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Golfers need flexibility to have an efficient golf swing. Although some are flexible as youths, inflexibility can develop over time due to age, poor habits, desk jobs, and even excessive working out. Even gym regulars who do not stretch and repeatedly do bench press, bicep curls, cycling, running and crunches are setting themselves up for muscle
imbalances and poor flexibility. Golf specific fitness is different and necessary because it addresses the areas of flexibility that help you play golf well and play golf for a long time.
Achieving the proper ranges of motion of the hips, spine, ankles, wrists and shoulders are integral parts of the swing. Each swing style, whether it is one-plane, two-plane, stack and tilt or whatever your instructor teaches, requires a tremendous amount of joint mobility. Swing faults and other compensations develop when there is a lack of flexibility in one or more areas of the body.
Flex-Ability Self Test
1. Can you touch your toes while keeping your knees straight? (See Photo A)
Photo A – Toe Touch Screen before Training
2. While lying on your stomach, can you bend your knee and grab your ankle/foot with the same side hand? Try each side.
3. Can you stand with your back (glutes, low and upper back) against the wall, lift your arms to a goalpost formation and place your forearms against the wall? (See Photo B)
Photo B – Shoulder Rotation Screen
4. Can you stand with your back (glutes, low and upper back) against the wall, lift your arms (with straight elbows) shoulder distance apart and touch the wall without arching your lower back?
5. Can you hinge forward 45° in golf posture while keeping a golf club placed along your spine (club touching back of head, mid back and hips at the same time)?
6. Can you lift one knee up to a 90 degree bend while not changing your spine? Try each leg.
7. Can you increase the arch in your lower back and decrease the arch in your lower back?
8. Can you bend way forward while holding a long club on both ends behind your back and raise your arms to a vertical position? (See Photo C)
Photo C – Shoulder Flexibility Screen
9. Can you squat while keeping your heels down, placing your thighs below parallel, and keeping your arms overhead?
This self test is a great first step to determine if you need to incorporate more stretching in your golf fitness program. If you answered no to even one of these questions, then you need to work on flexibility as well as perhaps other fitness issues. Of course, certain injuries or lack of balance, stability and strength may contribute to a negative response to the questions as well. As anybody who works out regularly knows, stretching requires some strength, stability and balance. A thorough assessment is recommended to determine which issue is preventing you from doing the above tasks in the Flex-Ability Self Test as well as determine to what degree improvements need to be made. The tasks on this test, however, are not recommended to be used as exercises to gain flexibility. After a few months of training, improvement will be made and should be measured again to determine if the program is working. The golfer in the photos recently increased his toe touch reach from 11” off the floor to 5 ½” off the floor after four weeks of training. See Photo A for “before training” and Photo D for “after training.”
Photo D – Toe Touch after One Month of Training
If flexibility is not natural or has decreased over time, then start a program that works. Group yoga, Qigong and Pilates classes are great for learning good techniques and improving flexibility, but are geared for the group and may or may not meet all your needs as a golfer. For quicker results, seek out a TPI trainer for individual sessions to work on a customized program. Nothing could be worse than to use improper form while thinking that you are making progress. Any improvement in mobility even if minor will help to improve your golf game, your posture and your joint health as well for years to come. ©
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Calf Flexibility |
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Calf flexibility would have to top my list of the most influential muscle that can alter a golfer’s swing and is usually totally overlooked. |
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By Greg Rose - Posted December 9, 2005 |
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Calf Flexibility In my research of limitations in the body that have a direct correlation to swing mechanics I have uncovered many obvious relationships. Like limited separation between your upper and lower body will directly affect your shoulder turn. Limited right hip internal rotation can cause a sway. But there are many of these limitations that are not so obvious. Calf flexibility would have to top my list of the most influential muscle that can alter a golfer’s swing and is usually totally overlooked.
The calf is made up of two distinct muscles, the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles. The gastrocnemius is the larger of the two muscles and helps create the definition in the player’s lower leg. But it is the soleus that can wreak havoc on a golfer’s posture and swing sequence if there are any limitations in the muscles flexibility.
The soleus can limit a player’s ability to perform closed chain dorsi-flexion (flexing your ankle) which in turn, can limit the player’s ability to perform a deep squat. It has been shown through research that any limitation in a deep squat can cause a player to come out of their posture during the downswing and go into Early Extension (see swing faults). This will cause the player to get stuck and either push the ball or flip the club and force the dreaded hook. All of this from a tight soleus!
To test your soleus length, try to perform the Overhead Deep Squat Test (part of our self-evaluation tests). If you can’t keep your heels on the ground and squat all the way down, then the calf may be the culprit. To isolate the calf, try performing the half-kneeling calf stretch. If you can’t get your knee past your toe, then the soleus is the problem.
To improve your soleus length, try some myofascial release on the back of the calf, using a body stick, a spiky ball, or foam roller to work out any trigger points or sore spots before you stretch the muscle. Then stretch the calf using a bent knee position to make sure you isolate the soleus and not the gastrocnemius. Exercise are included above. Good luck.
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