Over the course of time there have been several different setup positions that people have used to play successful golf. The most frequently taught setup position, which I call the Right Tilt, has golfers leaning away from the target at address, but new trends have emerged. It’s not not uncommon to see golfers today that lean toward the target at address, and the latest trend on Tour is for golfers to set up with the spine basically centered in the middle of the body.

Each of these positions can have positive and negatives attached to them, but I will say that if a player can handle a centered set-up position it can make it much easier for them to return the club to the ball time after time if they fight poor contact. Why is that, you’re probably asking? Most golfers have trouble controlling their low point at impact, and whenever a golfer has to move laterally in their back swing it tends to skew a golfer’s control of their low point. That leads to more fat and thin shots.

Let’s examine visuals of the three different pivots from set-up to the top. They’re described in terms for a right-handed golfer, so if you’re a lefty with a left tilt, you’ll want to pay special attention to “The Right Tilt.” If you’re a lefty with a right tilt, you’ll want to play special attention to “The Left Tilt.”

The Right Tilt The Centered Pivot The Left Tilt

After reviewing these set up positions and pivot motions, I think you will be able to figure out which works best for your own game. Remember, there is NO wrong answer.

The Right Tilt

In the Right Tilt position, you will see that the spine is leaning away from the target at address a few inches. This places the rear shoulder under the lead shoulder at address. It will also place the head a touch behind the ball at address as well and 55-to-60 percent of a golfer’s weight on their rear foot at address.

The more a golfer tilts to the right, the more weight will move to the right and the more the shoulders will tend to close at address. Be careful not to allow the hands to push too far past the inside of the forward thigh, as this can open your shoulders at address.

At the top, you will see that the head has moved a touch laterally (to the right for a right-handed golfer), and there is an extreme amount of weight on the inside portion of the right foot. This lean over the right leg also will make the shoulder turn a touch flatter or more rounded, making it a better position for less flexible players to get into if they cannot make a full turn to the top. While making this rounded motion to the top, you will also notice that the rear elbow will stay a touch closer to the body for most players due to the more rotated shoulder turn. Finally, in this pivot motion, the rear knee will remain flexed to the top of the backswing to prevent overturning of the body so golfers can remain in balance.

Tour Players whom have used this setup include Si Re Pak, Peter Jacobsen, Tiger Woods (early in his career) and Greg Norman. These players set up behind the ball and had some lean over their right legs at the top of their backswings. This provided them with extra width and necessitated a big lateral move back through impact in order to get “back to the ball.” Some players had issues moving this much from side to side, and other setup styles were born.

The Centered Pivot

In the centered address position, you will notice that the spine is vertical and the hands are located on the forward portion of the zipper on the target-side. As you can see from the left frame, the weight is distributed 50 percent on each foot while the shoulders are square to the target line. Be careful when you center your spine, as you can easily lean your weight too much toward the target. That can get your shoulders open at address and throw off your swing plane on the way to the top. I also like to see the feet rotated slightly outward in this setup position, which allows a free pivot back and through.

As you reach the top of your backswing, you will notice that the rear knee has straightened slightly. That keeps the weight in the middle of the body, creating the point golfers will pivot around on the way down to keep them “centered.”

The spine is leaning slightly to the right of center, and the shoulders have made a full turn to the top. From here, you can also see that the rear arm is tucked inward and there is plenty of width of the right arm at the top of the backswing. Having this position will help golfers create a shorter arm swing to the top. If the rear shoulder moves behind the player’s neck in the top view, the player will tend to fall toward the target on the way down, getting the player in front of the ball.

Tour players that setup with a centered pivot include Stuart Appleby, Tiger Woods (under Sean Foley) and Mac O’Grady. This style of set up dictates a more centered motion and less lateral action than its right-bending predecessor possessed. Low point control under this action is much easier for most players, but some tend to get in front of the ball when using this set-up style if they are not careful. Personally, I love the idea of staying “centered.” It makes sense to me, but not everyone can make their body work this way.

The Left Tilt

In the left tilt, the spine is indeed leaning leftward, placing most of a golfer’s weight on the forward foot. The head is even to slightly in front of the ball (to some degree) from the overhead position. This set up position will help golfers to make sure that they hit more down on the ball, as it tends to steepen the angle of attack. As always, try to keep the shoulders square at address as shown above.

In the top position of the leftward tilt, you can see that the body has not moved to the right and most of the weight is on the forward foot to the top. This is helped in part by a straightening of the right knee to the top, which tilts the right femur inward and keeps the weight more leftward. As you can see, this player has to work hard to keep the shoulders turning behind the ball and the swing will tend to be a touch more upright than the one created by the centered pivot position. Once again, the arms are extended so the swing can have width to the top as well.

The stack-and-tilt era has come and gone on Tour, but it’s not forgotten by many good players. Mike Weir, Aaron Baddeley and Eric Axley used this style for a time within their careers. I personally believe that it has great merits for players with poor iron consistency, but its downfall tends to be the steepening of the angle of attack on the driver. That’s not with all players, however.

Staying left throughout the whole swing as we tend to do in the short game can really help golfers gain compression with their irons and stop the fat shots the other styles tend to promote. The only thing golfers must remember to do is not fall “backward” through impact, which causes a reverse pivot.

Experiment with these three setup positions and see which works best for your game. Each has its own merits, but only you can decide what one works best for you.