Posture Mistakes That Kill Your Swing Before It Starts

Most golfers look for fixes in the backswing or downswing, but many of the problems they fight are already locked in before the club ever moves. Poor posture at address quietly sabotages the swing by changing how the body can rotate, where the club can travel, and where the low point of the swing will occur.

When your posture is off, the body is forced to make compensations just to reach the ball. Those compensations show up as early extension, thin and fat shots, heel and toe strikes, loss of power, and inconsistent direction. The swing may feel different every time, but the root cause is often the same: a setup that does not allow the body to move athletically.

Good posture creates space. It allows the hips to rotate, the spine angle to be maintained, and the arms to swing on the proper plane. Bad posture removes that space and forces the body to stand up, slide, or stall through impact in order to avoid hitting the ground or crowding the ball.

In this article, you’ll learn the most common posture mistakes golfers make at address, how each one affects ball striking and swing mechanics, and how to check and fix your posture with simple drills and setup keys. When your posture is correct, the swing becomes easier, contact becomes more solid, and many “swing faults” disappear without ever changing your motion.

Why Posture Is the Foundation of the Golf Swing

Your posture at address determines how your body can rotate, where your arms can swing, and where the club will bottom out. If your setup puts your spine, hips, and balance in a poor position, the swing has to make compensations before it even starts.

Good posture creates space for rotation and keeps your center of mass balanced. This allows the club to travel on a consistent plane and return to the ball with a predictable low point and face angle.

Poor posture removes that space and balance. The body then stands up, slides, or stalls through impact to avoid hitting the ground or crowding the ball, which leads to thin shots, heel and toe strikes, loss of power, and inconsistent direction.

In short, posture is not cosmetic. It is the structural base that every good swing is built on, and when it is wrong, the motion that follows has no chance to be consistent.

Mistake #1 – Too Upright at Address

Setting up too upright leaves very little forward bend from the hips and raises the arms above their natural swing plane. This forces the club to work steeply on the way down and makes it difficult to rotate through the ball.

Common results include heel strikes, pulled shots, and a tendency to come over the top because the arms have to lift and drop instead of swinging around the body. The swing often feels cramped, and the body may stand up even more through impact to create space.

An athletic amount of forward bend from the hips lowers the arms into a natural hanging position and gives the torso room to rotate, which helps the club approach the ball on a shallower, more repeatable path.

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Mistake #2 – Too Bent Over or Rounded Upper Back

Bending too much from the waist or rounding the upper back collapses your posture and restricts rotation. When the chest caves in, the shoulders cannot turn freely and the arms get trapped behind the body.

This often leads to early extension, thin shots, blocks, and inconsistent contact as the body stands up through impact to create room for the club. Power is also lost because the core cannot rotate and sequence efficiently from a rounded position.

Proper posture comes from a hip hinge with a tall chest, not a slouched upper back. This keeps the spine neutral, allows the pelvis to rotate, and gives the arms space to swing on plane.

Mistake #3 – Sitting Too Much (Excess Knee Flex)

Too much knee bend puts you in a “sitting” position instead of an athletic hinge. This tucks the pelvis under, flattens the lower back, and limits how the hips can rotate.

When the hips can’t turn, the body either sways or stands up through impact to create space. This leads to inconsistent low point, fat and thin shots, and a loss of power because the ground cannot be used effectively.

You want enough knee flex to be athletic, but not so much that your hips are underneath you instead of behind you.

Mistake #4 – Locked Knees / No Athletic Flex

Locking the knees at address removes the body’s ability to absorb and create motion. Without some athletic flex, the pelvis cannot tilt properly and rotation becomes restricted.

This often causes tension, poor balance, and timing issues in the swing. The body struggles to shift pressure and rotate smoothly, leading to thin contact, loss of speed, and inconsistent direction.

A slight, athletic knee flex allows the hips to hinge, the spine angle to be maintained, and the body to move dynamically through the ball.

Mistake #5 – Weight Too Far on Toes or Heels

When your weight is too far on your toes, your balance is forward and your body tends to lunge toward the ball during the swing. This can cause early extension, heel strikes, and pulls as the club is forced steep and the body runs out of space.

When your weight is too far on your heels, rotation becomes sluggish and the arms often have to reach for the ball. This commonly leads to toe strikes, thin shots, and a loss of speed and stability through impact.

Proper posture places your weight balanced over the middle of your feet. From there, you can rotate, shift pressure, and control the clubface without fighting your own balance.

Mistake #6 – Reaching or Crowding the Ball

When you reach for the ball, your arms lose their natural hang and your upper body tilts toward the target. This shifts your balance to your toes, flattens your spine angle, and makes it difficult to rotate, often resulting in toe strikes, blocks, and thin contact.

When you crowd the ball, your arms get jammed against your body and your swing runs out of space. The body instinctively stands up or pulls the handle inward to avoid hitting the ground, leading to heel strikes, pulls, and inconsistent low point.

Correct posture places the ball at a distance where your arms can hang freely under your shoulders, your chest stays tall, and your hips remain back, giving the club room to swing and return to the center of the face.

Simple Posture Checkpoints at Address

You can quickly check your posture with a few simple reference points before every shot.

• Hip hinge: Bend from your hips, not your waist, so your chest stays tall and your back remains neutral.
• Arm hang: Let your arms fall naturally from your shoulders. Your hands should hang just in front of your thighs without reaching or crowding.
• Knee flex: Feel a soft, athletic bend in your knees, not locked and not squatting.
• Balance: Your weight should feel centered over the middle of your feet, not on your toes or heels.
• Spine line: From the side view, your back should look straight, not rounded or overly arched.

A quick mirror or phone video from face-on and down-the-line can confirm these positions and help you spot posture errors before they turn into swing faults.

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Drills to Fix and Train Proper Posture

Wall Hip Hinge Drill

• Stand with your back to a wall and your feet a few inches away.
• Push your hips back until they touch the wall while keeping your chest tall.
• Feel the bend come from the hips, not the lower back.
• This trains the correct forward bend for golf posture.

Chair Depth Drill

• Place a chair just behind your hips at address.
• Make slow rehearsal swings while keeping light contact with the chair.
• This helps you maintain hip depth and prevents early extension.

Alignment Stick on Spine

• Place an alignment stick or club along your spine, touching your head and tailbone.
• Make slow practice swings while keeping those contact points.
• This trains a neutral spine and helps you avoid rounding or standing up.

Building Proper Posture into Your Pre-Shot Routine

To make good posture automatic, it has to be part of your setup sequence, not something you try to fix mid-swing.

• Start standing tall, then hinge from the hips to set your spine angle.
• Add a small, athletic knee flex so your pelvis can tilt and your chest can stay tall.
• Let your arms hang naturally under your shoulders without reaching or crowding.
• Check that your weight feels centered over the middle of your feet.
• Then set the club behind the ball and step in, keeping that same posture.

A simple feel cue is: “Hips back, chest tall, arms hanging.”
When you rehearse this before every shot, posture becomes consistent, rotation becomes easier, and many swing faults disappear before they ever have a chance to show up.

Conclusion

Most swing problems do not start in the backswing or the downswing. They start with posture. The way you stand to the ball determines how your body can rotate, where the club can travel, and whether the low point of your swing will be in the right place.

When posture is poor, the body is forced to make compensations like early extension, sliding, or stalling just to reach the ball. These moves create heel and toe strikes, thin and fat shots, and loss of power and consistency.

By fixing the common posture mistakes, hinging correctly from the hips, keeping your chest tall, your arms hanging naturally, and your balance centered, you give your swing the space it needs to work. Get the setup right, and the motion becomes simpler, contact becomes cleaner, and consistency improves before the club ever moves.

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Thanks for reading today’s article!

Nick Foy – Golf Instructor