I’m sure you’ve been doing all the same celebrating and running around that I have—seeing family, taking things back to the store, catching up on the “extras” with a few days off. All the extra cocktail parties and get-togethers have meant I’ve gotten a ton of new questions from players.
One of the most common ones is how the lessons I give one of my tour guys like Emilio Gonzalez (who got his PGA Tour card for 2026) are different than the ones I give an amateur player. For the most part, they’re the same. Yes, high speed players might have some particular issues the average player doesn’t deal with, but fundamentals are called fundamentals for a reason.
I like to call good golf posture the “forever fundamental” because it’s the one thing that I consistently see players at all levels struggle with when they’re seeing their biggest miss. If you lose your spine angle or knee flex, it’s going to be hard to do anything consistently, or to put consistent pressure on the ball. Here’s a simple way to check yours, and to adjust it if necessary.
How to Dial in Perfect Posture
1. Start with some freedom
Golf is a rotary sport, and you’re going to be turning your shoulders. If you bury your chin in your chest or pull your shoulders in, you’re creating restriction. If your hips are not hinged correctly and are tucked up under you, you are restricting your turn.
2. Find your inner athlete
Instead of prescribing a specific spine angle for everyone, I start with a general concept. If you were getting ready to catch something heavy I was going to toss you, or you had to be ready to dodge left or right, how would you stand? It probably wouldn’t be straight up and down and flat footed. Your build will influence this, but try to get the points of your shoulders over the tips of your shoes, and avoid letting your spine roll or hunch over. I like to see a “wide” chest, with the arms hanging down in front. You’re not reaching for the ball or restricted by having your arms super close to your torso.
3. Line up
It’s OK (and actually preferable) to have a slight tilt in your hips and shoulders, so that the lead hip and shoulder are a little higher than the trail ones. The opposite configuration—lead ones lower—is no good, and a recipe for a restricted pivot. It’s also OK to have your hips slightly more closed than your shoulders, but if there’s a lot of difference, you’re going to have trouble transferring energy from the ground to the ball.
For players like Emilio, Rick Lamb and David Perkins (who are going out on the KornFerry Tour) and Subham Jaglan (who made it to the Asian Tour), the biggest change we’ll often make in preparation for the new season are ones where we lock in posture and setup to have a good base to go back to week in and week out. If players who hit a thousand balls a week have to build that awareness, there’s a pretty good chance it’s something you should be paying attention to, too.
What I’m Watching
I’m really proud of the work Emilio has done to get his card, and we had a great conversation about the on- and off-course elements that it took in one of my latest podcasts. I’m excited to see what he can do, and his statistical profile tells the story of some great possibilities. Last year on the KornFerry Tour, he was fourth in greens in regulation, 11th in putting and 14th in scrambling. That translated into finishing sixth in scoring—and fifth in final round scoring average. See the whole conversation here. Tour Coach Podcast!
Another lesson I find myself giving a lot is on the pivot, and how to get off your trail foot during the swing. I set up the camera and recorded a full lesson on that subject to give you a sense for what to work on. We use stretchy exercise bands to help reinforce the way your hips should move and (yes, I’m setting myself up for some jokes) glutes should activate. Check out that lesson here. Learn to Turn!
Come Camping!
We have two spots left for our January 17-18 retreat at Old Palm, which features guest instruction from Golf Magazine Top 100 Teachers Wayne Flint and Mark Hackett and Golf Digest Best in State Teacher Morgan Hale. The next one, our Elite Player Development Retreat, will be February 14-15 & March 21-22. That’s a great way to get your competitive season started on the right track.
Click here for my full schedule, and we’ll get something on the books.
Here’s to a Great 2026 and thank you all for all your support and friendship this past year!
Tony
