“Your Body Faults are Your Swing Faults©”

So you’ve spent enough money on shiny new clubs to purchase a small car! You regularly see your golf teaching pro. You practice one time a week and play most weekends, but, you’re still frustrated with your results!

Unfortunately, this is the common scenario for most golfers these days. The industry has drilled into your head that if you don’t get the best clubs and a lot of instruction, then your game will be average at best!

While I consider clubs and instruction paramount to success, the missing and most important component to success is an optimally functioning body! This, unfortunately, is also the least important from average to the scratch golfer as to how to become the best golfer they can.

Here’s the funny part, most clubs “out play” the player using them…that’s right, your clubs are better than you! Unless you get into better shape, you will never achieve the full potential of your shiny new clubs, nor play up to your ability and potential!

In my ten years of individually assessing every client that walks in my door, my data says strongly that 98% of those tested have poor posture, forward head carriage, a decreased lordosis of the lumbar spine (flatter than normal- looks like a flat lower back), an increased Thoracic spine kyphosis (too rounded in upper middle back),  tight hamstrings and calf complex, and a weak core.

These problems lead to decreased range of motion; decreased rotation ability; fatigue because the body has to work harder when you have poor posture; decreased respiratory capabilities; internal organ compression; excessive neck and shoulder stress; and pain! Ironically, the most frequent swing faults (those listed below) are caused by the aforementioned body issues.

So let’s give you a solution…knowing that your “body faults are your swing faults,” let’s educate you about what causes them from a bio-mechanical standpoint, then provide a few stretches and exercises you can do to “get rid of your swing faults from the inside out,” and begin to solve the issues mentioned above.

In my experience, information gathered by PGA teaching professionals, and from research done by Titleist Performance Institute, the three most common swing faults golfers struggle with are:

1. “Early Extension”
Defined-
When the hips and spine start into hip extension or straighten up too early in the downswing, it is termed Early Extension. This is where the hips and pelvis move closer to the ball on downswing.

2.    “Loss of Posture”
Defined-
Loss of posture is any significant alteration from your body’s original set up angles during your golf swing. This loss of posture can affect all aspects of the golf swing including timing, balance and rhythm.

3.    “Over The Top”
Defined-
Over the top is perhaps the most common swing fault among high handicap golfers. It usually occurs due to an overuse or over-dominance of the upper body on the downswing.  As a result the club is thrown outside of the intended swing plane, with the club-head approaching the ball from the outside in. This creates a pull if the clubface is square or a slice if the clubface is open.

These three swing faults are characterized by the same bio-mechanical deficiencies:

1. Stiffness of joints in lower body- hips, vertebrae, sacroiliac joints, knees, ankles
2. Can’t rotate around lead hip (internal rotation)- if the pelvis is unable to rotate around the lead hip due to joint or muscular restrictions then forward and lateral movements will dominate the pattern.
3. Flexibility in hips and shoulders- in order to rotate around a stable posture, one must have good flexibility in the hips and shoulders. This allows you to get the club into key positions without altering your spine angle.
4. Inability to separate upper and lower body- and visa versa allows the player to maintain a stable posture and a proper sequence of motion during the swing. Limited trunk to pelvis separation is usually caused by reduced spinal mobility and shortened latissimus dorsi flexibility.
5. Inability to stabilize core- Abs/Glutes- the ability to stabilize the lower body is directly proportional to gluteal and abdominal strength. A stable neutral pelvic posture helps prevent thrusting toward the ball.

So now that you have a better understanding of how your body creates your swing faults, we’ll take a look at some solutions in our next segment.

By Dee Tidwell- golffitnessguys.com

Ladies on the Tee Golf Blog thanks Dee Tidwell at www.golffitnessguys.com for their support of women’s golf and their contribution on golf fitness for women.  Your comments, as always, are encouraged and welcome. Thanks for visiting www.sherrytabb.com.

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Tags: Dee Tidwell, Early Extension, golf clubs, golf fitness, Golf Fitness Guys, golf instruction, golf posture, golf swing faults, golfers, ladies on the tee golf blog, Over the top, PGA teaching professionals, range of motion, Titleist Performance Institute, www.sherrytabb.com