I feel that making a complete shoulder turn is one of the most important fundamentals in the golf swing.  I think between having a good grip, a smooth tempo and a full shoulder turn, you can really play solid golf--and that's without thinking about "swing positions" or anything else!

So what do I mean by a full shoulder turn?  I mean that on a full shot, strive to turn your shoulders 90 degrees.  Your lead shoulder (left shoulder for a right-handed golfer) should be under your chin, and your back should be facing the target.  Obviously as you get older, this gets harder and harder to do, so flexibility exercises may be in order to help you get as full of a turn as possible.  And if you are young and flexible, make sure you are making the full turn now, before it gets too hard to start doing it.  I'm still in my 20s and am already having to work on it to make sure I do it correctly.

Let me also add in my take on the current swing model.  You will notice that many players try to keep their hips relatively quiet and still turn their shoulders 90 degrees.  This is called the X-Factor, the resistance between the hips and upper body.  Supposedly this resistance can create greater clubhead speed on the way down, and I'm sure it does to some degree...but not only does this require an enormous amount of flexibility, I also don't think it's necessary.  You can let your hips turn.  On the backswing, I turn my hips about 40 degrees and my shoulders about 90.  As long as your shoulders are turned more than your hips, you will be fine!  It's the old-school way of swinging the club, but to be frank, I think many of the older generation had more effective swings than many of the modern guys.  Vijay Singh is an example of a current player who's sticking to this old method.  Fred Couples is also a great example.  Neither of these guys is known as a short hitter!

The benefit of this full turn is that it enables the downswing to follow the correct sequence.  With your shoulders turned about 90 degrees, they will be unwinding after your hips do, which is what you want.  This is what allows your club to hit the ball from the inside.

What happens when you don't make a full turn?  I see many golfers out on the range and the course who only get about 45 or 50 degrees of shoulder turn, which isn't much farther than they turn their hips.  They then use their arms and/or hands to "complete" the backswing, or at least, it looks like a complete swing.  But now, since their shoulders and hips are not very different in terms of turn, the shoulders are in danger of getting ahead of the hips on the downswing.  The result?  Classic over-the-top.  The miss is either a straight pull, pull-slice, or pull-hook depending on the clubface angle at impact.  If one of those misses fits your description, you might check to see what kind of shoulder turn you are making.

Now for the added benefit of a full shoulder turn:  When you make a full shoulder turn, you are making a bigger arc with your swing.  I am a big believer in that a big arc will give you more distance.  You see a lot of guys on Tour with really compact swings these days, and they still hit the ball great distances.  But here's the thing:  They hit a LOT of golf balls and are frankly quite strong!  So unless you are young and have very strong golf muscles, I believe you will get more distance out of your body simply by making a bigger shoulder turn, and therefore a bigger swing arc.  I spoke about the reasoning behind this in a previous blog, "Drive it Long and Straight."  Check it out!

So there you have it--my take on a full shoulder turn.  I think if you make sure that you are making a full shoulder turn (use a mirror or a video to check), you will see a great increase in distance and accuracy.

Three keys to remember:

1:  Make sure your shoulders turn roughly 90 degrees--let your back face the target.

2:  Don't be afraid to let your hips turn too.  You can even let your left heel come off the ground to assist in making a fuller turn.

3:  Unwind your hips first on the downswing.  With a big shoulder turn, your shoulders, arms, and clubhead will automatically follow after your hips, and you will attack the ball from the inside without any conscious thought.

Try it out.  Hope it helps!