The best swings on the professional Tours have really good maintenance of spine angle. Here are a few of the recognized fine swings, to set a good example.
Here is a video of a pro golfer doing a great job of maintaining his spine angle. This aspect of the golf swing is extremely important to enable the golfer to see the ball at impact. Not seeing the ball at impact can result in whiffs, fat shots, topped shots, slices, duck hooks, and other errant hits.
Ask yourself:”how can you hit something you don’t see?” Maintaining the same spine angle from the time you address the ball to well after impact and keeping your head back and behind the ball, enables you to see the ball at impact. These aspects of the swing will result in more consistent, solid and straight hits.
Take a look at the video and focus on Louis’ head throughout his swing. Louis averages 298 yards per drive and he weighs only 150 pounds. Louis Oosthuizen swing is one of the cleanest golf swings to date. His body positioning, head orientation, and spine angle are flawless.
Jonathan Byrd Golf Swing
Jonathan Byrd has six wins on the PGA Tour, the most recent the 2011 Tournament of Champions in Kapalua. Much of his success was due to sharp iron play.
As you watch this iron shot, notice how steady his head stays through impact. Then he straightens up, almost as if he were using a PRO-HEAD Hitting Attachment.
Lorena Ochoa Swing
Lorena Ochoa retired as the world’s top female golfer. Watch Lorena’s spine angle at her address position, from this view looking down the fairway. You will easily see how she maintains that same angle throughout the swing and well into her follow-through.
Now watch the video again and this time, focus on her head. For a reference point, watch the top of her cap in relation to the three sand traps well off in the distance, to the left of the fairway. At address, her cap is almost exactly between the middle and furthest sand traps. Throughout her swing, her head does not move above the traps until well after impact. If anything, her head moves down. The commentator states that she keeps her head well back and behind the ball; even stating that she keeps it back “maybe just a little too long.”
Justin Rose Golf Swing
Justin Rose is one of the few golfers who won twice in 2010. He recently won the gold medal in golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016. His ball striking is excellent, week after week. When his short game is as good as his full swing, Justin wins.
Here you see the secret of his ball striking. He holds his spine angle better and longer than the vast majority of his competitors. Look how still his head stays through the backswing and downswing. And look how long into the follow-through his spine remains at its original angle.