How to set up the body at the address position by Basic Steps to Perfect Golf

The first two important items to set you on the way to playing very good golf is to set the correct golf grip and also to address the the ball in the correct manner.

Some say the golf grip should be first but nevertheless I will start with the address position and cover the golf grip later in this section.

Begin the set up by standing tall and erect, with the feet approximately shoulder width apart Your right foot should be slightly angled to the right at about five degrees from the straight position, however the left foot should be angled to the left at approximately fourty five degrees.

From this position introduce a very slight bend in the legs and simultaneously allow the upper body to lean slightly forward.
( Just stand tall, with a very slight bend at the knees - and you must not bend over too much.)

The next important step is to set the sideways angle of the upper body so that it is slightly tilted to the right, thus ensuring that the right shoulder is lower than the left shoulder. (This allows the right hand to comfortably grip the club whilst still maintaining a slight bend in the right arm.)

This slight tilt of the upper body will also assist in setting the head so that the left eye it is slightly behind the ball position.

However once the upper body angles have been set, they must be maintained throughout the complete golf swing movement.

Next allow the shoulders to slump before pulling the arms close together. Then make the chest and the upper back muscles into a taut condition, thus forming the compact upper body unit and finally pull the elbows tight against the body and make the forearms into a firm condition.
( Holding the forearms in a very firm condition will ensure that the shoulders, the arms and the golf club move away from the address position as a complete one piece unit.)

However to set the arms in the correct position, allow the elbows to move slightly away from the body but still keeping the upper arms touching the chest cavity.

Finally, the hands must be set slightly to the left of the centre of your body.

To hit the ball straight, set the feet, hips, shoulders and the head Parallel to the target line and with the face of the club square to the target line.

If you are addressing the ball correctly, it will feel as if you have adopted a slightly open stance, you have not, but that it how it should feel.

If you dropped a plumb line from the left eye directly to the ground you would notice that the ball position is slightly to the left of this position, thus indicating that the left eye is slightly behind the ball position.

You will also note that the hands and the club head are also slightly to the left of the position where the plumb bob is directly over.

Therefore during the down swing movement you must keep the head firmly held in this position so that the left eye remains slightly behind the ball, and importantly whilst the head is firmly held in this position -- you must allow the club head and the hands to pass the centre of your body line before the ball is struck.

Therefore after you have set the upper body at the correct angles, the elbows must drawn as close together as is physically possible and the muscles of the chest and the upper back must be formed into a taut condition.
(Once the upper body has been set in this compact condition, it must remain in this condition throughout the back swing movement.)

Holding the upper body unit in this compact condition is very difficult to achieve at first, but with concentration it can be done.

When you have completed the set up routine, you must then focus on keeping the left side of the shoulder as the focal point so that as the compact upper body unit rotate into the back swing movement, the golf club is pushed to the end of the movement.

It is absolutely vital that the head does not move away from the position it is set whilst at the address position -- you have to learn how to transfer the weight of your body first of all onto the right foot as you perform the back swing, and then onto the left foot as you perform the down swing movment, without allowing the head to sway away from the original address position.

It is vital that the forearms are set in the correct position at the address position, because this is the position that the forearms will automatically return as you perform the down swing movement.

The important thing is that when you grip the golf club, you must ensure that both palms are square to the target line - or to explain it another way, the right palm is squarely facing the target point and the back of the left hand is also squarely facing the target point -- This ensures that the both forearms are in a neutral position -i.e., square to target line.

For example, at the address position, if you were holding the golf club with a strong grip, both forearms would be partially rotated in a clockwise motion prior to beginning the back swing movement.

Similarly, at the address position, if you were holding the golf club with a weak grip, both forearms would be partially rotated in an anti-clockwise motion prior to beginning the back swing movement.

Therefore because the forearms automatically return to the neutral position at the point of contact, by setting the forearms in a neutral position at the address position you will dramatically increase your chances of hitting the ball in the direction that you are aiming.

It is important to have the correct grip, so either before you set the upper body position or after, a correct grip must be seen a priority to playing good golf therefore you have to find the correct balance between a strong grip and a weak grip -- anything extreme with the gripping of the golf club will create their own problems.

Although you can get by with a strong grip, when you come under pressure to hit a straight shot, it will inevitably cause you to hook the ball.

Similarly if you have a weak grip, although most of the time you can get away with a weak grip, when you come under pressure to hit a straight shot, it will inevitably cause you to slice the ball.

The muscles of the legs, the thighs and the buttocks must held in a firm condition and the right leg must remain in a permanently rigid, but slightly bent condition during the back swing movement and in addition, the heels of both feet must remain firmly on the ground throughout the back swing movement.

Stand with the buttocks sticking out to the rear, and with the back straight, but the legs must remain slightly bent.

These actions will ensure that the lower part of the body puts up the maximum resistance to the rotational movement of the shoulders as the back swing movement is performed.

It order to set up the feet so that the toes are Parallel to the Target Line, place a golf club on the ground so that the golf club is running parallel to the target line and then simply use the golf club on the ground as a guide to the feet placement but the angle of each foot is different.
Your left foot should be slightly angled to the right at about five degrees from the straight position, however the left foot should be angled to the left at approximately fourty five degrees from the straight position.

1) Place the club on the ground behind the ball and adjust the clubface so that it is square to the target area.

2) Leaving the club in the same place, align the shoulders, hips, the feet and the head in accordance with my instructions.

3) Forget totally about which direction that the ball will go and concentrate solely on hitting the ball in accordance with my instructions.

When playing the driver, the ball must always be positioned adjacent to the left heel so that the ball is positioned at the bottom of the swing arc.

With all of the other clubs, the ball gradual move back in the stance in very small steps.

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