How To Play Golf Fit And Avoid Injury

Golf is a great game enjoyed by more than 25 million Americans. You are undoubtedly one of that number, and whether you're a tournament player or novice, you certainly want to perform as well as you can. You also want to avoid injuries and physical setbacks that can easily detract from your golf experiences. The purpose of this section is to present a sensible and personal physical conditioning program that will enhance your playing ability and reduce your injury risk. As you will see, these desirable outcomes are two sides of the conditioning coin, and the same training program that increases your driving power also decreases your injury potential.

The golf swing is a complex, explosive, and physically stressful action, and you must prepare your body to both produce and withstand the forces required for powerful drives. You can improve several important aspects of your swing through functional fitness training that should significantly increase your driving distance.

1. You can increase your club swing range by improving your joint flexibility.

2. You can increase your club swing speed by developing your muscle strength.

3. You can increase your club swing power by training your dynamic postural balance and segmental coordination.

Improving your golf game through better physical fitness is what this book is all about. Of course, this includes cardiovascular activity and appropriate nutrition. Our primary focus, however, is on safe, sensible, effective and efficient exercise programs designed specifically for golfers. These progressive fitness components include flexibility for full swing mechanics; strength for maximum distance and control; postural stability for a consistent swing plane; coordination for power transfer and skill execution; and the complete golf conditioning program.

Because we want you to fully understand the fitness essentials for optimum golf and how to evaluate your personal fitness strengths and weaknesses relevant to golf performance, we devote the first two chapters to these topics. After following the suggested exercise programs and developing a functional level of golf fitness, you will find it relatively easy to maintain your new physical abilities. For this reason, we conclude the book with our 15-minute golf fitness workout, which enables you to train productively even when time is limited.

We believe that the first step for improving your golf game and avoiding physical setbacks is a sound general exercise program that increases your overall fitness. The second step is more targeted training that includes specific stretching, strengthening, and sequencing exercises to enhance your power production and elevate your playing ability to higher performance levels.

Is golf ready for fitness? Yes! What was once the exception is becoming the rule, especially as we see the success of motivated, talented players who practice fitness training. These players value physical fitness so much that an exercise trailer and full-time training and rehabilitative staff are now available for players at all USPGA events. Most of these exercise trailers are equipped with a Versaclimber, stationary bicycle, and Frankenslide slide board for aerobic conditioning. A single multistation resistance machine and a variety of dumbbells, medicine balls, and rehabilitation equipment round out the strength training options. Many exercise programs could be designed to use the golfer's own body weight, elastic tubing, and stabilization balls, however.

The staff is composed largely of physical therapists, but physicians and chiropractors also play active roles in the system. The physical therapists work long hours to provide the players with the expertise and knowledge to keep them on the course for improved physical performance and reduced injury risk.

Today's physically fit players appreciate the USPGA's trailers at tournaments. In fact, we're aware of one instance when the trailer was not available for a European Tour event and at least one well-known player withdrew from the tournament. The trailer is a means for some participants to get through a long and demanding competitive season; the exercise trailer provides an important source of physical and mental stability for golfers at the highest level of a tedious and technical sport. Golf is a game in which a small advantage in one area can mean the difference between finishing 1st or finishing 20th. Scan the pro tour statistics and you will see the difference between a person ranking 1st in the category and 25th or 30th could be as small as a quarter of a shot difference in scoring average. Multiplying that by four per round, however, shows that a small edge allows a player to win by one shot instead of losing by one shot. The other advantage to being fit is that when the body feels and functions well, the mind is more able to focus on the task at hand: the next shot.

History has shown that most golfers are not willing to spend a great deal of time working out, even if it improves their games. For this reason, golf conditioning programs should be efficient and address the areas where they will most benefit performance and reduce injuries. We must remember that not too long ago, other competitive sports arenas placed little or no emphasis on muscular development. In the 1960s, for example, few football teams participated in off-season strength training programs. Today, players require year-round strength training just to stay competitive. In the 1970s, basketball players were told to stay out of the weight room because strong muscles were incompatible with shooting ability. Now basketball players continue their strength training on a year-round basis. In the 1980s the Oakland A's won two World Series with strength-trained athletes such as Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire-big, strong, powerful men who hit many home runs during those championship years. It was not long afterward that strength training became accepted practice in the baseball community. We firmly believe that it is only a matter of time before golfers, too, recognize the necessity of physical conditioning. The new breed of player and the body type you see on the professional tour are indicative of what is happening in golf. The top young players are leaner, more muscular, and more flexible than the generation of golfers before them. This fitness training can reduce your physical limitations and help you optimize your swing pattern. Training enables more efficient transfer of momentum, which translates into improved ball striking capability and increased club head speed at impact.

A theoretical model has been created to compare baseball energy requirements to golf energy requirements. According to this construct, the amount of energy transferred to a golf ball hit 300 yards is of about the same magnitude as the energy transferred to a baseball hit 300 feet from a resting position. Consider that a 10-handicap golfer will take about 50 hard swings and another 50 to 75 practice swings, per round, with a club that weighs slightly less than a baseball bat. If you compare this golfer to the baseball player who bats five times during a game and takes about 15 total swings, it is easy to see a difference in swinging requirements. Furthermore, golfers walk about 8,000 yards per round; a center fielder travels less than 2,000 yards, moving back and forth to the dugout between innings. Even including movements to run base paths or chase down fly balls, the total distance traveled by a baseball player does not come close to that traveled by a golfer. The conclusion is that though golf may require less intensity than baseball, the greater volume of activity provides higher overall energy costs when compared to baseball. The baseball community having accepted physical training as part of its program, we are confident that golfers soon will follow suit.

Is your fitness level appropriate for high-performance golf? 

Improve Your Fitness - Improve Your Game

Being physically fit allows you to walk 18 holes of golf without feeling fatigued and to stay focused throughout the game. Perhaps more important, a well-conditioned body can produce more powerful and coordinated swinging actions that result in longer and better-placed drives. Higher fitness levels also reduce your recovery time, thereby letting you enjoy more frequent rounds of golf.

The repetitive nature of the golf swing predisposes both professional and amateur golfers to injury. To avoid or limit physical breakdown, we encourage a preventive program of physical conditioning. The first steps are to recognize your own physical limitations and understand what you must do to strengthen these weaknesses. If left unattended, they certainly will lead to eventual breakdown. This is why it is imperative to become aware of potential problems and preventive measures. A successful training program should address cardiorespiratory endurance, postural imbalances, golf-specific strength, functional flexibility, balance, and motor learning.

Swing Sequence

Because the golf swing is one of the most unnatural, complex, and explosive movements in sport, you must prepare your body to perform this powerful athletic action as successfully and safely as possible. Better joint flexibility lets you swing in a fluid manner through a full range of movement. Greater muscular strength provides more striking force to drive the ball farther. Enhanced balance and coordination are the keys to control and will help you place each shot closer to your target area Taken together, these fitness factors can make a big difference in your golf performance, playing satisfaction, and game scores.

Elements of a Golf Swing

The American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) in Birmingham, Alabama, breaks down the golf swing into five separate biomechanical phases or positions that are useful for designing a sport-specific program for golf:

• Set-up
• Backswing
• Transition
• Downswing
• Follow-through

Chris Welch, president of Human Performance Technologies of Jupiter, Florida, uses his program and software package - the Biolink System - to analyze the golf swing using body segments (hips, trunk, shoulders, and arms) organized into functional links (hips-trunk, trunk-shoulders, and shoulders-arms). The main purpose of the Biolink System is to determine specific forces and power outputs during the swing phases and how these factors relate to optimal club head speed. The analysis allows you to determine objectively how your power might be leaking away.

The forces that act on the segmental components of the spine vary from individual to individual, depending on skill level and physiological factors. Preexisting conditions of the spine, such as degenerative joint disease, postural imbalance, or degenerative disc disease, will change the way swinging forces are distributed. Of course, if the physical demands exceed tissue function or recovery capabilities, the result will be a breakdown of the joint structure. Normal forces that occur to the spine during the golf swing are as follows:

• Anterior and posterior sliding forces between the segments (shear forces)
• Lateral bending forces between the segments
• Twisting (torsional) forces between the segments
• Compressive forces between the segments

Recent research at the New Jersey School of Medicine has found that professional golfers demonstrate less sliding, lateral bending, and twisting forces than amateur golfers. Compressive forces were approximately eight times body weight for both groups. Neuromuscular firing of the trunk muscles revealed that professionals use less effort while performing the trunk coiling and uncoiling process. In addition, the sequence of neuromuscular firing was different between the groups. These findings suggest that the lower-handicapped golfers have more efficient swing patterns than higher-handicapped golfers. The key in explaining the way that these spinal segments and muscular forces are decreased in the better golfer might lie in how well each individual is able to pass momentum from one segment of the body to another. This efficient passing of momentum, commonly referred to as kinetic linking, can be improved through training. By increasing muscle strength, while at the same time improving joint flexibility, balance, and coordination, you will develop more efficient and effective summation of momentum. This basically translates into increased club head speed at impact, which results in longer drives.

Golf Swing Analysis

Kinesiologically, much of the work on golf swing analysis has been performed at the biomechanics laboratory at Tenent Medical Center in Englewood, California. Most of this work has been done under the supervision of sports medicine pioneer physician Frank lobe. The analyses show that there is little activity of the trunk muscles during the backswing and relatively high and constant activity in these muscles throughout the remainder of the swing.

These results demonstrate the importance of the trunk musculature throughout the golfer's entire performance enhancement, preventive, and rehabilitative program. Studies of the shoulder demonstrated that the rotator cuff muscles acted predominantly at the end ranges of motion. The internal shoulder rotators were activated during acceleration and the front shoulder muscles were activated during the swing and follow-through movements. The middle and rear shoulder muscles on the lead arm were extremely active to stabilize the shoulder girdle throughout the swing. More important, peak muscle activity of the hip and knee during the golf swing was recorded before the peak muscle activity of the trunk and shoulders region. This substantiates the importance of the sequential actions of the different components of the body for generating power.

To obtain the greatest benefit from proper sequencing of swinging actions, you must have strong leg, thigh, and hip muscles to generate driving power. These lower-body forces then must be transferred through well-conditioned midsection muscles to the upper body. Strong chest, back, and shoulder muscles permit greater acceleration of the club, while maintaining control through trained arms and forearms. There is perhaps no single action in sport that requires more overall muscular strength, joint flexibility, and movement coordination than a perfectly executed golf swing.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance

Cardiorespiratory endurance is a good indicator of overall physical capacity, especially the ability to do more work, burn more calories, and recover better from activity bouts such as a round of golf. Although many golf courses require you to use a cart, several hours of play can leave you feeling quite fatigued on the last few holes. If you walk (which we strongly recommend whenever possible), you are likely to suffer an even greater performance decrement unless you have a moderately high level of cardiorespiratory fitness. Playing golf, unfortunately, is not the best means for getting in better shape to play better golf. Instead, you will make much greater progress by specifically conditioning your cardiorespiratory system.

Usually called aerobic conditioning, this aspect of your exercise program requires about 20 to 30 minutes of moderate activity, three days a week. Walking, jogging, stepping, and cycling are all appropriate activities for improving cardiorespiratory fitness. The level of conditioning is closely related to the intensity of the exercise. For example, a slow walk that raises your heart rate only 20 beats per minute above its resting level (typically about 70 beats per minute) is unlikely to have much impact on your aerobic capacity. A fast walk or jog, however, one that elevates your heart rate 60 beats per minute above resting, should have significant conditioning benefit. Performed on a regular basis, 20 to 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity should make your heart a stronger pump, your circulatory system a more efficient blood transporter, and your blood cells better carriers of oxygen.

A simple formula for selecting appropriate exercise intensity is to train at about 70 percent of your estimated maximum heart rate. You can easily approximate this by subtracting your age from 220, and exercising hard enough that your heart rate is about 70 percent of this number.

Functional Flexibility

Flexibility is the one component of fitness that has been appreciated by golfers for many years. By enhancing joint flexibility you can lengthen your golf swing and increase your club head speed. Your joint flexibility is determined by your movement ability and dictates the safe ranges for your swing patterns. It is important to note that excellent flexibility alone does not guarantee a good golf swing. Inability to sequence movements at proper times may result in reaching maximum club head speed well before impact, with a related loss of power and reduced driving distance.

Golf-Specific Strength

The strengthening program for golf should include work for the trunk, as well as for the muscles of the upper and lower body. Because the golf swing is not a simple, linear motion, you should implement an integrated, multijoint strengthening program. Remember that your hips and legs produce most of the force for a powerful golf swing. This momentum must be transferred through a stable trunk to the upper body, which simultaneously delivers and counteracts the forceful striking action of the club. A successful swing, therefore, requires sufficient strength and coordinated actions among the major muscles that make up these different body segments. Of course, strong muscles also are essential for proper posture, which assures consistent swing deliveries and a stable head that maintains uninterrupted eye focus on the golf ball.

Postural Balance

Postural balance is an important component of your golf game. Unfortunately, physical activities such as golf, in which one side of the body is used differently than the other side of the body, tend to promote postural imbalances that can impede performance and cause injury. It is important to determine whether the postural imbalance is a normal response to sport mechanics, however, or whether it is due to pathological conditions. A solid golf conditioning program strives for front-to- back and left-to-right body balance. Although this may never be fully achieved because of the sport mechanics, it always should remain a primary goal of your golf conditioning program.

Balance represents a complex neuromuscular communication system. It relies on feedback from the central nervous system, the eyes, the inner ear, and tiny message receptors in the joints and soft tissues. Balance is necessary in maintaining appropriate spine (trunk and torso) positions throughout the swing. If balance is not maintained during the swinging action, shoulder turn, weight shift, and force transfer may be affected and the shot outcome will be compromised. As one grows older, the sensory organs and balance systems become less sensitive. It therefore might be advantageous to actually make better postural balance one of the primary parts of a conditioning program.

Motor Learning

Motor learning is simply teaching the neuromuscular system to perform a specific task in a consistent, reproducible fashion. Because the golf swing requires communication among all body segments, motor learning or muscle memory might be a key factor for further improvement.

Several motor learning adaptations must occur for your body to become more functionally efficient, therefore enhancing your golf performance and reducing injury risk. You must teach your body parts to work correctly and sequentially, within the available range of motion for your golf swing.

The goal of motor learning, or computer-like programming of the neuromuscular system, is to develop the least stressful and most productive movement patterns for a successful golf swing. Remember that movement can be defined as a series of muscular contractions, controlled by the nervous system and conditioned through the process of motor learning.

Nutrition

Although most people do not consider golf to be an activity that requires power eating or a special diet, proper nutrition is certainly an important component of a golf conditioning program. After all, appropriate eating patterns are necessary to maintain high energy levels throughout a four-hour athletic event. In addition, golfers involved in physical conditioning activities require better nutrition to maximize their fitness development:

Eating for good health is step one because it applies to all areas of life. Eating for improved golf performance is step two, because sustained energy levels can make a big difference in your playing ability, especially on the back nine.

Golf Fitness Evaluation

Although it took some time, even Jack Nicklaus recognized his need to attain better physical condition to continue a successful competitive career. It was only right after the 1986 Masters that he realized the importance of an exercise program to help him maintain a competitive edge into the 1990s.

Assessing your present fitness level and following an appropriate conditioning program is an important step for improving your golf performance and raising your playing ability to a higher level. If you currently have injuries or are experiencing health problems, however, be sure to consult with your physician or medical specialist before taking the fitness evaluation.

Keep in mind also that symptoms in one area of the body can be caused by problems elsewhere. For example, Davis Love was treated for hip pain that was later determined to be caused by a back problem. In a similar situation, Jose Mario Olazabal labored with a foot problem for almost two years before further examination revealed that the pain was referred from the low back. Fortunately, once the real problem is identified and treated successfully, high-level golf play can be resumed. Improved physical fitness clearly is an important component in both the remediation and prevention of injury. So how do you begin the process?

If you have high playing aspirations, access to a team of golf pros, biomechanists, physicians, physical therapists, nutritionists, and exercise specialists obviously is an advantage for achieving your performance potential. Even working with a trained teaching professional can greatly enhance your golf success and satisfaction. In case you prefer a self-assessment, however, we have provided a relatively simple system for evaluating specific fitness and performance factors.

Swing Self-Evaluation

How often have you had difficulty reaching a swing position and then practiced various drills to try to correct the problem? If your backswing were short or didn't produce sufficient power, for example, you could find many remedial drills-but first you must identify the specific part of your body that is restricting your backswing.

For example, your backswing might be limited by tight rotator cuff (shoulder) muscles, tight hip joints and surrounding musculature, lack of coordination of the upper and lower body, restricted midspine motion, tight latissimus dorsi (upper back) muscles, and even restricted cervical (neck) muscles. Because there are so many possible causes, we recommend initial screening to better identify any areas of restriction. The next section will help you identify possible problem areas, which then can be trained appropriately for better results. If you currently are experiencing any musculoskeletal problems, however, we encourage you to see a physician or physical therapist first, preferably one who has expertise in spine and sports injuries.

Screening Procedures

These basic screening assessments for mobility and stability address the components of flexibility, strength, balance, and coordination, and may provide invaluable information for enhancing your golf swing. Failure to identify general problems could lead to inconsistent swing patterns and poor performance. The screening procedures should expose significant structural, mechanical, and soft-tissue restrictive problems. They also should provide information for eliminating unproductive drills and for establishing training programs that are most likely to enhance your driving performance.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance

Although cardiorespiratory endurance is not directly related to golf performance, it does have an effect on your staying power for several quality hours on the links. Generally speaking, we recommend that you develop enough aerobic fitness to walk a mile in less than 16 minutes, and to walk two miles in less than 34 minutes. If you can do this with erect posture, long strides, fluid movement, and moderate effort, from a cardiorespiratory perspective you should be well-conditioned for golf.

Flexibility

Upper Back/Hip Mobility Focus: Hip joint limitation may be observed by performing this assessment. Procedure: Perform a squat to a comfortable depth, keeping your heels flat on the floor. Note whether one hip is higher than the other at the lowest point of the squat. Stand up. Assessment: Unless you are standing in front of a full-length mirror, you might not be able to assess your hip height accurately; but a good indicator is whether or not you feel your weight is being distributed equally on both feet.

Hip/Ankle Mobility Focus: Ankle joint limitations are assessed with this test. Procedure: Stand facing a waist high bar, holding onto the bar. (You may also do this assessment by standing in a doorway, facing one side, holding the doorjamb.) Squat and note whether there is a difference in your weight distribution on either the right or the left side of the body. Once you have noted weight distributions, keep your heels flat on the floor and try to rock forward by bending your knees. Assessment: If you are unable to rock forward, you might have restrictions within the ankle joint.

Upper Back Mobility Focus: Restrictions in the latissimus dorsi (mid- and upper back) muscles can be discovered by doing this test. Procedure: From a standing position, raise your hands over your head and perform a squat. Note the position of your arms in relation to your ear. Now sit against a wall or door frame and lean forward as necessary to keep your lower back flat against the wall. Raise your hands above your head. Note the di£ferencein your arm position when you were standing and when you were seated in the doorway. Assessment: Changing the position of your lower back, neck, or pelvis can restrict shoulder elevation, because these areas serve as points of muscle attachment. If you are unable to achieve at least the same amount of elevation as you did when standing, then your upper and mid-back should be targeted in your training program.

Strength and Stability

Abdominal Strength Focus: Your spine and trunk should be stable during the golf swing. This test assesses strength in your abdominal muscles. Although the abdominal muscles can be considered as a single muscle group, different points of attachment suggest different roles in trunk stability. Procedure: Find a doorway or a flat wall. Sit against the door frame or wall at a comfortable level. Roll your pelvis backward until the lower back is in full contact with the door frame. Adjust your sitting level if necessary to make it easier to keep your back flat against the wall. Keeping the back flat against the wall, lift one foot off the ground and hold it for approximately two seconds. Repeat this procedure with the opposite foot. Assessment: Inability to maintain the back flat against the door frame when lifting your foot indicates abdominal weakness. Be sure to have someone else observe your ability to stay flat against the door frame; you might not be able to perceive a change in your position.

Low Back Strength Focus: This test assesses the strength of the hip extensors and low back muscles. Procedure: Lie face down on an exam table or over a stabilization ball such that your body is hanging off the table from the hips down. Lift your legs so that your body is straight and parallel to the floor. Hold this position for as long as possible. Record your time (in seconds). Assessment:If you have difficulty holding the horizontal position for at least 90 seconds, you are likely to benefit from a low back and hip extensor strengthening program. These tests should not take the place of a physical examination (if you have a recogniz- able problem), but might give you some indication about your trunk stability. Tip: If you are extremely weak in the abdominal or low back muscles, do not proceed with further testing or training until you have strengthened these essential areas.

Balance and Coordination

Balance and coordination are the final two components of a properly executed golf swing The definition of coordination is simply the action of two or more joints in relation to one another to produce skilled movement This is what we see in a properly executed golf swing We assess these abilities with the static balance test, also known as the "stork stand." Static Balance Test Focus: This test assesses your balance while standing still. Procedure: Stand on one foot (first your backswing leg and then your follow- through leg). Place the foot of the untested leg against the lower part of the support leg. Next, place your hands on your hips. Slide the foot up the lower leg so that it """" just below the knee. Raise the heel of the support foot from the floor and attempt to maintain balance for as long as possible Do not remove your hands from the hips or allow your heel to touch the floor. Record your best time (in seconds) out of three attempts. Assessment: If you are unable to hold this position for at least 10 seconds on each leg, you need work on your balance.

Functional Performance Model

The self-evaluation presented thus far serves only as a baseline. The recommended assessment process for professionals who make their living playing golf involves a comprehensive evaluation tool called the functional performance model. You will see that this is a rather complex process and that much communication is necessary among players and their conditioning coaches to further improve performance at the highest level.

The functional performance model serves as an accurate means of assessing areas where your swing mechanics might break down and where you might be experiencing power leaks. The functional performance model begins with a biomechanical analysis, followed by clinical, structural, and functional analyses. Depending on the outcome of the clinical evaluation, the professional golfer might be encouraged to see a physician or a physical therapist to begin a rehabilitation program, or to meet with a fitness professional to develop a personalized exercise program.

Such an exercise program is broken down into two different areas: the basic program for the golfer in reasonably good physical condition, and what we call the clinical program, for the person who might not be fit enough to do more advanced exercises. The clinical program basically addresses the functional areas of mobility and stability. If the assessment reveals a deficiency in general fitness level, a customized exercise program can be developed. We believe that all golf conditioning pro- grams can benefit from the PAC Total Golf system, because it addresses sport-specific muscular strength, functional flexibility, dynamic postural balance, and segmental coordination. These four components are the key factors for performing correct and consistent golf swings.

Driving Range Evaluation Form

The driving range evaluation form helps to assess the individual fitness components of posture, balance stability, coordinated stability, and functional mobility. The evaluation process helps you to identify musculoskeletal limitations before signing up for swing lessons. A player who is unable to do a crossover step either to the right or left, for example, might be unable to complete the swing follow-through due to inadequate hip mobility. It also might mean that a compensating factor is going to occur in this player's backswing, one that will not allow proper loading or coiling to take place.

You and a friend might want to assess one another for these factors at the driving range before and after hitting balls. You do need someone to help be your eyes for this assessment. See the Driving Range Evaluation Form (below) for more information.

Posture

In front of a mirror, evaluate your lower back posture from behind and from the side. Do you have a flat back? Are your buttocks tucked beneath your body? Or do you have a swayback, such that your buttocks stick out? If your posture does not exhibit these qualities, for the sake of this evaluation, you can consider your posture to be normal. Circle your exhibited posture:

Flat Back

Swayback

Normal

If your posture is other than normal, focus particularly on the exercises presented in chapter 5 to improve your postural stability.

Balance and Stability

Single leg stance - Stand on your right leg first and evaluate how long you can hold your balance. A passing score is 10 seconds. Perform the trial 3 times on each leg or until you can stand for 10 seconds on each leg. Single leg stance for 10 seconds:

Yes	Right	No
Yes	Left	No

Pelvic height - Check your pelvic height by having someone stand behind you and place their hands on the tops of each side of your hip bone. Your partner should be able to tell by placing his or her hands on your hips and viewing from eye level whether one hip is higher or lower than the other or if they are level. Record your findings:

Right hip is higher.

Right hip is lower.

Hips are level.

If you were unable to stand for more than 10 seconds on one leg or if your hips are not level, the exercises in chapter 5 can help you alleviate imbalances and improve your golf swing.

Coordinated Stability

Standing pelvic tilt - Get into your normal golf set-up stance and evaluate the position of your pelvis. Now slightly bend your knees and attempt to tilt your pelvis independently of the rest of your body by first moving it backward and then forward. If you are unable to do this without moving parts of your body other than your pelvis, you may be restricted by tight or weak musculature or an inability to coordinate the motion. Were you able to tilt your pelvis (circle one)?

Yes

No

Crossover step - While keeping your trunk facing straight ahead, take your left foot and cross it over your right foot. If you have to roll to the outside part of your planted foot or are unable to keep your planted foot firmly on the ground when crossing the other leg over, you may be prone to substituting other body movements during the backswing or during the follow through of your golf swing. Look to see that you don't rotate your body to achieve a foot flat position; this can tell you a lot about what is happening during your swing. Record your results by circling the correct response: When your right foot was planted, did it roll to the outside or come off the ground when you crossed with your left leg?

Yes

No

When your left foot was planted, did it roll to the outside or come off the ground when you crossed with your right leg?

Yes

No

If you were unable to tilt your pelvis, emphasize incorporating the drills and exercises from chapters 3, 4, and 6 into your complete conditioning program.

Functional Mobility

Elevated side bending - stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Grasp a club with both hands and extend your arms over your head. Place your right foot behind your left foot. Allow the right foot or hip to move to the right and then bend to your left side, being sure to only move from the trunk. Finally, use your left arm to pull your right arm over the top of your head. By sequencing this movement from the hip to the trunk to the arm you can see where you have flexibility limitations-in the hip, trunk, or shoulder region. Reverse this side bend and repeat on the opposite side. Record where your flexibility limitations are.

RIGHT			LEFT
Yes	No	Hip	Yes	No
Yes	No	Trunk	Yes	No
Yes	No	Shoulder	Yes	No

Hip on trunk - -Stand in a golf stance and fold your arms in front of your chest. Your partner stands behind you and places his or her hands on your hips. Rotate to the side with your upper body while your partner holds your hips and evaluates your shoulder turn independently of hip turn. If you are able to rotate your upper body without moving from your hips, your weight is shifting and loading correctly. If you rotate to the right and put all of your weight on the left side, you are setting yourself up for poor swing technique-specifically a reverse pivot.

You can also try this sitting down. Have your partner place his or her hands beneath your buttocks, palm down. Rotate from your shoulders. If you are unable to rotate without your partner feeling the weight of the right side of your body pressed onto his or her right hand, you are not shifting your weight for your best golf swing; you are setting yourself up for a reverse pivot. The motion you are trying to achieve is to rotate your body and load the right side. Repeat this on the opposite side.

Yes	Right	No
Yes	Left	No

Trunk on hip - This test evaluates hip or lower body rotation, independent of upper body rotation. Assume a golf stance and rotate like you would for a backswing. Once in the backswing position have your partner stabilize your upper body by placing his or her left hand on the upper front part of your left shoulder and his or her right hand on the back of your right shoulder. Once your partner has stabilized you, perform a forward swing motion using your hips and trunk and then perform your backswing.

RIGHT			LEFT
Yes	No	Motion	Yes	No
Yes	No	Weight Shift	Yes	No

Arm cross on trunk - Stand in a golf stance and pull your arm across the front part of your body without rotating your trunk. Keep a stable lower body and a stable upper body. Do not rotate from the trunk. As you pull your arms across your body, notice when your elbow starts to bend. If it starts to bend almost immediately, you need to recruit more flexibility from the left shoulder region (see chapter 3). If your flexibility appears to be adequate, repeat on the opposite side and continue on to the next test.

RIGHT			LEFT
Yes	No	Motion	Yes	No
Yes	No	Pain	Yes	No

Neck on trunk - Assume your golf stance and rotate your head to the right, keeping your upper body stable. Note the position of your chin at the end range of motion. Repeat on opposite side.

Are you able to rotate your chin so it looks directly over your right shoulder? If you are unable to rotate your head completely to either direction, you are probably substituting another muscle group dur- ing your swing. This may occur during the backswing, in which you have to come off the ball to gain motion, or during the downswing, in which you have to pick up your head to keep your eye on the ball due to mobility insufficiencies in the shoulder girdle and neck.

Full Rotation	Right	Partial Rotation
Full Rotation	Left	Partial Rotation

If you experienced flexibility and rotation limitations, emphasize incorporating the drills and exercises from chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 into your complete conditioning program.

The Next Step

Remember that the main purpose of the self-evaluation package is to identify deficiencies in your musculoskeletal system that could affect both golf performance and injury potential. Of course, the next step is to apply the test results to a properly designed and progressive physical conditioning program. Once you are reasonably fit, you can better assess your driving abilities and limitations using the driving range evaluation form.

Flexibility For Full Swing Mechanics

Tiger Woods is a tremendous physical talent. Woods' flexibility and strength have helped make him one of the brightest young golfers on the PGA Tour in a long time.

Perhaps his most obvious physical gift is his extreme mobility. The range of motion and rotational speed he is able to achieve during his swing are amazing.

Unlike most other touring pros, Tiger has conditioned his body to the special requirements of professional golf since an early age. He has molded his soft tissue structure to no other sport but golf; many of his competitors conditioned their bodies differently by playing various sports while growing up.

Genetics is partly responsible for Tiger's exceptional framework, but his work ethic and commitment to physical conditioning have certainly enhanced his natural abilities.

When Woods' swing becomes erratic, however, it demonstrates that exceptional flexibility also can be a liability. In fact, he has said on occasion that whenever he feels that he is not swinging well, he shortens up his swing for more control.

Although flexibility is important, controlling the amount of flexibility that's available to you is even more important. Swinging within the limitations of your body may be the most important advice you can ever take.

While flexibility is essential, it can be a liability if not used to your advantage in proper swing mechanics. Flexibility is defined as one's available range of motion about a specific joint. The range of motion can be limited by factors such as nervous system voluntary and reflex control, muscle constraints, joint constraints, or skin and subcutaneous tissue.

Flexibility might be one of the most important components of the successful golf swing because it increases the movement distance for force application. Studies have demonstrated that greater amounts of force can be produced when a muscle is prestretched before performing the activity demanded of it.

When a muscle is prestretched, it creates elastic recoil that applies additional force for a more powerful contraction. This procedure is known as preloading the muscle.

Golf is a power sport. The golfer must be able to generate near-maximum power a certain number of times through the round. Regardless of a player's talent level, however, the most effective and powerful swings are produced when the force-generating muscles are preloaded first.

We must remember that during the golf swing the preloading can take place on the downswing just as easily as it can take place on the backswing. By using segmental sequencing, good golfers will start the swinging motion with their hips and allow the trunk to lag behind slightly. As the hips initiate a forward movement, the lagging trunk muscles are stretched during the downswing.

In fact, this prestretching action is even more important than the stretching that occurs during the coiling phase of the swing.

Mobility Versus Stability

The most important aspect of any functional movement is the principle of being in balance. Balance, as we think of it in the golfing world, is the fine line that exists between mobility and stability in your stance and swing.

If you have too much flexibility, or flexibility that you are unable to control during the functional part of the golf swing, it no longer works as an asset. On the opposite side, if you are tight-jointed and stable but don't have enough mobility to produce a functional golf swing, you are unable to preload the muscle, resulting in lack of power.

That is why the golf swing requires a good balance between mobility and stability. According to Gray Cook, an orthopedic physical therapy specialist, "Stability is the active muscular control exerted on a joint to redirect force and controlled movement in the presence of normal muscular flexibility and joint mobility."

Many questions regarding the effectiveness of stretching in creating this balance between mobility and stability present themselves. How long should the stretch be held? How long does it take to achieve an increase in flexibility? What is the residual effect of increased flexibility after you have stopped stretching? Other questions concern how frequently to stretch and the most effective time to stretch.

The answers to all these questions have a component of individual preference. You'll attain the best results, however, by using a combination of different flexibility activities. This will ensure more comprehensive flexibility and reduce the boredom factor so that stretching will not be the most neglected fitness component in your exercise regime.

In recent years specialized flexibility equipment has been developed. A study of 40 golfers compared changes in joint flexibility and club head speed when stretching statically and when using specifically designed flexibility equipment.

Several stretching devices are on the market that allow athletes to passively place and hold the body in a stretching position; the BackSystem3, Precor Stretch Trainer, StretchMate, and Prostretch are just a few.

The static stretching group improved their relative flexibility and increased their club head speed by 120 percent. The group that used specialized stretching equipment did not improve their relative flexibility but increased their club head speed by 170 percent.

From this study we conclude that being stabilized at the hips on the specialized stretching equipment may decrease muscle stiffness, as opposed to increasing relative flexibility.

This finding has important implications with respect to power production. Improvements in general flexibility apparently might not be as useful as specifically stretching the part of the muscle chain that is tightest. This result also indicates that it might be necessary to swing within the functional framework of your body. The piece of stretching equipment called the BackSystem3 was used in the study.

Golf Stretching Routine

Stretching techniques can range from ballistic or dynamic range of motion to static stretching, active isolated stretching, or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques, just to name a few. Don't let the long names intimidate you, because we recommend beginning with some simple static stretches and gradually progressing to more golf-specific flexibility exercises.

Let's begin with some basic recommendations for safely improving your joint flexibility:

• Know your anatomy and its limitations.
• Learn proper stretching techniques (as provided in this chapter).
• Warm up to increase your body's temperature before stretching. Stretching after activity is more effective because the muscles are warm. Stretching also enhances the relaxing effect of the cool-down.
• A simple way to stretch is do an easy stretch for 10 seconds and an additional developmental stretch for 10 seconds.
• If possible, stretch with a partner to avoid boredom. This permits both encouragement and supervision of your technique.
• Stretch when you feel that you have to stretch. This can be done in between strengthening exercises or during your golf game.

Before playing or stretching, do an adequate warm-up activity to raise your body temperature. Preceding your stretches with a brisk walk or other appropriate aerobic exercise, such as stationary cycling or stepping, makes your muscles more responsive and resistant to injury. Five to 15 minutes of warm-up exercise increases muscle extensibility and lets you stretch more safely and effectively.

To achieve the best stretch possible, make certain either the near or far body segment is in a fixed position. If this does not occur, the result will be two moving parts and a stretch possibly occurring where it should not occur. When you perform your flexibility exercises, be sure to stretch only one muscle group at a time.

---

KNEE TO CHEST

Focus: Lower back and gluteal muscles

Procedure:

1. Lie on your back with your neck supported and body extended.
2. Flex one knee and slide your foot toward your buttocks.
3. Grasp with both hands behind the flexed knee.
4. Pull your knee toward your chest.
5. Hold the stretch and relax.
6. Exhale and re-extend your leg slowly to prevent possible pain or spasm; repeat with other leg.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

---

DOUBLE KNEES TO CHEST

Focus: Lower back

Procedure:

1. Lie on your back with your neck supported and body extended.
2. Flex your knees and slide your feet toward your buttocks.
3. Grasp behind your thighs to prevent hyperflexion (too much bending) of the knees.
4. Exhale, pull your knees toward your chest and shoulders, and elevate your hips off the floor.
5. Hold the stretch and relax.
6. Exhale and re-extend your legs slowly one at a time to prevent possible pain or spasm.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

---

CAT AND CAMEL

Focus: Upper back

Procedure:

1. Kneel on all fours.
2. Extend your arms forward and lower your chest toward the floor.
3. Exhale, extend your shoulders, and press down on the floor with your arms to produce an arch in your back.
4. Hold the stretch and relax.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

---

HAMSTRING

Focus: Hamstrings

Procedure:

1. Lie flat on your back with legs extended.
2. Raise one leg and grasp your thigh with both hands, while keeping the knee extended and your other leg flat. To increase the stretch, pull the leg toward your chest.
3. Hold the stretch and relax.
4. Exhale while you slowly release the stretch and repeat with the other leg.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

Tips:

You can also position yourself in a doorway and use the door frame to hold your elevated leg. The closer you move your buttocks toward the door frame, the more intense the stretch.

To intensify the stretch, use a folded towel wrapped around the foot of the raised leg. By pulling on the towel, the leg can be pulled away from the doorframe and closer to your chest.

---

FIGURE FOUR

Focus: Hips and gluteal muscles

Procedure:

1. Lie on your back with both feet resting on the wall or a door. Use a towel or neck rest to support your neck.
2. Bend your knees and hips to a 90-degree angle.
3. Cross your left foot and rest it on your right knee.
4. Use your left hand and push your left knee away from your chest until you feel a gentle stretch in your hips or buttocks region.
5. Return to starting position. Repeat with the other leg.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

Tip: If you do not feel the stretch, place both hands under your right knee and slowly pull your right leg toward your chest until you feel a stretch in your buttocks.

---

CROSSOVER

Focus: Hips and gluteal muscles

Procedure:

1. Lie on your back with your head supported by a rolled-up towel.
2. Place both feet flat on a wall, with your hips and knees bent to 90 degrees.
3. Cross your left leg over your right thigh.
4. Place your right hand on your left thigh and pull it slowly toward the floor, until you feel a stretch on the outside of your left hip.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds each leg.

Tip: Stop if you feel pinching in the groin region.

---

KNEELING HIP FLEXOR

Focus: Hip flexors and upper thigh

Procedure:

1. Stand upright with the legs straddled (spread sideways) about two feet apart.
2. Flex one knee, lower your body, and place the opposite knee on the surface.
3. Roll the back foot under so that the top of the instep rests on the surface.
4. Place your hands on your hips (some people may prefer placing one hand on the forward knee and one hand at your side) and keep the front knee bent at 90 degrees as much as possible.
5. Exhale and slowly push the front of the hip of the back leg toward the floor.
6. Hold the stretch and relax.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

---

QUAD STRETCH

Focus: Middle and upper quadriceps

Procedure:

1. Stand holding onto a bar or table for support with your right hand.
2. Exhale as you slowly lift your left leg off the ground and grasp the left foot with your left hand.
3. Inhale, and slowly pull your heel toward your buttocks.
4. Hold the stretch and relax. Repeat with the other leg.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

Tip: This exercise can be an intense stretc11. To protect your lower back, stand straight and contract the abdominal muscles.

---

PEC STRETCH

Focus: Upper chest (pectoralis muscles)

Procedure:

1. Stand upright facing a comer or open doorway.
2. Raise your elbows to shoulder height at your sides, bend your elbows so that your forearms point straight up, and place your palms against the walls or doorframe to stretch the sternal section of the pectoralis muscles on both sides.
3. Exhale and lean your entire body forward.
4. Hold the stretch and relax.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

---

INVERTED HURDLER'S STRETCH

Focus: Hamstrings

Procedure:

1. Sit upright on the floor with both legs straight and about 90 degrees apart.
2. Flex one knee and slide the heel until it touches the inner side of the opposite thigh.
3. Lower the outer side of the thigh and calf of the bent leg onto the floor.
4. Exhale and, while keeping the extended leg straight, bend at the hip and lower your extended upper torso onto the extended thigh.
5. Hold the stretch and relax.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

---

CALF STRETCH

Focus: Gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon

Procedure:

1. Stand upright facing a wall; stand slightly more than arm's length from the wall.
2. Bend your right leg forward while keeping your left leg straight.
3. Lean into the wall keeping back straight and bending elbows.
4. Exhale and hold stretch; repeat with other leg.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

Tip: To feel the stretch closer to the heel, bend the rear leg (at the knee) while keeping the foot on the ground.

Stretches For Young Golfers

Youth sports, including golf, have increased in both numbers and popularity.

With the appearance of new, young talent in the PGA, LPGA, and Nationwide tours, children are starting to view golf as being very cool.

Because children have not completed their physical maturation, an injury at this time could result in permanent developmental disability and lead to long-term functional problems.

One of the ways to reduce injury risk for young golfers is to have them warm up and stretch before play. These same preventive procedures also should enhance their performance ability.

Because the trunk serves as the link between the upper and lower bodies, it must be strong enough to transfer forces between these segments.

The child is at greatest risk for injury during a growth spurt, which is when large increases in height are observed. During this stage, the child has a tendency to develop tight low back, hamstring and hip musculature in combination with weak abdominal muscles and a swayback posture.

This can lead to compensatory maneuvers and increased injury risk. Problems can range from common strains and sprains, to fractures, disc injuries, vertebral wedging, stress reactions, vertebral slippage, and over-use injuries.

Make training modifications for any golfers under 20, especially those undergoing the added vulnerability of a growth spurt.

Rehabilitation and prevention programs can range from strengthening and stretching exercises to immobilization and, in some instances, rest.

Remembering that the muscles might not grow as fast as the bone, flexibility becomes imperative during this critical developmental period.

On-Course Warm-Up

Perform your on-course warm-up using the following flexibility exercises. These exercises can be done even while in your golf cart. If you are running late to the practice tee, be sure to at least do the following stretches: seated hamstring, seated club lat stretch, seated low back and groin, pec neck, standing hip flexor, bow bend, body rotation, and abdominal hollow.

SEATED LOW BACK AND GROIN

Focus: Lower back and groin

Procedure:

1. Sit upright in a cart (or chair) with your legs separated slightly.
2. Exhale, extend your upper torso, bend at the hip, and slowly lower your stomach between your thighs.
3. Hold the stretch.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

Tip: Be sure to exhale as you bend at the hip.

---

SEATED HAMSTRING

Focus: Hamstrings

Procedure:

1. Sit in a cart (or chair) with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart. Assume a position to allow a little bit of arch in the lower back region.
2. While maintaining the arched-back position, attempt to straighten one of your legs.
3. Perform the movement slowly, maintaining the slight arch through- out the whole exercise.
4. End with one knee more extended while maintaining an arched-back posture.
5. Do all repetitions on one side and then the other.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds or 2 X 10 to 12 seconds.

---

SEATED FIGURE FOUR

Focus: Hips and gluteal muscles

Procedure:

1. Sit up straight in a cart or on a chair with both feet flat on the floor.
2. Lift your right foot and rest it on your left knee.
3. Place both hands on your right leg and push your knee away from your chest until you feel a gentle stretch in your hips or buttocks region.
4. Hold the stretch, relax, and repeat with left leg.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds.

---

SEATED CROSSOVER

Focus: Hips and gluteal muscles

Procedure:

1. Sit up straight in a cart or on a chair with both feet flat on the floor.
2. Lift your right leg and cross it over your left thigh.
3. Place both hands on your right leg and pull your right leg toward the left side of your body until you feel a gentle stretch in your hips.
4. Hold the stretch, relax, and repeat with left leg.

Duration: Hold for 20 seconds.

Tip: Stop if you feel pinching in the groin region.

---

SEATED CLUB LAT

Focus: Upper back

Procedure:

1. Sit in a chair or in your cart with your feet resting flat on the floor and your back slightly arched.
2. Grasp the bar of the club with both hands and position it behind your head at ear level Gust below the base of the skull). Make sure your hands are directly above your elbows.
3. Rotate your elbows upward (toward the ceiling or the sky), holding the position for three counts.
4. Return the elbows to the neutral position.

Duration: Hold for 15 seconds or 5 X 3 seconds.

Tip: Make sure your hands are directly above your elbows.

---

PEC NECK

Focus: Neck and upper pectoralis major

Procedure:

1. Stand or sit with your shoulder blades pulled dow