Ding..ding..tilt...tilt..ding..ding!

Its been a while since my last blog so there's definitely a lot of golf to discuss. Last week we finished the first Golfer Development Academy and out of those three days came some very interesting discoveries. I want to talk about one thing in particular that came to light with several different students and that is raising awareness of shoulder tilt. Back in the late 90's, I was a ski instructor and something we always talked about was the technology and how the equipment works. This is something I think gets missed with golf and today's golf coaches. When discussing the tilt of the shoulders at impact it is critical for amature players to understand that irons are designed to strike the ball on a descending angle. I observe many players tilting their shoulders back or what might be seen as a dipping which changes the angle of approach on the forward swing. When I talk to players about this some of the reasons for this might be a effort to get the ball in the air or many times looking for the result before contact is made. Next time you go to the range or out to play, raise your awareness of how your shoulders are tilted at impact. Remember that irons are designed to impact the ball on a descending angle. When you address the ball notice that your shoulders are tilted enough just by the way we grip the club and if we allow ourselves to maintain the natural tilt we will begin to see consistent solid contact.