Golf and Your Posture
On a Saturday morning, you can often find me at one of my favourite local golf courses, Heidelberg or Growling Frog, practicing my game and endlessly swinging at the driving range. It’s one of my favourite recreational activities, so I know how frustrating it can be when you aren’t seeing the improvements that you’d hoped for in your game.
Your golf set up is key to how you align yourself to the target and how consistently you can strike the ball. Posture can drastically affect your ability to set the club at the top of your back swing, grip the club properly, and transfer a consistent swing that allows a smooth rotation and a balanced golf swing.
Dr Brian McKeon is a well-known orthopaedics surgeon who is the Chief Medical Officer for the world-famous Boston Celtics NBA team and who is on the Medical Panel for the widely recognized instructional golf system, RotarySwing. Dr McKeon has used ultrasound and X-ray technologies to demonstrate that bad posture creates limited space within the shoulder joint, whereas good posture opens space within the shoulder joint, thereby reducing the potential for common problems like shoulder and rotator cuff injuries1.
Dr McKeon’s research clearly shows that even a golfer’s grip can be influenced by poor posture. For example, when a golfer has good posture, the palms of their hands will face each other, thereby bio-mechanically preventing one hand from taking a stronger or weaker grip.
Ultimately, Dr McKeon’s research demonstrates two extremely important principles when it comes to your golf swing:
Poor posture is the number one problem that golfers experience at setup. Over time, poor posture at set up can cause injuries to your shoulders, your elbows, your wrists, and your hands.
Your posture directly affects your set up grip. If your shoulders are misaligned at set up, one hand will be more dominant and will cause an imbalanced swing.
If you want to improve your posture on the golf course and need a quick fix, Dr. McKeon’s suggestion to shrug your shoulders up as far as possible, roll them back and then pull your shoulders straight down will improve your posture – but only temporarily. Try it! Immediately after a good shrug, you may notice your shoulders are rolled back, your chest is sticking out more, and you may feel that you’re standing up straighter.
But this isn’t a long-term solution. And you certainly aren’t fixing any complex structural issues, imbalances, or compensations with a quick shrug!
My colleagues and I at Melbourne City Chiropractic know that our bodies are complex and quick fixes are never the answer. Once there is an imbalance in the body, your body will compensate in an effort to create balance. Unfortunately, this often means that stress and strain is forced upon other parts of your body. A small compensation for misaligned shoulders, for example, could result in injuries in the neck, shoulders, back, and even in your legs!
Perhaps you’ve noticed pain in your knees, hips, or lower back following a game of golf? Or you have followed all the tips and tricks to balance your swing, but you’re still not seeing the results you’d hoped for? I can help! With improved posture, you’ll have a more balanced swing, more consistency in your game, and start seeing improvements on those challenging long drives.
Book an appointment with me and we’ll review your posture with a digital analysis, make a plan to improve your posture, and help you find success on your favourite 18 holes.
There is no need to put up with pain any longer
Schedule your first appointment with our expert ABC™ Chiropractors and get back to doing what you love.