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    Golf IQ

    Almost 30% of golfers make this golf swing mistake—not for the reason you think

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    January 13, 2025

    Just like houses have a solid foundation, walls and a roof, a good golf swing has a structure to it.

    When things start getting wobbly in your golf swing—and the flaws start creeping in—it’s often because of a physical limitation. One part of your body is weaker than the other, or less flexible. Just as water finds the gaps in an old roof, the bad stuff finds a way through. You start compensating, and pretty soon the whole thing starts collapsing.

    I was thinking about this the other day when I was in the gym. I've been going hard this offseason trying to get stronger, prompted by a crushing loss in my club championship (no, I don't want to talk about it).

    My new fitness coach, Steve Sabella, filmed my squat technique and highlighted a common problem that I, too, was suffering from: A butt wink.

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    A butt wink is when your back tucks in under your body as you descend into the squat, and it's often caused by a limitation in your ankles and weakness in your core. Those two things rob your squat of the structure it needs to distribute the weight across your body, so your lower back compensates to take on the extra load. It’s a recipe for injury.

    You can see the bad (butt wink) version of the squat, followed by the ideal position right here…

    Key Stat: 30 percent of golfers 'hip thrust' and 'lose posture'

    It's similar to a common flaw that plagues lots of golf swings: Early extending—a flaw which, ultimately, is caused by a lack of structure in your golf swing.

    Early extending is when your butt moves toward the ball on the downswing and tucks in under your upper body. It's once again caused by a limitation in your ankles and weakness in your core. And once again, it's a common cause of lower back injuries.

    Not coincidentally, this is a move that also pops up in my golf swing. And again, you don’t need to look far to see it in other swings, too.

    I love stats from the Mustard App for this stuff (which you can download yourself right here!). Mustard uses AI on your phone to take 3D measurements on your golf swing, and after diving into the numbers, the team at Mustard found that almost 30 percent of all golfers suffer from “hip thrust” or “loss of posture” on the downswing as their primary swing fault. That makes it more more common than any other swing flaw.

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    My boss, Sam Weinman, counts himself among that cursed group…

    A good feel: Stiffen and squeeze your core

    The point of all this is that while both technique flaws concern my lower body and back, the root cause is actually a weakness in my core. It's that physical limitation which serves as the true cause of the issue.

    When I'm squatting or swinging, it's my core's job to keep my butt back and my chest forward. To set the structure which will allow me to turn through on the downswing. When I let my core get lazy, my hips and chest move toward each other. The structure of my golf swing is gone. Bad shots and injuries are just around the corner.

    When it came to my squat, Steve said the fix was to think about stiffening and squeezing my core tight, just like you would if somebody was about to punch you in it. It’s a stiff, strong core that will keep the structure in my body as I squat.

    You can see Steve demonstrating himself here as he casually squats more than 500 lbs (!). Notice how he holds his breath during each for the entirety of each squat, as he braces his core:

    "An unbraced core would allow force to be dissipated throughout the midsection...the heavier the load, the harder you should brace," Steve says. "In order to be strong, you have to start by being stable."

    And yes, this is a feel that works for golf, too.

    Min Woo Lee and his swing coach Ritchie Smith even talked about it in our cover story late last year:

    "We're really conscious of him bringing the club down with his abs—not with his hips, not with his back. His abs are pulling his arms down in front of his body. If your abs aren't in control, your hips will spin and slide, your arms will get stuck behind you, and your left leg will bow like a wobbly wall in an old house. There goes all your power."

    Golf Digest No. 1-ranked teacher Mark Blackburn, in his forthcoming Golf Digest cover story with our writer Drew Powell, suggests standing closer to the ball as a way of encouraging your abs to maintain your body's structure:

    "From the top of the swing, the best players create space to swing the club down to the ball. Watch the first downswing move from elite ball-strikers—their butt stays back and their chest is down....To prevent early extension and keep your chest down, stand slightly closer to the ball. Check out Tiger Woods or Jon Rahm at address—they look like they’re right over the ball. When you set up like that, you’re incentivizing your body to push your butt back and create space. If you stand too far from the ball, the instinct is to move toward it."

    In all, remember that strength loves stability. Get setup properly, and brace your core. Get some structure and stability in your body starting from the moment you stand over it. And then, you'll get to enjoy the power yourself, rather than watching it leak away.

    This article originally appeared in the Golf IQ newsletter, which you can subscribe to by signing up for Golf Digest+ right here.