Over the past year, we’ve learned how to use biomechanics to simplify the golf swing. You have learned how to create new, simple neuromuscular pathways. We’ve discussed concepts to protect your back while improving your golf swing.
Last week, an article appeared in the Journal of Neurosurgery Spine called “Golf is a Contact Sport.” It discussed the types of back injuries golfers encounter but offered no good solutions to prevent these injuries.
In my blog, ”Spine Movement During the Golf Swing,” I’ve talked about what injuries occur, how they happen and what can be done to prevent them. Interestingly, my discussion of golf injuries occurred well before “Golf is a Contact Sport” and offers much more effective tools to prevent these injuries from occurring.
All the while, we’ve taught you how to get a great backswing, how the body turns, exercises and drills to help you prevent back injuries, and shown you one of our products that not only teaches you how to swing the club correctly but also warms you up.
This article talks about the physics of the golf swing in simple terms and shows you how to gain swing speed with less effort. I talk about the plane of the right elbow during the swing, something which no one has really touched on before.
Over the past several months, I’ve been watching golf tournaments on television, which is not unusual for me. While watching, I can’t help but notice it’s much easier to diagnose golf swing issues by looking at the right upper arm and using the elbow as a marker. In general, the players hitting the longest, most consistent shots have great upper arm plane. The players hitting all over the place do not have a good upper arm plane.
Jim Flick, from whom I had the pleasure of learning much about the golf swing, believed the upper arms were key in swinging a golf club. Another respected professional, Manuel de la Torre, believes the upper arm swing is the key to the golf swing. How the arms move and body turns are both extremely important to develop a consistent, simple swing that won’t risk injuring your back.
You already know how the body works and the biomechanics of the arms. Now it’s time to put them together. The golf swing is like a beautiful symphony. We must practice the parts separately. Then we must put all of the parts together. Only then can we have beautiful music. Some of us are virtuosos and some might become one. But all of us can learn to appreciate the beautiful symphony.