Coil the Spine, Not the Shoulders

By T.J. Tomasi

Universal Press Syndicate

You hear it so often that you'd almost think it's true: "Turn your shoulders around the spine."

Well, the shoulders don't turn around the spine. They are attached to the spine, so they turn with the spine ― a very different concept that is not simply a matter of semantics.

Because your golf swing will be no better than your concept of what a good swing is, you need to have the concept of a correct spine coil firmly in mind.

The term "shoulder turn" can be confusing in two respects. First, the shoulder is one of the most sophisticated and complicated joints in the body with the most range of motion of any joint. The shoulder is made up of four joints, five bones and 30 muscles providing movement and support. So what exactly are we turning when a "shoulder turn" is called for?

If you ask most people to touch their shoulder, they put their hand about where the body of their shirt turns into the sleeve ― on the tip of the shoulder. This makes sense because they are identifying a limited area where the upper arm bone is inserted in the shallow cavity called the shoulder socket.

But in golf, the shoulder in "shoulder turn" is not restricted to the socket. Turning your shoulder correctly involves turning not only the entire shoulder complex (both right and left shoulders) but also accomplishing this by rotating the spine, the hub of your coil.

The second area of confusion arises because golfers have two shoulders that can move independently of each other. To coil correctly you need to rotate your spine so that both shoulders swivel together as one, with no independent movement of either.

Spine rotation occurs primarily in the middle of your back at chest level, in an area called the thoracic spine, where I have placed the PVC pipe for demonstration purposes in the pictures below.

Humans lose about 10 percent of their flexibility each decade, and this is a major reason why older golfers suffer acute yardage drops. They lose thoracic flexibility and with it their ability to coil.

Even at 80, Sam Snead retained a good deal of his thoracic flexibility. In his final year as an honorary starter at the Masters, he slammed his tee shot about 240 yards ― still flexible and therefore still long.

Granted, Snead was unusual. He claimed that he "never lifted anything heavier than a petticoat," but for most golfers intervention is key.

Yoga and pilates are among the best training programs to foster golf flexibility, and this type of intervention is a must if you're interested in preserving your distance. And the earlier in life you start, the better.

Drill: Take your address position using a driver, then put the club behind you so it lies across your shoulders as I have in the photo. Coil around your spine until your front shoulder is under your chin and your back shoulder is behind your head. This is a full "two-shoulder turn," initiated and controlled by the thoracic spine.

Be careful not to put pressure on the shaft or it might snap. You can use a broom in place of the club to protect the shaft if you need to. And as always, check with your doctor before you do this.