Is being well fit for golf a new thing? I don't think so.
Gary Player was well known for his gruelling golf fitness regimes. Greg Norman and Nick Faldo took being golf fit to another level in the 90's. Now Tiger Woods and a new crop of athletic golfers are proving that golf fitness has a big part to play in being an improving golfer.
Tiger Woods said ' The most important piece of equipment I own is my body'
Our body is tasked with the job of delivering the club head back to the ball at impact with all the correct swing dynamics and speed. It is an athletic movement that requires good hand eye co-ordination, balance, flexibility and stability.
Are we asking to much of our selves to hope that we can do this without preparing our bodies for the movements required for the golf swing?
No matter what swing style you choose. Stack and Tilt,One/two plane or natural golf, a golfers body needs certain levels of fitness.
So what does being fit for golf mean?
For me, its having the levels of mobility, stability, and balance in your body ,that will help you reach your golf objectives and not hinder them.
Too many golfers are trying to make swing changes that their bodies will not allow. Or their body will allow for a short period of time before falling back into time honoured faults.
Being fit for golf does not mean you have to have a physic that would not go out of place on the front cover of a men's fitness magazine. Angel Cabrera the 2007 US Open ,and 2009 Masters champion is one of the fittest and most flexible guy on the tour today.
My job as a golf coach is made measurable easier because I now have the knowledge and understanding of how to screen my players for limitations in mobility,stability and balance. This is due to my training with The Titleist Performance Institute www.mytpi.com. Having this information has allowed me to decide on what swing changes will be possible due to the players limitations. I think this is me being honest and professional in my approach to helping my players improve.
Why is mobility and stability important?
Mike Boyle and Gray Cook noted that "the body works in an alternating pattern of stable segments and mobile areas. If this pattern is altered then dysfunction and compensation will occur."
If there is dysfunction and compensation it will show up as a swing fault or potentially an injury.
If the mobility and stability pattern is dysfunctional there is also going to be a potential loss of energy transfer through the swing. The fact that we have to hit a ball over long distances means that any energy loss during the swing will without doubt make the game harder.
If the bow from a bow and arrow was not stiff and stable the function of the mobile string would not happen as efficiently, and the possibility of creating speed in the arrow would be very reduced.
Why is balance important?
From the posture through to the finish position we having a constant battle against the forces of nature such as gravity and centrifugal force. To help us battle these forces we use all of our human balance systems. But one in particular, the somatosensory system. This balance system uses our bodies proprioceptors to give us spatial awareness. If you have ever been asked by a golf coach to feel the difference between 2 positions or swings, it is your proprioceptors that are giving your brain the information.
Without good balance we would struggle to swing the club around our body at speed and strike the ball consistently.
I hope this has whetted your appetite for more information on being fit for golf.
In my next blog I will show you some screens that I put my players through to establish their levels of golf fitness, and some basic exercises that have helped them.
No exercises I prescribe cannot be undertaken at home with basic equipment.
Happy golfing
Andy
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