottle just outside your right heel before you hit the ball. Now take your full swing and manipulate your right knee to try and touch your left knee. The key to this drill is making contact with the ball without knocking over the water bottle. If you knock the bottle over, most likely you are hanging back and spinning out instead of shifting your weight laterally on your downswing before you turn to face the target.

Finish Position

To get the most out of this drill, continue hitting balls with the empty water beside your right foot, but now make sure that you not only move your right knee towards your left knee, but finish your swing with your belt buckle facing the target. If you do this correctly you should feel your weight on your left foot with your right toe lightly touching the ground without knocking over the bottle. Try to hold your finish position until the ball lands to improve your balance and to see if you achieved the proper positions of your knees, belt buckle, and right toe.

Proper Practice

Now that you have a few different swing thoughts to work on it is important to understand the correct way to practice without having too many thoughts at once. It is extremely important to only have one thought per swing for a group of balls (20 or more), and then change your thought for the next group of balls. Keep alternating back and forth so you can establish a pattern with each swing key instead of changing your thought every single shot.

The golf swing is just a sequence of positions and consistency is the result of putting your body in the correct positions. Master these sequences and you will achieve the most important concept of golf -- swinging the club with the golf ball getting in the way instead of trying to hit it. If you practice properly which means only one swing thought per swing, your golf game will automatically improve.

About Lou

Lou O’Keefe, who grew up just off the fairways at the old Colonial in Lynnfield, is a former state junior champion and Hall of Famer at St. John’s Prep (’88). He later played collegiately at Clemson. A top golf instructor for the last several years, his work on the practice tee is only rivaled by his work on canvas. An award winning artist, you can check out his paintings at www.louokeefe.com