Travis Fulton: The new GPA

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Building a solid foundation for your golf swing occurs while you take your address position. At the TOUR Academies, we call these address fundamentals "mastering the basics."

They include your Grip, Posture and Alignment or, as we like to say, the swing's "GPA." So, believe it or not, your goal in golf should be the same as your goal was in high school: to improve your GPA!

If your grip, posture or alignment is out of its optimal position, you will have to make compensations during the swing to hit the ball to your target. Let's try to avoid this by examining how to correctly set-up to make sure you are swinging on a solid foundation.

No. 1: Grip

A classic neutral grip

The grip, to a large degree, controls the clubface, and the angle of the clubface at impact determines a shot's curvature.

For example, if your golf ball tends to curve to the right (right handed golfer), the clubface at impact is open. In this example, it's likely that your grip is too weak -- hands rotated too far to the left on the grip. If your golf ball tends to curve to the left, the clubface at impact is closed - probably because your grip is too strong.

A strong grip sets your hands rotated too far to the right on the grip. Ultimately, the proper grip for you will allow the clubface to square up at impact. For most players this will be a grip somewhere in between weak and strong.

A general rule of thumb is if your golf ball is curving right; turn your hands to the right on the grip. Conversely, if you golf ball is curving left, turn your hands to the left on the grip.

No. 2: Posture

The body angles created at address directly influences what the body can and cannot do in the swing. Good posture dramatically increases the likelihood of solid contact repetitively. Posture encompasses three components: Stance, Primary Spine Angle and Secondary Spine Angle.

Stance: For a full swing it is recommended that you stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Shoulder width is accomplished by positioning the feet so that the shoulder joints are over the inside of the heels.

Primary Spine Angle: This is the forward bend of the upper body towards the ball. This tilting action from the hips allows the clubhead to be grounded behind the ball with the knees slightly flexed and weight centered over the arches of the feet. The spine will remain neutral (flat), which will allow full range of motion during the swing.

Secondary Spine Angle: This is established by the tilt of the upper body to the right, slightly away from the target. This sets the right shoulder lower then the left and positions the head behind the golf ball.

No. 3: Alignment

Alignment begins with the establishment of a target line. The target line is an imaginary line that starts from behind the golf ball, runs through the ball and continues to the target. Once the target line has been established, you can then aim the clubface down the target line. From here, the body will establish its posture and be aligned parallel left of the target line.

Grip, Posture and Alignment are the foundation to a good golf swing. It always amazes me when improving someone's GPA how much better they begin to hit the ball. Oftentimes, a player doesn't need to make any swing changes but rather just a tweaking in the grip, posture or alignment. Improve your GPA and watch your ball striking improve.

Primary Spine Angle