The golf setup is the foundation for a golf swing and getting setup to make a golf swing is probably as important as creating the proper foundation on which to build a building. Get it wrong, and it won’t matter how well you build everything else.
Look no further than the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” in Italy for a perfect example. Great architecture, it took over 175 years to build, and it’s now over 800 years old. But because of a bad foundation, it’s just a tourist attraction now. The Tower is tilted 10 degrees (that’s 17 feet off center at the top) and has been essentially unusable for most of its existence. The problem all along has been the foundation.
So how do we setup to make a golf swing and avoid becoming a tourist attraction like the Leaning Tower? First, we need a great grip. But for the purposes of this article, we’re going to gloss over grip, assuming you have the details of hand position already figured out. If not, click Golf Grip – How to Grip a Golf Club.
Once the grip is established, make sure the lead arm (left arm for right-handed golfers) is sitting on top of the chest. Simply picture how the golf ball is in front of your body and the lead arm must also be in front of the body, not on the side. This is no small detail. If the lead arm is sitting on the side of the body, the chest is in the way of starting a proper takeaway and backswing. The golfer is forced to roll the arms around the body which in turn opens the clubface and sends the club off plane. Coming “over the top” on the downswing and pulling or slicing the golf ball is almost guaranteed.
Here’s how to setup correctly for a right-handed golfer. Standing at attention, grasp the club in the left hand while holding the handle beside the left hip, clubhead resting squarely on the ground near left foot. Once you have established the left hand grip, raise the left arm up on top of and across the chest (tricep lays on the pec.) Keep the left arm straight and across the chest as you slowly lower the arm until the butt of the club is straight out from your belt buckle, shaft horizontal to the ground, toe of club pointed straight up. Next, attach the right hand to the club.
You now have both hands on the club, left arm sitting somewhat uncomfortably on top of left chest, left shoulder is higher than the right (which means spine is tilted slightly to the right), right arm is soft at the elbow, right shoulder tucked back and down, club is pointed straight out from belt buckle.
At this stage, we are ready to finish assembling the golf stance. Set the feet just barely wider than the hips, toes turned out about 5 degrees on each foot, and start to bow from the hip sockets as you also let the wrists drop. The clubhead will lower to the ground directly in the center of your stance, butt of club still pointed at belt buckle. Keep your back straight as you stick your tail out and keep your chin up to avoid a “hunch back” appearance. Hands should be about a fist-width to a fist-and-a-half away from legs. Your knees should just crease slightly, no sitting or excessive bending. You are now in the proper golf address position with an athletic posture , basically a “ready” position that would apply to any sport.
If you can’t seem to get the club comfortably down to the ground, have a professional check the length and lie angle of the clubs. A good fit should leave the clubhead resting on the ground with the toe of the club just slightly up in the air. It actually should not be soled completely flat. Do not try to sit down to get low enough if the clubs feel too short. Excess knee flex will ruin your motion. Bow forward more at the hips if necessary. Of course, if the clubs feel too long, you will probably be standing straight up with almost no bend at the hips and the toe of the club way up in the air – the clubs likely should be shortened if that’s the case.
The final step in our setup is to simply march over to the golf ball. From the setup position with the clubhead resting on the ground at the center of the stance, simply shuffle over to the ball while maintaining setup posture. Basically we create the setup while standing a few inches too far away from the ball, then slide the clubhead up behind the ball as the feet take a small step forward. We literally use the club as a yardstick to measure the body distance from the ball.
Think about the similarity to a Space Shuttle launch. NASA spends a tremendous amount of time (months) setting everything up, then they put the shuttle on the “crawler” to slowly (days) march it over to the launching pad, finally they count down (seconds) and press the button (instantaneous) to launch. We’re no different – take all the time necessary to create the setup and aim the shot; slowly, carefully march the setup over to the ball; waggle to count down and relax; then “press the button” triggering the motion – the swing itself is over in less than a second and a half.
Next, we’ll add to the setup by talking about preshot routine. The preshot routine will help consistently apply the setup to shots with both irons and woods while aiming correctly at targets on the range or the golf course.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Herman, the more I follow and implement your advice, the better I strike the ball! Your setup helped a lot and I got to identify, using your T, that the leading edge of my club was actually 5 deg+ open all the time. I was fighting a slice and always felt I had a flaw somewhere that had to be addressed. Also, the left arm over the chest and the lower shoulder helps align the shoulders with the lower body. I think you are the “thinking man’s golf coach”. So much better to understand what you are doing instead of just being told and not knowing why you do what you do or why things will go wrong. Now I can identify my own errors and work at them! Thanks a mill.
Thanks Jean. I like that … “thinking man’s golf coach.”
I’ve always felt like you deserve to know why you are doing something beyond the standard reason “my pro told me too.” It’s a lot easier to stay committed when you completely understand where you’re coming from and where you’re trying to go. good luck and stay in touch. – Herman
Hi Herman,
I found your site last night via a you tube video and I am glad I did. I have been struggling greatly with my game over the last few years. It got to the point that I couldn’t even find a comfortable or reliable position at address. This set up video is awesome. The left arm technique is huge. Just grabbing a club in my living room and getting my left arm out in front of my chest made a huge difference. I have a large chest and used to keep my left arm down my left side with the right coming over my chest. My results were exactly what you described in the video…shoulders tilting in the wrong direction and a bad outside-in swing. Anyway, went to the range today and just using your set up methods had me hitting the ball better than I have in years. I still have a lot of work to go but I feel more interested in golf now than ever. Thanks for the great site and videos. I wish I lived in NC so I could come take some lessons from you!
Randy, thanks for watching the videos and finding my site to leave a comment. Your description of how to fix your setup was perfect. We teach this on day one to every beginner we encounter, and they don’t think this game is so hard to learn. It’s never too late to figure it out and start getting better. Glad to add you to the list of those getting “Hermanized.” Stay in touch. – Herman
Hi Herman, I tried your suggestion on putting the ball in front no matter what kind of iron I am grabbing. But here’s a question: say for a 9iron, the offset will leave the face of the club look closed (I am playing Mizuno JPX800 iron set), and it’s almost impossible to make it look square. Can you give me some advice?
Does the face just look bad or is the shot also flying offline? If you are hitting it straight and getting a divot past the ball, keep going like you are. If ball is truly too far forward you might pull it or hit it fat/thin. Moving it back a little for these short irons may help you if that’s the case. My basic iron setup tries to align the shaft with the belt buckle picturing the shaft like a “T-square” with the leading edge of face perfectly square. That sets the ball itself just slightly left of your zipper.
Hey man, your video is awesome!! It really help me a lot on correcting my weak, slicing shots for a long time. What bothers me most now is the driver, could you talk more about how to set up and hit a driver/fairway wood.
Thanks for commenting. Duly noted … I’ll try to get some specifics soon on driving. There are some key points to keep in mind for the setup to ensure an inside approach with a level to upward hit. Also a few good techniques to help square the face. – Herman
Is it possible also have some videos talking about chipping & pitching?
Hey Herman, I tried your suggestion regarding the left arm and bringing it in front of your body at address so the tricep is up against the front of the chest. I had never heard of this setup before and found it promoted a steeper plan for me which is good as I tend to get a little laid off and stuck. The thing I noticed about this setup was the left elbow pointed down towards my left hip as opposed to my more traditional setup where the left elbow points out between the left hip and target. If you have the time, I would appreciate your thoughts on these two setup positions with the left arm and what each one promotes. You can also let me know that I’m overanalyizing this setup and that I should get a life and I will completely understand.
Thanks
Pete, you are right on track. elbow pointed at body/tricep on chest dates all the way back to Ben Hogan in the 50′s. First off, the elbow joint can’t bend targetward in this position so it helps prevent chicken winging and it slightly preloads the left forearm for a strong release. Secondly, with arm laying on top of chest, the arm does not need to roll out around the chest as we go back in backswing. That type of rolling for guys that start with their arm on their side promotes open clubfaces, laid off backswings, etc. Thirdly when you arrive at top of backswing with the arm up on top of chest and elbow pointed down, you are in a stronger physical position to pull down with tricep and lat muscle. Plus you are more “connected” to the big muscles of trunk. You can find connection information from Jimmy Ballard’s work.
Herman,
You may like to check the word “fanny”
In the USA is means your bum
In Australia it has a very different meaning which would offend many people.
Duly noted … we’ll use “bottom” or “tail” for those down under – thanks.
Herman,
Thanks for the information on the setup. I’ve begun my yearly review of what I did last year; so I can be better this year. This gives me something to review and refresh. I am looking forward to the next video and some warmer weather so I can get my clubs checked and re-gripped.
Robert