Proper vs. Probable

 

Everyone wants to improve their game this year which is probably what keeps this game interesting. Some of you will spend big money on golf clubs and find some improvement if your old equipment was ill-fitting.  Unfortunately a golf club can only transmit what the swing tells it. Some will invest in golf lessons and the rest will continue tinkering by themselves in search of the next golf tip.

Regardless if it’s your golf pro, the golf magazine swing analysis or your own ideas on what your swing should “look” like, let’s remember one very important thing:

 

Proper vs. Probable

 

Did you know that for 99.99% of the people we see play golf for a living, well the swings you see are not difficult for them to do. They may occasionally get sore but their bodies don’t fight them on each and every swing with pain, tension or flexibility issues. For them it’s easy.  It may have taken years to learn the proper technique but their bodies could do what they wanted.  The positions they obtain look great don’t they?  Ultra-straight left arm at the top, perfect posture and beautiful high finish positions are just a few snapshots that golfers dream of achieving with their own swings.

But what if your body literally can’t do that? Ok well maybe it “can” get really close but in the process that ruins the basic structure of the swing? Is that really worth it so you can almost, kind of look sort of like Adam Scott almost? Here’s a perfect example: everyone wants the shaft parallel to the ground at the top of swing because the tour pros all do it and then what happens?  Golfers lose posture, don’t turn enough, bend arms like pretzels and all sorts of combinations to get into the “pro position” and in the process create a host of problems that can’t be fixed in the down swing.

So what is “proper” for you may not be the same as Mr. Tour Pro. You would be far better off with a 3/4 back swing, proper arm structure and body angles which all require less compensation moves in the 2/10 second of the down swing.  You must achieve certain movements for an effective swing and also work with what your body can do in that process.  If you want your swing to look like a tour model then your body has to have the ability to move through the same range of motion.

Being able to squat 300 lbs. or ride 20 miles on a stationary bike will not have any significant affect on better scores or better swing technique, but increasing your flexibility by 20%, now that could really change your game for the better.