One of the first things that a PGA Coach will look at when you go for a lesson is your set-up.  Likewise Tour Players work more on their set-up than any other area of the swing, making sure that bad habits don’t creep into their ‘fundamentals’.  The experts understand that any problems in the set-up will cause a chain reaction of faults and compensations in the swing. 

Check list of set-up fundamentals:

2.  Physical Limitations

Common problems occur with a lack of flexibility, mobility, range of movement or weakness in the core muscle area.  For example a player with inadequate right shoulder rotation will not be able to hold a compact backswing position and will tend to fly the elbow.  Likewise core muscle weakness will result in a loss of posture angles through impact, causing all manner of problems or compensations to occur.

3.  Mental Misconceptions

We’ve all heard them, passed from player to player like the blind leading the blind.  These ‘pearls of wisdom’ are spoken on fairways the world over, and perhaps cause more slices, tops, shanks and bad backs than anything else.  I’m talking of gems like “straight back, straight through”, “left arm straight” and everyone’s favourite “keep your head down”.  These are the swing thoughts that rob players of their natural flow and result in over-controlling swings full of tension and fear.