Tips For Her: Improve posture for a better strike

Editor's note: Each week, Megan Padua, a teaching professional at Maidstone Club (East Hampton, N.Y.) and Belfair Plantation (Bluffton, S.C.), and one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers, offers tips and advice for women golfers.

Posture, an essential part of the golf swing, is often overlooked. Too many people think that to hit down on the ball, they must bend a lot from their knees. But bending from the waist with just a slight knee bend allows the club and arms to swing down more freely. Excessive knee bend will only make it more challenging to reach the ground.

To help my students understand this concept, I often put them on a 3-inch platform and ask them to hit down (photos, above). I ask them, "How would you hit down if you were 3 inches taller?" From this elevated platform, maintaining the correct posture enables the arms to extend, while poor posture prohibits a downward strike.

Here's a posture drill (images, below) that'll help you get into the perfect position (do it in front of a mirror to see the difference in your form): Hold a golf club down your back and move your head back until it touches the shaft. Tilt over a little bit from your waist with a slight flex in the knees and keep your head against the club. Take the club into your hands as if you're addressing the ball while maintaining the posture from the drill.

Posture is a key component in taking your game to the next level.