A Good Golf Swing Shoulder Turn Will Help You Hit It Longer And Straighter

The golf swing shoulder turn is a key ingredient to gaining both power and consistency in your golf swing.

In your backswing, the shoulders will turn 90 degrees and the hips will only turn 45 degrees. This means you will start your shoulder turn before you turn your hips. This turning with your shoulders creates a coil. You are winding up by turning your upper body over your lower body. It's similar to the rubber band effect.

The above picture is of Ricky Barnes from the 2009 US Open. Notice how big his shoulder turn is and how much resistance he is able to create between his shoulders and his hips. This is a huge power key which leads to lots of distance and more clubhead speed through the golf ball.

You might not be as flexible as Ricky Barnes is, but I'm sure you can gain a little more distance by focusing on turning the shoulders more in your backswing. Remember to keep the lower body stable the first half of the backswing and let your upper body coil against your lower body. This will allow you to fire through with more power at impact and you'll send the golf ball flying farther and straighter.