Breaking 80

Posture is for putting, too

By Jerry King with Matthew Rudy
Photos By J.D. Cuban
Photo Illustrations By Jim Luft April 2008

Even great players have a common posture-related putting flaw: chasing the ball down the target line by moving the rear shoulder forward during the stroke. This will make you pull a lot of putts or hold the face open through impact to compensate -- another recipe for inconsistency.

Practice hitting putts with just your rear hand, holding your front hand gently on your rear shoulder. It's OK for your shoulders to rock up and down as part of the motion, but make sure you aren't feeling that rear shoulder move forward, toward the ball, during your stroke.

NO: When your rear shoulder moves toward the ball, you'll pull putts or open the face to compensate.

BACK BRACE: I'm using all the golf muscles around my midsection to hold myself in this plank position. Try it.

Build your torso bridge

The longest hitters on any tour have one thing in common -- strong core muscles. You could write a book just on core exercises, but this simple one will get you started.

Drop into a push-up position, but rest your weight on your forearms, not your hands. Hold your back straight and your body off the ground for 30 seconds (put your watch in front of you to check). For a bigger challenge (and to work your obliques), turn on your side and hold yourself up on one forearm for 60 seconds, then switch to the other arm for another minute.