Writer Damon Goddard put up a great article.
He breaks down some common swing faults and the reasons they occur：
We have all heard the old adage, “It’s not the arrow, it is the…” well you know where I am going. Why is it now that we have tremendous improvements in the golf club and golf balls but for the average golfer, handicaps have stayed the same and driving distances have seen minimal improvement? I want to take a look into how the Tour players have seemed to keep up with the incredible improvements in golf equipment and technology, yet the amateur player has seen little or even decreased performance.
He breaks down some common swing faults and the reasons they occur：
We have all heard the old adage, “It’s not the arrow, it is the…” well you know where I am going. Why is it now that we have tremendous improvements in the golf club and golf balls but for the average golfer, handicaps have stayed the same and driving distances have seen minimal improvement? I want to take a look into how the Tour players have seemed to keep up with the incredible improvements in golf equipment and technology, yet the amateur player has seen little or even decreased performance.
Did you know that the average driving distance on the PGA Tour in 1993 was 260 yards and in 2003 improved to 288 yards! But in contrast the average driving distance of double-digit handicappers in 1993 was 193 yards and in 2003 only 205 yards. (Source: Golf Digest, USGA and R&A Research May 2003) Driving distances are increasing on the pro tours but driving distances for the average golfer are seeing minimal improvement. What is causing this growing gap?
In the past, we approached our golf game with only equipment, instruction, and the mental coaching as our influence. Now pro players are taking a multi-faceted approach towards improving their performance. Basic instruction, advanced instruction, course management, mental coaching, equipment, and physical conditioning are all influencing how they approach the game. Read the last sentence one more time and you will see one aspect that should reach out from the page and hit you right between the eyeballs, physical conditioning! We have all the resources to tell us how to swing the club but have we thought about the actual machine behind the swing….YOU?
The golf swing is a complex athletic movement that requires an efficient sequence of movements throughout the address to the follow through. One unique factor in the considering why there is such a gap between the pros and amateurs is the ability for the pro to get the body to coordinate all the elements that go into a fluid and efficient swing pattern.
Consider the golf swing like shifting gears in a car. In the downswing the first gear will be moving the largest muscle mass, the lower body (legs and pelvis). The second gear is moving medium muscle mass, the upper torso (spine and shoulders). The third gear is moving smaller muscle mass, the arms and wrist. The fourth gear is the smallest mass, the club. And fifth gear is club rotation.
Now we can see that if there is muscle tightness, muscle weakness, low back pain, or a poor coordination of movements, how it can substantially affect the way we sequence our golf swing and cause swing faults. Now with the integration of the golf instructor and the golf conditioning specialist we can match swing technique with the physical attributes to help you build a more repeatable and efficient golf swing. But before we do that we must first evaluate the factors that may impact our swing.
There is a direct relation to common swing faults and the physical attribute that may be causing these faults. Let’s take a brief look into three common swing faults:
Sway and Slide
Sway is a lateral shift away from the target in the backswing and slide is an excessive lateral motion toward the target. The slide is a common reaction to sway in the backswing and both are caused by hip instabilities (stability), poor rotation in the hips (flexibility), and the inability to get the upper torso to move around the lower body (mobility).
Thrust in the Backswing
Thrust in the backswing occurs when the lower body moves closer to the ball on the backswing. This causes the loss of body angles and affects the sequencing of the swing. This is usually caused by tightness in the calves (flexibility); the glutes are weak (stability), and due to the general lack of control in the core or hips to shoulders (mobility).
Chicken Winging
Chicken winging happens when the lead arm lacks something called external rotation (flexibility) post-impact. As a result, the lead elbow folds up and resembles a chicken wing. This can lead to susceptibility to elbow and shoulder injuries. The lack of clubface rotation promotes a slice.
Factors like flexibility, stability, mobility, power, nutrition, vision, and posture influence our body’s ability to swing the golf club. I highly encourage anyone who wants to take their game to a higher level to create a team of a qualified golf instructor and a golf conditioning specialist. By utilizing a proper screening process, they can measure your ability to generate and transfer speed and determine the most efficient energy transfer throughout your body. By isolating any physical limitation your team can correlate these findings to your swing technique and prescribe a custom conditioning program to take you to that next level.
The pros have understood the impact that conditioning can have on extending and improving their career. Now you too can take advantage of recruiting the right team for your golf performance. By integrating conditioning into your game it will help you reduce the risk of injury, increase your performance, and most importantly increase your experience each time you go out on the course. Now save that ¥3,231.71 you were going to spend on that new driver this year and make an investment for the long term of your golf game…YOU!
In the past, we approached our golf game with only equipment, instruction, and the mental coaching as our influence. Now pro players are taking a multi-faceted approach towards improving their performance. Basic instruction, advanced instruction, course management, mental coaching, equipment, and physical conditioning are all influencing how they approach the game. Read the last sentence one more time and you will see one aspect that should reach out from the page and hit you right between the eyeballs, physical conditioning! We have all the resources to tell us how to swing the club but have we thought about the actual machine behind the swing….YOU?
The golf swing is a complex athletic movement that requires an efficient sequence of movements throughout the address to the follow through. One unique factor in the considering why there is such a gap between the pros and amateurs is the ability for the pro to get the body to coordinate all the elements that go into a fluid and efficient swing pattern.
Consider the golf swing like shifting gears in a car. In the downswing the first gear will be moving the largest muscle mass, the lower body (legs and pelvis). The second gear is moving medium muscle mass, the upper torso (spine and shoulders). The third gear is moving smaller muscle mass, the arms and wrist. The fourth gear is the smallest mass, the club. And fifth gear is club rotation.
Now we can see that if there is muscle tightness, muscle weakness, low back pain, or a poor coordination of movements, how it can substantially affect the way we sequence our golf swing and cause swing faults. Now with the integration of the golf instructor and the golf conditioning specialist we can match swing technique with the physical attributes to help you build a more repeatable and efficient golf swing. But before we do that we must first evaluate the factors that may impact our swing.
There is a direct relation to common swing faults and the physical attribute that may be causing these faults. Let’s take a brief look into three common swing faults:
Sway and Slide
Sway is a lateral shift away from the target in the backswing and slide is an excessive lateral motion toward the target. The slide is a common reaction to sway in the backswing and both are caused by hip instabilities (stability), poor rotation in the hips (flexibility), and the inability to get the upper torso to move around the lower body (mobility).
Thrust in the Backswing
Thrust in the backswing occurs when the lower body moves closer to the ball on the backswing. This causes the loss of body angles and affects the sequencing of the swing. This is usually caused by tightness in the calves (flexibility); the glutes are weak (stability), and due to the general lack of control in the core or hips to shoulders (mobility).
Chicken Winging
Chicken winging happens when the lead arm lacks something called external rotation (flexibility) post-impact. As a result, the lead elbow folds up and resembles a chicken wing. This can lead to susceptibility to elbow and shoulder injuries. The lack of clubface rotation promotes a slice.
Factors like flexibility, stability, mobility, power, nutrition, vision, and posture influence our body’s ability to swing the golf club. I highly encourage anyone who wants to take their game to a higher level to create a team of a qualified golf instructor and a golf conditioning specialist. By utilizing a proper screening process, they can measure your ability to generate and transfer speed and determine the most efficient energy transfer throughout your body. By isolating any physical limitation your team can correlate these findings to your swing technique and prescribe a custom conditioning program to take you to that next level.
The pros have understood the impact that conditioning can have on extending and improving their career. Now you too can take advantage of recruiting the right team for your golf performance. By integrating conditioning into your game it will help you reduce the risk of injury, increase your performance, and most importantly increase your experience each time you go out on the course. Now save that ¥3,231.71 you were going to spend on that new driver this year and make an investment for the long term of your golf game…YOU!
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