Face-on
Loss of posture.
The spine stands up. Film face-on and watch Address to Impact. This is not the down-the-line hip-depth picture.
Face-on · Address, Impact, Follow-Through
What's going on.
The tilt you set at address is gone by the strike. Face-on, the chest and head have risen and the spine is more vertical. The club rises with it. Thin, fat, or a high soft ball.
What's already OK.
You are still making a committed full mid-iron. The spine you set at address just did not last until the ball.
The one thing.
Keep the handle the height it had at address until the ball is gone.
The drill.
Handle stays
A mid-iron. Camera face-on. Stock full swing. A second club on the ground under the handle at address is optional, as a height mark.
10 rehearsals, then 10 balls.
Brush the grass with the sole through the ball so the handle does not rise.
Film again.
5 full mid-irons, face-on. Share the best. The next look is only this idea.
Face-on at Impact the spine is still the one you set at Address. The body can stand up after the strike, not before it.
- Watch Athletic Motion Golf 0:03–1:36
- Watch Titleist TPI (Dave Phillips) 0:13–2:18
- Handle-stays: 10 rehearsals, then 10 balls
- Film 5 face-on mid-irons and share the best
Watch these clips.
Official YouTube. Start times are the bit that teaches this idea, not the whole channel.
They name the face-on stand-up: the upper body pops up and is pretty vertical at impact. They say early extension is the wrong name for this picture. Watch the rise, not the later knee drill.
The line from the ear through the hip is the posture you set. If the body stands up, that line is gone. Our film check is face-on: the spine from Address is still there at Impact.