Today’s article is courtesy of Golf Fitness Expert Susan Hill.
It was quite a few years back when I first read one of David Leadbetter’s popular books, Faults and Fixes. I was fascinated with the idea of cause and effect. However, I never put it into practice, atleast on the physical side, until I started training with golfers at the International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head (now the Hank Haney academy).
Back then, it was my job to work alongside the instructors so they could help progress each student to the next level for both improvement and for competition.
The way the instructors looked at it was that if they identified a specific problem the golfer was having and gave the student drills to fix it, yet it wasn’t getting fixed, it must be a physical issue. To give you an example, many golfers had what was referred to as ‘an all upper body swing’. For this, instructors had a series of teaching drills that would help the golfer redevelop their golf swing using more momentum with the help of the lower body.
Not surprisingly, even after hours of drills, some students still weren’t seeing improvement. Just like with golf swing faults and fixes, the same is true of physical faults and fixes. In other words, the body is somehow limiting you from making the motion you want to make.
In the case of an all upper body swing, the golfer is unable to really pull any power from the lower body which means they cannot hit it as far as they want (even on a good day) and can’t even generate power on short shots because of the restricted movement.
Since power is generated from the ground up, golfers are missing all the action normally transferred from the hips and core you might see from a big hitter.
Some of the reasons why a golfer ends up with a tendency to swing with mostly their upper body includes:
-not enough core strength
-tight hips and lower body
-poor movement in lower body
So, what is the fix in this case?
Here is one easy stretch that should help you out a lot in getting you more hip flexibility.
Hip Flexor Stretch
– Place your body in a lunge position with your spine angle straight and stomach muscles contracted. Lean forward into the stretch keeping the same straight back.
If you like this stretch and want to learn more about how to get a body for golf, check out my latest work.
To a strong golf body,
Susan Hill
Golf Fitness Trainer
About Susan
Susan Hill is the past owner of FitnessforGolf.com, and current President of Body for Golf, a web based company specializing in golf fitness training programs for recreational to elite level golf competitors. She is a certified Golf Biomechanic, Sports Performance Nutritionist, Fitness Trainer and Youth Conditioning Specialist. Her work has been featured in Golf Illustrated, Travel Golf, Junior Golf Scoreboard, Self Magazine, Atlanta Golfer, Pacific Northwest Golfer, Resort Living, GolfersMd.com and ESPN. Susan is a published author (Going for the Green), public speaker (Titleist Performance Institute), and recognized authority on golf fitness.
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