Perfect Posture Makes for a Perfect Swing

Golf Address Posture Essentials

When it comes to golf instruction, there are many different swing philosophies and teaching methods.  But, when interviewing hundreds of top golf professional instructors, there is one thing they will all agree on… your golf posture at address will make or break your full swing performance results.  Even the best golfers in the world will not hit the ball most effectively or with minimal body stress ‘if’ their address posture is less than optimal.

Here are the key elements of a proper golf address posture:

·         Your stance should be about shoulder width apart creating a stable, balanced base for your full swing.

·         A healthy, functional, address posture requires a straight ‘primary’ tilt spine angle that bends from your hips and knees only (not from your spine) to make a powerful spine coil.

·         Let your arms hang naturally, not too close or too far from your body and you should feel a gentle squeezing of your shoulder blades –down and together.

·         Your ‘primary’ tilt spine angle and golf club shaft plane should be approximately at a 90 degree angle to each other when viewed from the side.

·         Your right shoulder and hip should be lower than your left (for right-handed golfers) and your shoulder plane and hip/pelvic plane (‘secondary’ tilt) should be parallel to each other  when viewed from the front/back sides.

Off-Course Exercise-In front of mirror!

Practice your posture with each club in front of mirror.  Although most of the elements of a proper address posture remain the same, clubs are different lengths, so your degree of ‘primary’ tilt will be slightly different for each club. Also, your ball position in relationship to your stance will vary slightly per club, therefore, your ‘secondary’ tilt will need to be adjusted as well.

To learn the specifics for reaching your optimal golf address posture, please watch this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWevmxMnFns

For more information about golf address posture and/or to schedule a complimentary golf posture screening, please contact Paul Callaway, PT, PhD by calling: 630.567.7572

or email: Paul@CallawayGolfFitness.com

Preventing Golfer’s Low Back Pain

As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. There is no more valuable a statement than this when it comes to preventing lower back problems for golfers.  Lower back pain is the #1 injury in golf for both amateurs and professionals.

As the first Director of Golf Fitness and Physical Therapist for the PGA Tour, I treated lower back problems on a daily basis. And, I can say for certain that preventing back problems is a much easier, enjoyable and affordable way to go than trying to resolve spine injuries after the fact.

There three key elements of low back pain prevention for golf include:

1.       Posture/structural alignment

              To learn more about how to achieve a proper golf address posture, watch:

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aWevmxMnFns

1.       Effective pre-golf warm-up

Learn how to perform an effective pre-golf warm-up sequence prior to practicing and/or playing golf by visiting:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHHBtPWzFQI

2.       Proper bio-mechanical swing education

To become familiar with the basics of a stress-free, efficient golf swing, watch the following video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp5vl_wOy80

For more information on how to prevent and/or manage lower back pain for golf, please contact

Paul Callaway, PT, PhD by calling: 630.567.7572 or email: Paul@CallawayGolfFitness.com

Callaway Golf Fitness Tips: Power Golf

Callaway Golf Fitness Tips: Power Golf: Training for more power on the course doesn't have to involve heavy weights or explosive ballistic workouts. For most golfers, a more po...

Power Golf

Training for more power on the course doesn't have to involve heavy weights or explosive ballistic workouts. For most golfers, a more powerful swing can better be achieved through establishing a balance between improved posture, core and extremity strength, balance, functional stability and mobility. 

That's why developing a more powerful swing is more safely and effectively achieved with a combination of golf-specific strengthening exercises that blend the golfer's own body weight against gravity with a gradual progression of free weights plus customized flexibility and functional mobility training directed at critical body regions that are most contributing to the full golf swing motion.

Here are three great examples of 'functional' strengthening exercises that specifically can help build more swing speed and power into your game. Do these  exercises 3 to 5 days a week to strengthen your power muscles and improve your golf-specific joint motion for a stronger swing and more distance off the tee. 

1) Side Split Squat:

• From a standing position on a a firm, flat surface, spread your legs as far apart as you can comfortably. 
• With your arms held straight in front of your chest, shift your weight to one leg and slowly sit back onto your one leg. 
• Emphasize moving your hips backward rather than pressing your knees forward as you squat onto your one leg. 
• Hold this 'side split squat' position for 1-2 breaths, then slowly transfer your weight to your opposite leg.
• Continue moving slowly back and forth from one leg to the other for up to 20 reps, and do 1-3 sets.
• As you get stronger and the exercise becomes easier at slower speeds, gradually increase the speed of your 'side split squats' but make sure that your full squat motion doesn't shorten.  

Purpose: Improves flexibility of your hips, knees and lower back while gaining strength and power in your larger golf muscles ... thighs, buttocks, and calves. 

2) Golf Squat:

• From a standing position with your feet positioned wider than shoulder-width apart on a firm, flat surface, hold a 5-10 pound dumbbell with a hand-over-hand grip. 
• Slowly bend your hips and knees and lower your body into a full squat position (as deep as comfortably possible).
• Hold the full squat for 1 breath then slowly rise your body up and twist your upper torso to the right while bending your elbows and raising the weight in your hands over your right shoulder.
• At the top of your twist, your hips should be facing to the right, with your weight over your right foot and your left heel off the floor. 
• Hold this full list and twist to the right for 1 breath, then slowly return to the starting position and repeat the 'golf squat' to the opposite side.
• Repeat up to 1-3 sets of 20 reps.
• As you get stronger and the exercise becomes easier at slower speeds, gradually increase the speed of your 'golf squats' and increase the dumbbell weight as you are able.

Purpose: Improves flexibility of your shoulders, spine, hips, knees and lower back while gaining strength and power in your larger golf muscles ... chest, shoulders, thighs, buttocks, and calves ... and promotes greater club control from the top of the full swing through impact.

3) Power Rotation with Clap:

• Stand in your proper golf-address posture with your arms hanging vertically down from your shoulders and your palms touching together (like you're praying)
• Keep your left arm pointing straight down toward the ground as you bend your right elbow and slowly rotate your upper torso to the full backswing position.
• Then swing your right arm down as fast as possible, clapping your right hand with left your left to make the loudest 'clap' sound that you can make with your open hands.
• Do 20 reps and repeat the exercise in the opposite direction.

• Then, from your golf address posture, bend both elbows in front of your chest so your elbows and shoulders are bent to the 90/90 degree position in front of your chest.
• Slowly begin to rotate your upper torso right and left keeping your arms 'in front' of your chest as you rotate.
• Repeat 20 upper body twists gaining speed gradually until you are rotating as fast as you can by the 20th rep. 

Purpose:  Increases explosive power from trunk (core) rotation muscles.