DO YOU HUNCH YOUR SHOULDERS???

          Hunch-Flip Syndrome

Hunching your shoulders during your downswing ruins impact. When you hunch you in effect slam on the shoulder brakes and this “stopping to hit” causes the club to flip and the ball to squirt off line. The young player in the photo has failed to keep her swing pace in good order and thus falls victim to what I call the Hunch – Flip syndrome. Here is how it works.

Bio mechanically for every 1° of hunch you lose 2° of thoracic rotation and according to the conservation of momentum when you short-circuit your rotary capability the club will flip past you because your trail arm is only so long and it effectively shortens when you stop your back shoulder so it loses pace during the race to impact. Held back by the retarded shoulder your back arm will reach its full extension too early transferring so much force to the front wrist that it must collapse resulting in a weak flip at the ball.

In the correct swing the trail shoulder keeps moving allowing your arm to “stay long” thereby keeping the pressure off shaft.

    The tour pro in this photo has used his shoulders beautifully – – note how the shaft of

    the club is pointing directly at the midline of his body with no flip and no lagging back

    shoulder. Even though his right foot is still on the ground there is little weight on his

    right side -- he has no crease in his shoe.

    This young player shows what happens when you stop the

    rotation of the shoulders through impact. Notice how hunched

    her back is and how her core has failed to keep pace. This

    causes the right-hand and arm to overpressure the left and

    flip the clubface shut. The shaft of her club is not pointing to

    the midline of the body because she has put so much pressure

    on it. She looks like she's trying hard to stay behind the golf ball 

    and unfortunately she is succeeding. There is so much weight

    on the back foot that you can see a crease in her shoe. She needs

    to get up on her left side and allow her shoulders and core to

    fire through the ball.