by Bill Hartman "Your Golf FitnessCoach"
Imagine this for a second.
You address the ball with the only thought in your head being that of the target. Not a single thought wasted on what your body needs to do. No concern about how much shoulder turn you need. No worry about getting adequate weight shift. No extra tension as you approach your complete, balanced follow-through.
Just target.
Are you able to do that on every swing? Why
not?
Because most golfers lack sufficient
flexibility to perform with optimal swing mechanics.
Here’s how your golf game changes when you
develop optimally functional flexibility.
You immediately become more teachable.
This may be the greatest benefit of having
optimal functional flexibility for golf.
I’m sure you’ve invested in some professional
golf instruction. If you haven’t I
strongly suggest that you do so at your first opportunity.
Why? Because
your level of skill at playing golf is the most important component of your on
the course performance. As much as I’d
like to say that this program is the only thing you need to become a great
golfer, but I cannot lie. Professional
instruction is right up there on the “must have to get better” list.
Here’s the problem:
All the professional instruction in the world
cannot help you to become a better golfer, if your body won’t let you do what
your instructor wants you to do. Optimal
functional flexibility eliminates the road blocks to developing a higher level
of golf skill.
Your swing becomes more consistent.
A lack of
functional flexibility in your golf swing means that you will have to
compensate in some way to complete your swing and reach your target. The more you must compensate, the more
inconsistent your swing will become.
You can perform all kinds of swing drills to
“fix” the problems, but if your functional flexibility doesn’t change, you’ll
simply create another fault that needs to be “fixed”.
Since most swing faults are actually
biomechanical faults associated with restricted range of motion of a joint or
joints, why not just “fix” the problem with some correct flexibility exercises.
You’ll hit longer.
Optimal functional flexibility allows golfers
to achieve what is called a loaded position at the top of the backswing. What this means is that the joints of the
ankle, knee, hip, spine, and shoulder are put in such a position where the
muscles which produce most of your club-head speed are on stretch.
When a muscle is put on stretch it can
contract harder AND faster. It’s kind of
like snapping a rubber band. The harder
you want it to snap, the more you stretch it.
By increasing your functional flexibility to
optimal levels, you can LOAD the appropriate muscles and then UNLOAD them
harder and faster to produce more club-head speed, greater impact on the ball,
and increase your drive distance.
You’ll stop overusing your arms.
A quick question: What is stronger, the
muscles in just your arms or the muscles of your whole trunk and legs?
It’s obvious, right? So why would you want to try to swing a golf
club with just arm power?
The modern golf swing is about using the
larger muscles of your body. As I
mentioned before, to properly LOAD the larger muscles, you must have sufficient
functional flexibility. Without it, you
tend to overuse the arms which will reduce power and drive distance AND may
cause overuse injuries like impingement syndrome in the shoulder and golfer’s
elbow (tendonitis of the wrist flexors).
You can focus
on the task at hand and not be concerned with what your body must do. Isn’t
this the bottom line? It’s what we all
strive for out on the golf course.
To play our best round of golf, rather than
spend 4 hours out on the golf course “practicing” or working on your
swing. That’s what lessons and practice
at the driving range are for.
Bill
Hartman, "Your Golf Fitness Coach," is a Physical Therapist who has a
degrees in Movement and Sports Science. Training golfers since 1990, Bill is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NCSA), USA Weightlifting
Sport Performance Coach and a Level 2 Active Release Techniques Practitioner
(ART).
Bill
also has advanced training in shoulder, knee and spine rehabilitation
as well as many methods of strength, power and speed training. "Your Golf Fitness Coach's Video Library, Volume 1" is packed with information that will help your game immediately.
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