St. Johns September 2019 Newsletter P1_STM81003 September Newsletter | Page 6

NOTE FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
SEPTEMBER 2019
Swing Mechanics vs. Functional Mobility
As golfers, we all have fundamentals we are trying to improve in our golf swings, the
question is, “Will our bodies allow us to make the change”? More times than not,
the student will understand the concept of the lesson, but will still have difficulty
implementing the change in their golf swing. Once we have time to intellectually process
the information, the next step to incorporating the fundamental is assessing any physical
limitations. Often as golf instructors we ask out students to do movements in their golf
swings that they would have extreme difficulty doing in their daily lives.
Each and every Swing Characteristic (Swaying, Coming Over the Top, Early Extension) has
a connection to a physical limitation. Examining the golf swing from a fitness perspective
allows the instructor to understand these tendencies are developed to accommodate
physical deficiencies including limited mobility, stability, and strength. One fundamental
where we see a perfect intersection between the Body-Swing Connection is Posture.
Today, we spend more and more time sitting and this is contributing to the physical issue
of “Upper Crossed Syndrome” where muscle imbalances develop as the abdominals
become tight and the muscles in the Thoracic Spine are weakened. This creates a posture
where the spine is shaped like the letter C, hence ‘’C-Spine or C-Posture”. When the spine
is “hunched” forward into C-Posture, this will greatly reduce any rotation or extension
of the Thoracic Spine which virtually eliminates the possibility of making a complete
backswing. This is important as rotation and extension are two primary sources of power
in the golf swing. Knowing that we would all like to hit it further, examine your posture
to see if your spine is flat and neutral or is there some curvature present? Improving
your posture and subsequently creating more rotation could be the key to adding more
distance to your drives.
Play Well,
John Mousley
PGA, TPI
6