Performance Golf Training Newsletter provided by GolfTraining.com: 12/30/09

Golf Training Top 10 Golfers New Year's Resolutions
Article contributed by Shawn Ramsey

Are the best New Year's resolutions ones that benefit others or are you best served by ones with vested interests? In either case, you're in luck, because here are the top 10 golfer's resolutions for 2010 that cover solo and foursome golf:

1. No, they're not "mirror muscles", but I promise to treat my hamstrings with the respect they deserve. That means increasing mobility and warming them up with dedicated exercises and stretches at least three (3) times per week. Start today, for a more mobile tomorrow. Trust us here. It's very rewarding to be able to touch your toes!
FYI: With the muscles relaxed, and reflex mechanisms minimally involved, the relative contributions of soft tissue to joint stiffness are as follows: joint capsule, including ligaments 47%, muscles and their fascial sheaths 41%, tendons 10%, and the skin 2% (1). Use a foam roller to help with fascial release and standing single leg deadlifts as the focus exercise.

2. Time to pinch the penny. Big, small, flat or round, I promise to "find" my glutes! Why? Because, "Glutes are king in the golf swing" (3). And not only are glutes important, but whereas the hamstrings aren't mirror muscles, these certainly are!
FYI: Studies have been shown that unloaded inactivity induces atrophy and functional de-conditioning of skeletal muscle, especially in the lower extremities, in as little as 5 weeks of inactivity (2). Glute activation lunges are an exceptionally effective way to engage these functional muscles, don't require any equipment and can be done minimal floor space. No excuses now.

3. Watch Shakira… to learn how to activate my core muscles. If the glutes are king, then, "The core is queen in a golf swing" (3). How on earth does she dance like that? Well in part, it's the control over her core muscles - transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, and rectus abdominis. The good news, you don't have to know how to say them. The better news, you can activate most of the core muscles with a Golf Stick Reverse Crunch adding a little lateral rotation and be done in less than three minutes. Oh yeah… the bad news… you still probably won't be able to dance like Shakira.

4. The car may have a six-speed paddle shift transmission, but I'll learn how to find neutral… pelvis, that is… so that my spine is in the best alignment for power. What's the mnemonic to remember? How about, "Pull the car out of the garage, then in the garage. Back out one more and finally just a little back in." Okay, so there are lots of messages here, but the one to focus on is "more distance, as a result of better alignment." To do the action, get into your golf stance, increase the sway of your lower back, then tuck the pelvis the opposite way, towards then club, increase the sway again, then come back to "neutral." Can't seem to increase the arch of your back and/or flatten it? A certified golf fitness trainer can help with your distance, by helping you with pelvic and spinal alignment. And don't forget that instruction from a golf pro will help the ball go straighter at the same time!

5. Stand on my own foot. Turns out that it hasn't done us much good to learn "golf balance" by standing on two feet. What we're talking about here is proprioception - the reception of stimuli in the brain produced within our nervous system, to assist in balance while in a static position and throughout a movement pattern. A sobriety check point is an excellent example of testing whether consumed alcohol is inhibiting the body's proprioceptive system. And here's how easy it is to start training for better balance. When brushing your teeth, simply stand on your non-dominant leg (usually the right leg for right handed people), first with your eyes open, then closed, for 15 to 30 second intervals. Fortunately, there are dozens of golf and fitness drills that are fun and effective.

6. Develop power from toes to nose. It's called the kinematic sequence and rocket scientists aren't the only one's who need to know about lift-off. There's a great analogy for this one. Ever whip someone with a towel? The most pop (aka pain for the poor recipient) is delivered with the best kinematic sequence. In a golf swing, fewer swing faults, greater distance and less physical pain is the result of the brain's ability to fire the body's muscles in the downswing, from the toes to the nose.

7. I promise to scapular retract for proper cervical spine alignment. We've already talked about those mirror muscles and here, they strike again. Most guys exacerbate the problem of medial rotation (rolling the shoulders toward the center of the chest) from doing too many pushups. And to make matters worse, reaching forward while driving, typing and eating tends to reinforce this poor position. The best position is as follows - pull the shoulders back, without lifting them up towards your ears. Bring the head back as well, so that the ears are in alignment with the shoulders, without resulting in a "double chin" effect.

8. I may not be able to brush my teeth or write my name with my left hand (I'm right handed), but for 2010, I'm going to make my non-dominant side as stable as the other one. So what's stability? It's the strength associated with a mobile/non-mobile joint and/or muscle group. It's your body's ability to move through a planer pattern, consistently, from hole 1 through 18. It's the body's ability to avoid sways and slides, the elevator and early extension. And here's a special situation, because if you're right handed, odds are better than 90% that you're left leg dominant. That's right, we said left leg. How to tell? With which leg/foot would you kick a soccer ball? Which one is in front, when getting ready to start a sprint race? That's the one that is accustomed to absorbing the body weight first, so that the more mobile/coordinated one can perform the action. And that's the one that you'll feel more comfortable standing on just one leg. So the next time you brush your teeth, do it with your dominant hand, but stand on just that one leg. In the long run, it'll make your hygienist and golf pro happy.

9. I'll use the practice the drills from a golf professional, perform the exercises prescribed by a golf fitness professional and seek rehabilitation from a golf medical professional for that nagging injury that's been a pain in my side. All these pros have your best interest in mind. Trust us.

10. Simply put, I promise to get better…. Sure, we keep score to see who won the round, general bragging rights, or maybe even a club championship, but let's all enjoy this unique sport from a new perspective, to help ride the highs and soften the lows. Play with less pain by keeping our other nine resolutions and stay on the course. 2010 is going to be a great golfing year and there are lots of professionals out there to help.

Find a golf lesson professional, golf medical professional or golf fitness professional to help you keep your 2010 goals!

References:
1 - Johns and Wright (1962)
2 - Berg HE, Eiken O, Miklavcic L, Mekjavic IB.(2007). Hip, thigh and calf muscle atrophy and bone loss after 5-week bedrest inactivity. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2007 Feb;99(3):283-9. Epub 2006 Dec 22.
3 - Dr. Greg Rose, Titleist Performance Institute, TPI Instructional Seminar, Dec 2008, Seattle, Wash

A New Year's Resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.
Woody Paige - sports writer/contributor

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