Ask any hockey player to pick up a golf club and there's a decent chance they'll flush it on the first swing. It's not luck. It's physics — and it's the same rotational mechanic that most amateur golfers never fully develop.
Brad Pluth has a drill that bridges the two sports in about thirty seconds.
The drill
Brad Pluth — PGA Master Professional (Class of 2025), Golf Digest Best in State (MN), US Kids Golf Master Coach, and Founder of Brad Pluth Golf Achievement™ at Dick's House of Sport — uses the pathpal to teach one of the most overlooked fundamentals in golf: the relationship between your spine angle and your swing plane.
The concept is simple:
- Set your pathpal to a comfortable angle mimicking a hockey stick's lie
- Get into your golf posture and feel your spine become perpendicular to the rod
- Rotate and shoot — just like a slapshot
That perpendicular "T" relationship between your spine and the stick is the unlock. When you find it, your shoulders can rotate freely on the correct plane.
When you lose it — by standing too tall or bending over too much — rotation stalls, power leaks, and contact becomes inconsistent.
Watch the drill
See Brad Pluth demonstrate the Slapshot Rotation Drill live at Dick's House of Sport — including exactly what the perpendicular "T" feels like and how two common posture faults prevent free rotation.
Watch on YouTube: The Slapshot Rotation Drill with Brad Pluth →
Why it works
Most golf instruction talks about shoulder turn as an isolated movement. What Brad is teaching here is that shoulder turn is a byproduct of correct posture — specifically, the spine being properly tilted and the body rotating around that tilt.
Hockey players develop this naturally because the sport demands it. The slapshot is essentially a rotational power move on an inclined plane. Sound familiar?
The pathpal makes the plane visible and tangible. You're not guessing whether your posture is right — you can feel the perpendicular relationship and self-correct in real time.
Standing too tall produces a shoulder turn that's too level. Bending over too much stalls the rotation entirely. The perpendicular "T" is the middle ground where the shoulders can turn freely on the correct plane — and the pathpal makes that position findable without a mirror, a camera, or a lesson.
Who this is for
Blocked shoulder turn
Golfers who feel restricted in their shoulder turn and can't identify why.
Posture without feel
Players who've been told their posture is off but can't feel the fix.
Rotational athletes
Golfers who play or have played hockey, baseball, or other rotational sports.
This drill is also ideal for anyone looking to add rotational power without swinging harder.
Try it
You don't even need a ball for this one. Set up the pathpal, find that perpendicular spine angle, and make 20 slow rotation reps focusing purely on the feel of your shoulders turning on plane. Then take it to the range and notice what happens to your strike.
Continue your training
The Slapshot Rotation Drill teaches your body to rotate around the correct spine angle. These three drills either build the foundation underneath it or show you what happens when that rotation connects to the swing itself.
The Slapshot Drill trains you to rotate around the correct spine angle — this drill shows you how to find that spine angle for every club in the bag. A natural prerequisite: build the posture first, then rotate around it.
Once you can feel the perpendicular "T" relationship from the Slapshot Drill, Janean Murphy's drill verifies that your club is actually staying on that plane during the swing. Posture sets the plane; this drill confirms you're on it.
Free rotation requires something to rotate around — a braced lead hip. If the hips slide instead of turning, the rotation the Slapshot Drill builds has nowhere to go. David Potts' drill trains the lead-hip brake that converts lateral energy into the rotational power you're after.
About Brad Pluth
Brad Pluth is a PGA Master Professional (Class of 2025) and Founder of Brad Pluth Golf Achievement™ at Dick's House of Sport. He is a Golf Digest Best in State instructor (MN), US Kids Golf Master Coach, and three-time Minnesota PGA Award Winner.
Follow Brad on Instagram · bradpluthgolf.com · Follow pathpal on Instagram
The tool Brad uses in every lesson
pathpal is an integrated training system used by PGA Master Professionals, Golf Digest Best in State instructors, and golfers of every level. One tool. Every drill. Every club.
Shop pathpalFrequently asked questions
Why do hockey players tend to hit the golf ball so well?
Hockey players naturally develop a feel for swinging on an inclined plane — which is almost identical to the golf swing. Their bodies are trained to rotate around a tilted spine with the stick perpendicular to their torso. The slapshot is a rotational power move on an inclined plane, which is exactly the mechanic Brad Pluth uses to teach correct golf rotation.
What does "spine perpendicular to the stick" mean in this drill?
The goal is for your spine to form a 90-degree angle with the pathpal rod — essentially a "T" shape between your torso and the stick. When you find that position, your shoulders can rotate freely along the correct plane. If you're too upright or too bent over, the perpendicular relationship breaks down and rotation becomes restricted or off-plane.
How does poor posture hurt my shoulder turn?
Posture is the foundation of rotation. If you stand too tall, your shoulder turn becomes too level, sending the club on an overly flat or inside path. If you bend over too much, rotation stalls and you compensate with your arms. Either fault produces inconsistent contact and a loss of power. The Slapshot Drill trains you to find the middle ground — the athletic, spine-tilted posture that allows a full, free shoulder turn on the correct plane.
Can I do this drill indoors without hitting a ball?
Yes — and it's one of the best drills for indoor practice precisely because no ball is required. Set your pathpal to a comfortable angle, get into your golf posture, check that your spine is perpendicular to the rod, and simply rotate and shoot. The feel you're grooving is pure body rotation on plane, which transfers directly to the range and the course.
