Every new golfer's introduction to the game needs to include an understanding of proper posture throughout the golf swing. If you had an opportunity to attend The Honda Classic at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., this week, you probably noticed how far and how accurate these PGA Tour professionals hit the ball. But if you looked closer, you'd realize that every shot began with a player putting himself in the proper body position to make a swing.

Starting with the correct posture will give you a great start to your golf swing. (Photo: PGA of America)

While this fundamental may seem second nature to these professionals, even those who have played the game at a high level for years need to check their posture position as their physical characteristics evolve. The same goes for junior golfers, who must monitor their posture as their bodies develop and grow.

Posture is a fundamental that has a direct effect on both distance and direction. The position in which you place your body either allows or hinders the amount of torso rotation that you achieve during the swing. This amount of rotation has a direct effect on the swing speed that you produce and on the path the club takes.

To take the most advantageous posture position at address, start by standing tall. Try to lift your head to be as tall as you can stand. Now feel the weight on the bottom of your feet. It should be on the arches, with slightly more pressure on the heels. Keep this pressure on the feet in this position and bend from the hip sockets by pushing backward with the entire pelvis. When your belt buckle is pointing toward the ground and your arms hang directly down from your shoulders, bend your knees slightly. This can be checked by feeling if the pressure is in the same place on your feet.

This bend forward from the hip socket position with weight constant on feet will allow you to turn your torso to its maximum. The arms should hang freely from the shoulder joints, which have maintained their relationship to the spine as close to the original fully-erect standing position as possible.

The role of the legs in the golf swing is to create a solid base and ground connection that will allow you to counterbalance the speed of the club and the torso rotation during the swing. Use you mirror to check you posture position, and work to keep it in the ideal position. If your posture is not in this ideal position for your body, your swing will be slower and less consistent than possible.

Proper posture is a key component for producing a successful golf swing. It is very likely to be something that is assessed right off the bat in an individual lesson or group clinic conducted by a trained PGA Professional. Whether you are a beginner seeking to learn the basics of the golf swing or an experienced player looking to fine-tune your game, consulting a PGA Professional is the most sure-fire way to achieve your goals in the game. As always, you can locate a PGA-staffed facility near you by using the Zip code search tool on www.PlayGolfAmerica.com.

Until next time, here's to better golf!