BETTER YOUR BODY TO BETTER YOUR SWING
Why is it that with all the technological advances in the game of golf, the average handicap in the U.S. has not really moved all that much? Both Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, for example, reported that between 1995 and 2005, there had been absolutely no improvement in golfers’ handicaps.
Why aren’t golfers getting better? After all manufacturers are coming up every year with new and improved golf clubs and golf balls, and there are literally hundreds of teaching gadgets and aids out there that will fix your swing and improve your game.
The problem is, none of these external devices focuses on the internal deficiencies most golfers posses. They don’t address the golfer’s physical abilities, which for the most part, are not suitable to swing the golf club efficiently, and generally get worse with age. It’s like putting four new tires and a sleek new frame on an old car and expecting it to run better. You’d still be dealing with an ineffective engine that doesn’t perform well.
The same can be said about the golf swing. You can lay down hundreds of dollars and purchase all the latest and greatest equipment and teaching contraptions out there to try to improve your game, but if the body can’t do what it needs to do to swing an efficient club, the outcomes won’t change all that much.
That’s where golf fitness comes in. Golf and fitness used to be like oil and water, they just didn’t mix. That was yesterday. Today, it’s a whole different picture. More and more tour players are embracing the benefits exercise can provide. According to a Golfweek article, “For the first time in the sport’s history, physical strength and flexibility have become widely recognized and highly sought by golfers of many skill levels.” The mind set that exercise will tighten up and ruin your golf swing is going away. This emerging change will embrace a whole new approach to how you play the game.
To be effective, though, the golf fitness program has to be designed to address the anatomical deficiencies and imbalances relative to each player. New information is telling us that these muscle deficiencies can result in swing faults that produce inefficient and ineffective swing outcomes. This may result in lack of power, lost distance, and poor performance.
In addition to the effect on performance, muscle imbalances and asymmetries can enhance both acute and chronic injury. We all know the mechanics of golf are quite unique. The twisting, turning, torquing maneuvers needed to swing a golf club place tremendous stress on the body. If the golfer is ill prepared, physically, the risk of injury goes up substantially.
Identifying the anatomical deficiencies and then working to correct them are the keys to better golf. There are many generic golf fitness programs on the market. Make sure you do some research and identify a program that can assess, and then individualize the exercise intervention. Without first identifying the deficiencies, usually through some type of physical screening process, you won’t be able to isolate the specific areas that are contributing to the swing faults which are robbing you of power, distance, and playing satisfaction.
The game of golf is changing and golf fitness is a big part of that change. If you want to play better golf for many years to come, you need to look inward at the mechanism that's swinging the equipment technology, and see if it's really prepared to play this game well. For most, the findings will be surprising, and it doesn't matter at what level you play. Once you better your body to better your swing, however, you'll fall in love with this game all over again.
