Many amateurs struggle to turn the upper body in their swing, but rather get by just using their arms.

The result often sees the ball going in all directions, with no consistency, and a huge loss in power and distance. In this tip I would like to stress that it is very important for the player to get his left shoulder aligned over his right foot (for right-handed players) at the top of his backswing. This will put the player in a good position at the start of the downswing and will result in a lot more power through the ball.

Be sure to turn rather slide your hips as the lateral movement will prevent you from getting the power out of the hip and shoulder turn. A useful analogy is to imagine your waist to be inside a wine barrel – you cannot move your hips laterally but you can rotate them, which is what we are looking for.

This instruction is from Meyer du Toit, the head PGA professional at Simola Golf and Country Estate.