{"id":399086,"date":"2026-01-08T05:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T05:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/399086\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T05:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T05:34:08","slug":"is-forward-shaft-lean-at-impact-really-just-an-illusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/399086\/","title":{"rendered":"Is forward shaft lean at impact really just an illusion?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Play\u00a0Smart<\/a>, a regular\u00a0GOLF.com\u00a0game-improvement column that will help you\u00a0become a smarter, better golfer.<\/p>\n

A term you\u2019ll hear quite frequently in golf instruction is \u201cforward shaft lean<\/a>.\u201d As in \u201cyou need forward shaft lean if you want to hit the ball solidly.\u201d I know it\u2019s something I\u2019ve typed many times, and it\u2019s something that a whole lot of golf instructors have said, too.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the hook of the Athletic Motion Golf video (below) stuck out so much when I scrolled past it on Instagram. \u201cIs shaft lean at impact just a myth?\u201d it asks. At first, I scoffed at the idea. But after watching the clip (and later, the full video on YouTube<\/a>), it makes total sense.<\/p>\n

The illusion of shaft lean<\/p>\n

When golfers hear that they need forward shaft lean at impact, they often try to achieve it simply by holding off on their release until their hands get past the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where the illusion lies,\u201d Shaun Webb says. \u201cBecause the way to create that image is not what you think.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s true that your hands should be in front of the ball when you reach impact, when you break it down, it doesn\u2019t happen simply by pushing your hands toward the target. Instead, it results from several moving components throughout the swing.<\/p>\n

To see what is happening, get your body set in the proper impact position. Your hips should be open about 45 degrees, and your shoulders slightly open. Your weight should be on your front foot, and your hands should be slightly in front of the ball on the ground. From a face-on view, this illustrates forward shaft lean.<\/p>\n

This is where the \u201cillusion\u201d comes in. Turn your hips and shoulders back to square, and let your arms and hands follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis hands, club and everything are farther back when his pelvis is square to the target than they are at address,\u201d Mike Granato says. <\/p>\n

The only reason the hands are in front of the ball and the shaft is leaning toward the target is because the hips and shoulders are open when you reach impact. It\u2019s the turn of the body that gets the shaft to lean forward, not pressing the hands toward the target.<\/p>\n

Get the feeling of the body opening up and the hands and arms following, and you\u2019ll hit the ball better than ever before.<\/p>\n

\"Divot<\/p>\n

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View Product<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to\u00a0Play\u00a0Smart, a regular\u00a0GOLF.com\u00a0game-improvement column that will help you\u00a0become a smarter, better golfer. A term you\u2019ll hear quite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-399086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}