Junior Golfers - Your Body Faults Are Your Swing Faults

Junior Golfers - Your Body Faults Are Your Swing Faults
By Dee Tidwell

Juniors! One of my biggest frustrations with the golf industry today is its total focus on instruction and equipment only. It has been drilled into our heads that if you don't get the best clubs and a lot of instruction, then your game will never be as good as it can! Phooey!

[GO TO GOLF FITNESS STORE]

While I think this is mostly true, and consider clubs and instruction paramount to success, I believe the missing and most important component to success for a junior golfer is an optimally functioning body! This, unfortunately, is also the least important part of the game that is discussed with the junior golfer, and THE MOST IMPORTANT!

Check this out...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. And these statistics are true for juniors as well!

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.

I have listed three of the most common swing faults that juniors struggle with. So let's educate you about what causes them from a bio-mechanical standpoint, because if you identify with any one of the three, I advise that you talk with your instructor and a golf fitness professional like myself to create a plan to fix the issue so that it doesn't become an "ingrained pattern" that will begin to wreak havoc in your game!

So here we go...information gathered by PGA teaching professionals, and research done by Titleist Performance Institute, the three most common swing faults most golfers struggle with are:

1."Early Extension"

Defined- When the hips and spine start into hip extension or straighten up to 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 (body) 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 in the end, we at Championship Golf Fitness believe that the body is a main determining factor to the success and longevity to your game.

If you want to hit it further, be more consistent, shoot lower scores, get a scholarship to play in college, beat your friends, and be a top junior golfer, then you MUST get a junior golf fitness program as soon as you can!

By Dee Tidwell- Championship Golf Fitness and Junior Golf Newsletter

Dee Tidwell is one of a handful of professionals in the world that have 7 Tilteist Performance Institute (TPI)certifications. He is also a CHEK Golf Biomechanic, a PGA Tour Conditioning Coach to two PGA tour winners, and a Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist. Dee lives in Denver, CO. and specializes in Golf Fitness Performance and Holisitic health. He can be reached at http://www.golffitnessguys.com or http://www.juniorgolfnewsletter.com

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