Club Across Shoulders — Golf Drill

The simple drill of placing a club across your shoulders might be one of the most overlooked fundamentals in golf instruction, yet it holds the key to unlocking proper shoulder plane mechanics that separate amateur golfers from skilled players. Athletic Motion Golf has extensively demonstrated how this technique teaches golfers to turn their shoulders on the established setup angle without excessive upper body movement, while their innovative approach of hitting chip shots with the club position

How to practise it

  1. Set your posture with club across shoulders Stand in golf posture holding a club across your shoulders like a yoke. Establish your spine angle and feel the weight of the club.
  2. Turn on your established spine angle Rotate your shoulders back and through while maintaining your posture. Keep head movement to half a head's width maximum.
  3. Focus on lead shoulder movement pattern Move your lead shoulder across your body in the backswing, not just downward. Feel it travel away from your head.
  4. Practice chip shot motion with club Make small chip shot swings with the club still across your shoulders. This trains proper body-driven motion.
  5. Remove club and rehearse same feeling Take practice swings without the club, maintaining the same shoulder plane and rotation pattern you just rehearsed.
  6. Hit balls with new shoulder awareness Strike balls focusing only on turning your shoulders on the established angle without excess head movement.

How much should my head move during the golf swing?

According to Athletic Motion Golf, your head should move no more than half a head's worth during the backswing while maintaining your spine angle. The key is turning on that bent-over angle without moving your mass significantly away from the target, keeping the movement relatively controlled throug

What does the club-across-shoulders drill actually teach me?

The club-across-shoulders drill from Athletic Motion Golf helps sync up your golf swing by teaching proper body rotation and coordination. This drill forces you to use both hands together and prevents independent arm actions, helping you learn the correct shoulder movement patterns that pros use.

How should I move my lead shoulder in the golf swing?

Athletic Motion Golf emphasizes that most golfers don't move their lead shoulder correctly compared to professionals. The proper lead shoulder movement involves specific positioning and rotation that differs from common amateur patterns, and using drills like the club-across-shoulders can help devel

How each of them teaches it

Coaches who demonstrate the club across shoulders drill, each linked at the second they start.

  1. Warren Bennett Golf Academy: 13/24 - Why You Need the 2 T’s in Your Golf Swing (from 2:24). Place a club across your shoulders and rotate to feel the 90-degree turn and tilt relative to your spine angle.
  2. Athletic Motion Golf: STOP Freezing Your Head in the Golf Swing (This Is How It Should Really Move) (from 0:18). Place a club across your chest to feel the shoulders turn around your spine angle without shifting your entire body mass laterally.
  3. Athletic Motion Golf: This Downswing Drill Will SYNC UP Your Golf Swing Perfectly 🏌️‍♂️. Placing a club across the shoulders and rotating to feel the relationship between tilts and turns during the swing.
  4. Athletic Motion Golf: Stop SABOTAGING Your Swing & Start Moving Your Lead Shoulder like a PRO! 🙅 (from 8:23). Place a club across your shoulders and move the intersection point of the club and lead shoulder behind the golf ball during the backswing.
  5. JChownGolf: This Simple System Will Make You An UNBEATABLE Ball Striker (from 0:57). Place a club across your shoulders and rotate into the backswing, maintaining lead shoulder down so the bottom of the shaft points just in front of the ball.

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