Ultimate Guide to the Modern Golf Swing (plus drills to try out)

 

What is the Goal of the Modern Golf Swing?

Before we try to fix your mechanics, we have to define the goal. The modern swing isn’t about aesthetics. It isn’t about looking like Rory McIlroy.

According to Justin Craft, the modern swing is simply the most efficient way to control the clubface.

We have learned more about ball flight in the last 10 years thanks to launch monitors (like Trackman) than in the previous 100 years. The data shows that clubface position at impact is the most critical factor for consistency.

To control the face, you need two opposing forces working together:

1. 1. A Steep Body: A body that stays in posture and covers the ball.

1. 1. Shallow Arms: Arms that keep the clubhead behind the hands, preventing an over-the-top path.

 

The Amateur Problem: Steep Arms, Shallow Body

The reason most mid-to-high handicap golfers struggle is that they have this formula backward. They do the exact opposite of the modern model:

• • Shallow Body (Early Extension): instead of staying down, they stand up out of their posture during the downswing. This is often called “humping the goat” or early extension.

• • Steep Arms (Over-the-Top): Because the body has stalled and stood up, the hands panic. To make contact with the ball, the hands throw the club steep and over the top.

The result is a two-way miss, weak contact, and zero consistency. To fix this, we have to reverse the pattern.

 

Step-by-Step Blueprint to the Modern Swing

You don’t need to rebuild your entire game to see benefits. You just need to adjust your setup, backswing, and transition.

Step 1: The Setup (Stop Sticking Your Butt Out)

You cannot execute a modern swing from an old-school setup. The most common error amateurs make is sticking their pelvis too far back at address (the classic “athletic” squat).

The Fix: Tuck your pelvis under your torso.

• • The Feel: You want your tailbone more over your heels, not way behind them. Feel like your kneecaps are vertically over your shoelaces.

• • The Logic: If your pelvis is too far back at address, the only place it can go during the swing is forward toward the ball. By tucking it under at address, you create room to push it back during the swing.

Step 2: The Backswing (Earn the Right to Shallow)

You hear everyone talking about “shallowing the club,” but Justin told me something profound:

“It is hard to shallow a club that is already shallow.”

If you whip the club inside and flat during your backswing (a shallow backswing), your brain will react by steepening it on the downswing just to hit the ball.

The Fix: Keep the backswing steep.

• • The Checkpoint: At the top of the backswing, you want the club shaft pointing between the ball line and your toe line.

• • The Logic: If you keep the clubhead outside your hands on the way back, you give gravity and rotation permission to shallow it on the way down.

Step 3: The Downswing (The Magic Move)

This is where the “Shallow Arms, Steep Body” concept comes alive. In transition, two things must happen simultaneously:

1. 1. The Body Gets Steep: Instead of standing up, elite ball strikers actually lower their chest toward the ground in transition. They “cover” the ball. They rotate while maintaining—or even increasing—their forward bend.

1. 1. The Arms Get Shallow: Because the body is getting steep, the arms must shallow out to avoid digging a trench. This happens via external rotation of the trail arm (think of the trail elbow tucking in front of your shirt seam).

3 Essential Drills to Master the Modern Swing

You can’t just “think” your way into these changes. You need to feel them. Here are the three best drills Justin Craft shared with me.

1. The Choke Down Drill (The Truth Teller)

This is the ultimate drill for curing early extension.

• • How to do it: Take your normal setup, but grip the club all the way down at the very bottom of the grip, near the steel shaft. The clubhead should be hovering 6–12 inches off the ground.

• • The Goal: Try to hit the ball.

• • Why it works: The only way to make contact with the ball from that position is to aggressively lower your chest and push your pelvis back. If you stand up or early extend even a fraction of an inch, you will whiff.

2. The Wall Drill (For Setup)

• • How to do it: Stand with your heels about 3–4 inches away from a wall (or your golf bag). Get into your golf stance.

• • The Goal: Your glutes should not be touching the wall at address.

• • The Swing: As you make a backswing and transition, push your trail hip back until it touches the wall. This teaches you to push your hips back rather than thrusting them forward.

3. The “Over and Under” Drill (For Path)

• • How to do it: Place an alignment stick in the ground about a club length away, matching your shaft angle.

• • The Goal: Make a backswing that goes OVER the stick (steep), and a downswing that comes UNDER the stick (shallow).

• • Why it works: This forces you to “earn the right” to shallow the club by keeping the backswing steep enough.

FAQ: Common Questions About the Modern Swing

Is the modern swing bad for your back? Actually, early extension (standing up) is often harder on the lower back because it compresses the spine at impact (“crunching the nut”). The modern swing emphasizes rotation and using the glutes, which can protect the lower back if done with proper mobility.

Is this swing only for young, flexible golfers? While extreme versions (like the pros) require elite flexibility, the concept applies to everyone. You don’t need to touch your nose to the ground; you just need to avoid standing up. Even a 10% improvement in staying in posture will improve your contact.

Why do I slice when I try to stay in posture? If you stay in posture (steep body) but don’t shallow the arms, you will come over the top and hit a massive pull-slice. You must pair the steep body with the shallow arms (tucked trail elbow). They are a package deal.

Conclusion: The 10% Rule

When you watch a video of a player like Michael LaSasso or a tour pro, their positions look extreme. It can be intimidating.

Justin’s advice is perfect: Just try to be 10% better.

• • If you usually stand up 5 inches, try to only stand up 4 inches.

• • If you usually whip the club inside, try to keep it straight back for a few more inches.

You don’t need to be perfect to see massive gains in face control. You just need to stop doing the opposite of what the best players in the world do.

About the Instructor: Justin Kraft (@kraftygolf) is Minnesota’s #1-ranked golf instructor, combining biomechanics, technology, and motor learning principles in his teaching.

Related: Watch the full modern golf swing breakdown with Justin Kraft here