Kip Puterbaugh: Maintaining Your Spine Angle in Golf
Golfers of all levels can benefit from the proper impact position in their golf swing. One major component of this is the spine angle. Kip Puterbaugh, the owner and director of instruction at the Aviara Golf Academy at the Park Hyatt in Carlsbad, California, shares a drill to help golfers maintain their spine angle through the golf swing.
What to Look For
Puterbaugh points to the still photos of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel as examples of the proper impact position. He notes that the right arm should be below the left at impact and the hips should be roughly 35 to 40 degrees turned out of the way.
The Drill
Puterbaugh recommends the following drill to help golfers achieve the proper impact position:
- Put the club over your back, so it’s just resting on top of your shoulder.
- Imagine a line running 90 degrees from your spine angle.
- On your back swing, try to get the end of the shaft to get behind the ball.
- As you get to the impact position, turn your hips out of the way and maintain a proper spine angle.
- Hold the position with your body and put your club down.
Puterbaugh cautions against going too fast with the arms, as this can prevent the body from turning and cause the right arm to be on top of the left arm.