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According to the Titlelist Performance Fitness Institute, 65 percent of the people who play golf raise their body and spine up on the backswing or raise out of their initial spine angle and raise up at impact.

Of course, you probably have assumed that any up and down movement in your swing makes it virtually impossible for you to hit the ball with any consistency.

What to do? How to set up?

To be a consistent ball-striker, we must have minimum spine movement back and forth, and up and down during the swing.

Basically, a good golf swing rotates around the spine, which remains fixed. You can set your address position by bending forward from your hip sockets some 25 to 35 degrees, depending on the size of your chest.

If you have a large chest, you should bend forward more than someone with a thin chest. The other bend that most amateurs ignore is the side bend to the right (for right-handed players). You should tilt your spine 6 to 10 degrees to the right for the driver but less than this for the irons.

Once this posture is attained it is now your job to turn around your spine, keeping these posture angles until just after impact.

Why you probably come out of your spine angle in the backswing

* Golfers tend to come out of their spine angle on the backswing because they try to make too big of a swing. Keep your swing short and don’t over-extend the arms away from your body on the takeaway.

* Some golfers lift up on the backswing because they are turning their shoulders flat like a baseball hitter. Just try to turn your shoulders at the angle they were at setup.

Four reasons for lifting out of your spine angle at impact

* When your backswing is too high your downswing will be too steep. This will make you raise up to avoid hitting the ground. Fix this by lowering your swing at the top.

* Golfers who move their swing center in front of the ball at impact will always raise up their spine at impact. So keep your swing center behind the ball at the point of contact.

* Golfers who drive their legs too hard on the downswing will tend to pull their spine up and away from the ball at impact. This results in a very inside-out swing and a lot of toe hits. You want to use your legs on the downswing but in moderation.

* Golfers who swing only with their arms tend to straighten and pull out of their spine angle. These same arm swingers tend to start on their toes at address and more towards their heels at impact.

So to build consistent swing, try to start in a good posture or spine angle, and stay in that posture until after impact.

Dr. Jim Suttie, the 2000 PGA Teacher of the Year, is director of instruction at The Club at TwinEagles in North Naples and at Cog Hill Golf Club in Lemont, Ill. Call 1-800-765-3838. Suttie is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, Golf Digest Top 20 Teacher, and coaches the FGCU golf team. E-mail him at jmsuttie@aol.com or go online to www.jimsuttie.com.