By following a carefully-designed
exercise program that conditions the
golfer specifically for the game, the risk
of injury may be reduced. Additionally, a
golfer already suffering from an injury will
have much greater success returning to
the game if his/her program addresses
the underlying cause of the injury.
Factors that determine the flight and
destination of the ball include:
• club face alignment
• swing path
• angle of impact
• speed
• sweet spot
What golf pros don’t generally know
and, therefore, do not tell you is that
there are physical prerequisites that
accurately and consistently enable the
player to meet the above five factors.
And no matter how far technology
has come, it cannot give a golfer any
physical capacity that he/she does not
possess – clubs don’t play the game, the
golfer does!
To further understand this concept,
consider the fact that when the brain
controls these muscles it does not think
in terms of individual muscles. Rather,
the brain recruits groups of muscles
in uniquely programmed sequences.
Any effective exercise program that
is designed to improve function in an
athlete, specifically in golfers must,
therefore, be designed to integrate
the body. Achieving this requires
consideration of five key components:
1. Flexibility
2. Maintenance of your
centre of gravity
3. Generalised motor
program development
4. Exercise selection
5. Promotion of good
posture.
1. Flexibility
To determine which stretches/techniques
will be best for you, the required ranges
of motion (ROM) of specific joints must
be known. The specific requirements of
the game must be compared against
your own ROM, so the exact stretches
you need can be done. Using general
stretches often results in excessive ROM
in hypermobile joints, and continued
restriction at hypomobile joints.
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2. Maintenance of your
centre of gravity (CG)
Like most sports, golf is played under
the influence of gravity in a threedimensional and unstable environment.
If the exercises in your program do
not contribute to, or directly enhance
your ability to maintain the centre of
gravity over your base of support (feet),
the functional carry over is probably
minimal. For example, a sport/work/
activity where you need to squat
(like most sports) is not enhanced by
using leg press and knee extension
exercises. Therefore, this exercise
would not enhance function for
sports performance. Golf is a highly
technical sport, which not only requires
maintaining your centre of gravity over
your support base at all times. It is also
a sport of repetitive explosive actions,
where the explosive efforts in golf are
directed at a small hole in the ground, as
far as 500 or more metres away.
•
In ideal posture there exists optimal
length-tension relationships
between all muscles.
•
Ideal posture encourages the
maintenance of optimal joint
motion.
•
Poor posture represents faulty
alignment of joints.
•
by conditioning specialists. Before
starting any training program, posture
must be evaluated and corrective
measures taken as needed. Failure to do
so will certainly encourage premature
breakdown of your musculoskeletal
system. Consider the following:
Movements that begin with and
end in poor posture, create muscle
imbalance, which may contribute
to shortening recreational,
occupational and athletic careers.
From a posture perspective, a golf
swing involves all muscles and
joints. Considering kinesiology and
biomechanics, it