Let’s get you making a bigger turn for power—something the best players do so well by turning their ribcage to the top. The torso, or center of the chest, is the engine that drives the second half of the backswing, with the whole upper body moving away from the target (above).
Blackburn’s Moves You Can Steal From the Pros: Keep Your Trail Arm Soft | Move the Clubhead First | Turn Your Ribcage | Push Your Butt Back | Swing Wide on Wedge Shots | Use Your Pivot for Chips
You hear a lot about “making a full turn” on the backswing, but many average golfers cheat by focusing on their shoulder movement instead of rotating their entire trunk. When you cheat, your shoulders appear to make a full turn, but if you look at the center of your chest at the top of the swing, it hasn’t moved much. It’s a fake turn, and you’ll struggle to produce much power if that’s all you do.
Some golfers get too active with their hips in the backswing. The hips should turn going back, but that’s the result of the ribcage moving, which pulls the hips along for the ride. If you over-rotate your hips, you’ll get the club too far around and behind your body, requiring you to re-route the club on the downswing to get it back to the ball.
To correctly rotate going back, focus on your shirt buttons. Try to turn them away from the target. Imagine you’re on TV and the camera is filming your swing from behind. Show the lens your shirt buttons by coiling and turning your ribcage to the top. Your hips and shoulders will automatically move with it.
Mark Blackburn, voted No. 1 by his peers on Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America, has coached dozens of pros, including Justin Rose, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Adam Hadwin, Daniel Berger, Charley Hoffman, Alex Fitzpatrick, Matthieu Pavon and Trey Mullinax. His golf academy is located at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala.
