Perfect Posture for Golf

The common theme of the winter months for us Oregon golfers continues to be ‘off season’ training. As we have discussed before, this is the most intense time of training compared to other seasons and other months of the year. Professional golfers have a shortened time period from the time they get off tour till the next season-typically late November through mid to late January. Luckily, for the casual to serious golfer, we have a little more time to play with.

The focus of the winter months are in these primary areas:

• golf swing technique
• previous golf performance analysis (what you did right last season and what needs to improve for next season.)
• body composition changes (lose fat, gain muscle, get fit, try new fitness routines)

One of the most important things you do in your training is to work on strengthening your posture.

Many golf instructors refer to golf posture as “spine angle.” If you’ve taken lessons or have spent much time learning proper technique to improve your game, you have most likely heard the phrase many times. Good posture for the golf swing can greatly influence your ability to produce power. Without stability and strength in your postural muscles, you will see breakdowns in technique as well as recurring injuries and general weaknesses in your body and game.

Good posture improves your swing and lets you transfer more force when you strike the ball. And what do most golfers want? They want to hit the ball as far as is possible for their talents and abilities and they want to do so with some level of consistency.

Remember the body slowly adapts to poor posture, and some body parts, like the neck, shoulders, back, and hips, can be overused to balance out for lack of strength or restricted motion in other areas of the body.

Some common problems that are affected by posture are:
o Difficulty keeping your eye on the ball during your swing.
o Difficulty to transfer force from the lower body to the upper body.
o Compromised swing patterns.
o Poor club head speed and club control.

You have probably seen this simple exercise many times before. Yet, it is a great exercise to do to begin your postural training this winter.

Fit Band Seated Row

- Sit with legs extended in front. Begin by securing a band around your feet. Extend arms in front of the body and hold the band with a neutral grip. Keep your elbows close to your side while you use your back muscles to pull the band straight back.

If you have access to dumbbells, here is a gym variation.

Single Arm Dumbbell Row

 
- Place dumbbell in one hand while grasping the side of a chair or bench. Lift one leg backwards as your upper body leans forward. Focus on good posture with abs contracted. Pull weight directly up to your side using your back and shoulder muscles then proceed back down. Keep elbows in close to your body.

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About Susan Hill Susan is president of FitnessforGolf.com, a web-based company based in Bend, Ore. specializes in golf fitness training programs.  Susan has worked with close to a thousand golfers ranging in skills from beginners just taking up the game of golf to collegiate, amateur and tour players looking for a more competitive edge. Her work has been featured in Golf Illustrated, Travel Golf, Junior Golf Scoreboard, Self Magazine, Atlanta Golfer, ESPN and more!  She’s worked with everyone from recreational golfers, competitive golfers, golf teaching professionals and aspiring players and has trained some of the top college golf teams, young ‘promising’ juniors who went on to play professional tours and even some touring professionals.