I'm exploring an area of physiology that has always been on my mind, especially when I see line drawings of golfers or instructors describing shoulder motion around the spine. Years ago in college I took enough Anatomy and Physiology classes to understand the basics and remember that the shoulders have the largest range of motion in the human body. So it bothers me when the shoulders are thought of as a static T on top of the spine from a swing diagnosis standpoint.
The only thing connecting the shoulders to the spine is the horizontal Clavical bones. These bones connect to the upper breast bone and terminate at the shoulder joint. The entire arm, shoulder, and shoulder blade are connected via this relatively small strong bone. The rest is connective tissue and muscle. I'm using very general terms here. Each Clavicals range of motion is significant. The link to this video will give you some idea.
http://chrisevans3d.com/video/front01.avi
If you can pull up this video, you will see the Clavicals have joints at both ends allowing a huge range of motion afforded to each shoulder, it can never be thought of as a static T relationship to the spine. Each shoulder can move up, down, front, back independent of the other or the "spine".
As an aside, the shoulders are very indirectly connected to the spine. They are connected to the spine via the upper rib bones which connect the spine to the breast bone, then across the Clavicals to the Shoulders.
What does all of this mean to the golf swing? It means the shoulders can move independently from one another and the right shoulder location should be examined carefully in relation to the base of the neck. If the ideal is to have shoulders at perpendicular to the spine, then examine the relationship of the shoulder to the Clavical joint to make sure the shoulder isn't lifted or lowered. Likewise, you can have a "flat" backstroke shoulder turn that isn't really flat. Only the right shoulder is moving back flat independent of the left or the spine.
Homer made a brief comment in 2-M-3 that I believe solves the majority of shoulder misalignment issues. "Keep the Shoulders forward, with Pectorial action if necessary".
Pectorial Action is similar to how the chest would feel at the top of a push up. The muscles are contracted and as a result the shoulders are pulled forward. This accomplishes several things. It keeps both shoulders aligned perpendicular to the spine throughout the stroke and it allows the upper arms to be unencumbered with any preliminary contact with the body during the swing until pressure point 4 is established. In the mean time, the upper arms simply rest slightly more on top of the chest instead of alongside the chest.
In most cases, extensor action will pull the shoulders forward, but depending on a persons build, it may take Pectorial Action to get the shoulders forward and keep them there.
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