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What Is Standing Up At The Top of Backswing in Golf?
When you set up to the ball, your body is in a specific posture with a forward bend from your hips. Standing up at the top of the backswing means you lose this fundamental position before you even start your downswing. It's a subtle but disruptive move.
- Losing Your Spine Angle: At address, your spine is tilted forward. This error occurs when that angle lessens as you swing back, causing your chest and head to lift away from the ball.
- Straightening Up: Instead of rotating your body while maintaining your forward bend, your torso becomes more upright. You essentially get taller as you reach the peak of your backswing.
- Hips Moving Forward: Often, this upward movement is paired with your hips pushing forward toward the ball. This move, also known as early extension, throws off your balance and swing path.
- Disrupting the Swing's Center: A stable swing rotates around a fixed point. When you stand up, you change that center, forcing your body to make difficult adjustments on the downswing to make contact with the ball.
How Standing Up At The Top of Backswing Affects Your Golf Shots
When you stand up in the backswing, it creates a chain reaction of problems that can ruin your shot. This loss of posture forces you to make last-second compensations, leading to poor and unpredictable results. Here's how it can hurt your game.
- Inconsistent Contact: Your body's height changes mid-swing, which alters the low point of your club's arc. This makes it difficult to strike the ball cleanly, often resulting in thin shots that don't get airborne or fat shots where you hit the ground first.
- Loss of Power: A proper golf swing generates power from a coiled turn against a stable lower body. Standing up releases this tension prematurely, causing you to lose the stored energy needed for a powerful shot and costing you significant distance.
- Poor Shot Direction: When your hips push toward the ball, it can force your swing path to become too steep or get stuck behind you. This can lead to wild hooks as your hands try to save the shot or pushes that fly straight right of the target.
- Unreliable Timing: Standing up forces you to rely heavily on your hands and arms to square the clubface at impact. This makes your swing dependent on perfect timing, which is almost impossible to repeat consistently, leading to frustration on the course.
Other Names for Standing Up At The Top of Backswing
- Loss of Posture
- Coming Out of Your Spine Angle
- Raising Up in the Backswing
Causes of Standing Up At The Top of Backswing
This common swing fault is often a reaction to either technical mistakes in your swing or physical limitations that prevent your body from rotating correctly.
Technique Mistakes & Wrong Swing practices
- Improper Weight Shift: If your weight drifts onto your toes during the backswing, your body will instinctively stand up to regain balance. A proper swing feels the pressure shift toward the heel of your trail foot.
- Poor Hip Rotation: When your hips don't turn deeply enough, your body might lift to create more room for your arms to complete the backswing. The hips should rotate back and away from the ball, not just turn in place.
- Lifting the Arms: Some golfers try to create power by lifting their arms straight up instead of turning their shoulders and torso. This action pulls the upper body upward, causing you to lose your posture.
- Starting Too Bent Over: If your setup posture is too slumped or bent over, your body will naturally want to move to a more comfortable, upright position during the swing. This is a common issue for taller players.
Physical Limitations & Mobility Issues
- Tight Hips: Limited internal rotation in your trail hip is a major cause. If the hip can't turn properly, the body compensates by lifting and pushing the hips forward to complete the backswing.
- Stiff Mid-Back: The thoracic spine (mid-back) is built for rotation. If this area is stiff, often from sitting at a desk, your body will seek rotation elsewhere, like the lower back, which can pull you out of your posture.
- Weak Core and Glutes: Your core and glute muscles stabilize your posture. If they're not strong enough to hold your spine angle, your hips may thrust toward the ball, forcing you to stand up.
- Limited Shoulder Mobility: If your lead shoulder lacks the flexibility to move up and across your chest, your body might lift to help get the club to the top. This is often accompanied by the trail elbow "flying" away from the body.
Drills To Fix Standing Up At The Top of Backswing
These practical drills give you immediate feedback to help you feel what it's like to maintain your posture and rotate correctly.
Step-by-Step Drills
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The Wall Drill: This drill provides instant feedback on whether your hips are moving correctly. Stand in your golf posture with your backside lightly touching a wall. Take slow practice swings, focusing on keeping your trail hip in contact with the wall throughout the backswing. If you move away from it, you're standing up. Watch here
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Toes-Up Backswing Drill: This drill helps you manage your weight shift to prevent you from getting onto your toes. As you start your backswing, lift the toes of your trail foot (right foot for right-handers) off the ground. This forces you to shift your weight into your heel, which helps your trail hip move back and keeps you from rising up. Watch here
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Club Across Shoulders Drill: This drill helps you feel a proper upper body turn without changing your spine angle. Get into your golf stance and place a club across your shoulders. Now, rotate your torso as if you're making a backswing, keeping the end of the club pointed at or just inside where the ball would be. This ensures you're turning, not lifting. Learn more
Swing Cues & Feel Drills
- Swing Cue - "Hips Back": As you take the club back, feel as though your trail hip is moving back and away from the ball, toward a wall behind you. This thought encourages a deeper hip turn and prevents your hips from pushing toward the ball, which is a primary cause of standing up.
- Swing Cue - "Chest Over the Ball": Throughout your backswing, imagine that your chest is staying pointed down at the golf ball. This mental picture helps you maintain your forward bend and prevents your torso from lifting up.
- Feel Drill - Trail Heel Pressure: Focus on feeling the pressure build in the heel of your trail foot as you reach the top of your backswing. This confirms your weight has shifted correctly and provides a stable base to turn around, rather than standing up on your toes.
- Feel Drill - Right Shoulder Down: For right-handed golfers, feel like your right shoulder is turning on a tilted angle, moving down and behind you. This sensation helps maintain the tilt of your spine and stops the shoulders from turning too flat, which can cause your body to rise.
Physical Fixes for Standing Up At Top of backswing
Golf Fitness Exercises
- Kneeling Thoracic Rotation: This exercise improves your upper back's ability to rotate, which is key for a full shoulder turn without lifting your body. Start on your hands and knees, then place one hand behind your head. Rotate that elbow up toward the ceiling, feeling a stretch in your mid-back, then bring it down to touch your opposite elbow. Learn more
- 90/90 Hip Stretch: Better hip mobility allows for a deeper turn, preventing your body from needing to stand up for more space. Sit on the floor with your front leg bent at a 90-degree angle in front of you and your back leg bent at 90 degrees to the side. Lean your chest forward over your front shin to feel a deep stretch in your hip and glute. Learn more
- Standing Pallof Press: This move strengthens your core, which helps you maintain your posture against the rotational forces of the swing. Stand sideways to a cable machine or resistance band and hold the handle at your chest. Press your hands straight out in front of you, resisting the urge to let your torso twist, then return to your chest. Learn more
- Glute Bridge: Strong glutes provide a stable base for your swing, preventing your hips from pushing forward and causing you to stand up. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Squeeze your glutes to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Learn more
Adapting Your Swing To Address Physical Limitations
- For Limited Hip Mobility: Try allowing your trail knee to straighten a bit more during the backswing. This simple adjustment can unlock your hips, allowing for a fuller turn without your body feeling blocked and needing to stand up. It creates the space you need to rotate properly.
- For a Stiff Upper Back: You can make a slightly shorter, more compact backswing to avoid forcing a turn your body can't handle. Another option is to allow your lead heel to lift slightly off the ground, which frees up your hips and torso to rotate more easily. This prevents your body from rising up to compensate for the stiffness.
- For Tight Hamstrings: Start your setup with a little more knee flex and a slightly taller posture from your hips. This takes the strain off the backs of your legs, making it much easier to maintain your forward bend throughout the swing. You'll feel more athletic and balanced.
FAQs About Standing Up At The Top of Backswing
Q: Is it ever okay to stand up a little bit? ▼
A slight straightening of the trail leg is normal and can help your hips rotate. The problem occurs when the upper body lifts and the spine angle flattens, which disrupts the entire swing sequence.
Q: Can my equipment cause me to stand up? ▼
Yes, clubs that are too short for you can cause you to bend over too much at address. This can lead your body to instinctively stand up during the swing to get into a more comfortable position.
Q: How can I check if I'm doing this without a camera? ▼
Use the wall drill. Set up in your posture with your backside touching a wall. As you make a slow backswing, your trail glute should stay on the wall. If it comes off, you are standing up.
Q: What's the most important feeling to focus on to stop this? ▼
Focus on keeping the pressure in the heel of your trail foot as you swing back. This single thought can help improve your weight shift, encourage a better hip turn, and keep you from lifting onto your toes.
Q: Why do I still stand up even when I focus on staying down? ▼
This often points to an underlying physical limitation, like tight hips or a stiff mid-back. Your body may be physically unable to rotate correctly while staying bent over, so it stands up as a compensation. Consider adding some golf-specific stretches to your routine.
Conclusion
Standing up at the top of your backswing is a common fault where you lose your initial posture. This move hurts your power and consistency, leading to frustrating shots. By focusing on a proper hip turn, correct weight shift, and using targeted drills, you can learn to stay in your posture and build a more reliable swing. For real-time analysis and guided help, try the GolfWiz app on your phone to start fixing this fault today.
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