One of the main problems recreational golfers have in common is the inability to rotate
(turn) their bodies to complete a golf swing.
Since golf is a rotational sport, you must condition your body to rotate in order to have
accurate and consistent drives. Common reasons why golfers don’t rotate enough, or at
all is that they don’t have the flexibility to make a proper shoulder turn (90 degrees) or an
optional trunk turn (45 degrees), or that they might be protecting themselves from an old
injury such as a chronic sprain or strain from the back, or a lingering inflammatory
condition of the shoulder, or perhaps they may have just picked up bad techniques from
watching others at the driving range.
Ideally as the shoulders, trunk and hips rotate around a vertical axis (the spine) which is
termed as “coiling”, energy builds up in the connective tissues of those specific golf
muscles, and when the golfer swings, the stored energy is released, and the body
( “uncoils” ) producing power and speed and hopefully an accurate long distance shot.
But with golfers who can’t rotate efficiently there becomes a problem, due to the
rotational deficits and lack of muscle fiber recruitment from the shoulder and trunk
muscles during the swing, the energy that had been stored in the musculotendinous units
lose their intensity during the approach to the ball; the arms and wrists must compensate
for the deficits in rotation of the shoulders and trunk, and so accuracy and consistency
will suffer. So to become effective on the golf course and to lower your handicap, you
must train your body to rotate with emphasis on flexibility, stability and strength.
Michael K Butler B.A.;P.T.A.;CSCS; PES;NMT
Is co-owner of Kinetix Health and Performance Center
Specializing in sports performance conditioning and rehabilitation of
Injuries. He can be reached at 760-200-1719
