The Truth About Golf Conditioning
Mike Romatowski
The March 2006 issue of Washington GolfStyles magazine contains a fascinating article by Wayne DeFrancesco entitled, “Searching for the Truth.”
For those of you who don’t know him, Wayne is one of the foremost golf swing instructors in the country. He was a mainstay at Woodholme CC for several years, and has recently moved his operation to Woodmont CC in Rockville.
Wayne is not only a great teacher but a terrific player, having won the National Club Pro Championship several years ago, and having played several times in the PGA Championship.
Wayne ends his recent article by laying out his “Seven Principles of Golf Truth” as follows:
1. If you’re not that good, the only way you can buy improvement is to pay someone who really knows what he is doing to teach it to you.
2. If you don’t invest the time, you simply cannot get better.
3. It’s just as likely that any swing device or infomercial product will make you less competent.
4. You need to become a better putter. Someday, if you ever start to hit the ball well, your putting will reveal itself as weaker than you thought.
5. Ignore the television announcers. Whatever they say about a golf swing has no relevance to you.
6. Get stronger. Strength is under-appreciated, while flexibility is vastly overemphasized.
7. Never stop learning. Nobody’s figured out this game yet, including you and me.
Wayne’s excellent article got me thinking: Has my experience in the field of golf conditioning yielded me any wisdom regarding “Golf Conditioning Truths?” I do believe so.
With apologies to Wayne for pilfering his idea and paraphrasing his title, I hereby present my “Seven Principles of Golf Conditioning Truths:”
1. Strength and Flexibility are important, but Coordination is more important. Coordination in golf refers to your ability to correctly sequence the use of your body parts in the downswing.
Every great golfer uses the following sequence:
Hips > Shoulders > Arms > Club.
Among Tour players there are no exceptions.
Without this sequence it doesn’t matter how strong or flexible you are. We’ve all seen big ol’ football players on TV who can move a Volkswagen but can’t hit a golf ball out of their own shadow. And we’ve seen many golfers who have extreme flexibility but powder puff it down the fairway because their sequence is wrong or they lack basic hand-eye coordination.
2. Posture is most important of all. It is hard to believe, but without good posture it is extremely difficult to get stronger, or more flexible, or better coordinated.
In golf there are two postures that cause big problems: C-Posture and S-Posture. A C-Posture refers to rounded, forward slumping shoulders. An S-Posture refers to a forward-jutting head, a too-straight back, and a butt that sticks out too far.
From a C-Posture it is impossible to make a good backswing turn – therefore it is also impossible to achieve a position at the top of the backswing that would allow you to initiate the proper sequencing of body parts on the downswing. Your C-Posture kills your backswing mobility, which by definition kills your downswing coordination.
Also, C-Posture makes many weight training exercises risky or inappropriate. Fixing your posture opens up the whole world of weight training – once you have good posture you can actually get stronger!
An S-Posture predisposes you to low back pain. In the presence of low back pain it is difficult to lift weights or to stretch or to do postural exercises.
Yes, posture is most important of all.
3. Weight training machines have little value. They should all be melted down into scrap metal. In particular the worst offenders are leg extension, leg curl, and abductor/adductor machines. These machines have absolutely no carryover to real life movements. Using them is a waste of time and can predispose you to injury.
4. The worst piece of crap ever invented is the Ab Roller. You know – the silly device where you lie on your back with your head resting on a little pad. You hold on to the curved handlebar and crunch yourself up and down. Supporting your head on a pad while you do a crunch is the worst move you can make – you will have the privilege of experiencing your neck flexor muscles get weaker and weaker in relation to your abs. That’s a one-way ticket to neck problems.
5. There are two types of power: (a) General Power, and (b) Golf-Specific Power. When training for general power, it is best if the exercise looks nothing at all like a golf swing. When training for golf-specific power, it is best if the exercise looks exactly like a golf swing.
An example of an exercise for general power would be shot-putting a medicine ball. An example of golf-specific power would be swinging a weighted club or hitting an impact bag.
6. Your training regimen should leave you with more energy, not less. This goes especially for females. Muscles that have been “wasted” by intense training take several days to fully recover, and during that time they will show less coordination. Females take longer to recover than males.
7. Full body movements will yield far better results than movements which strive to isolate a single muscle or muscle group. The best movements are squats, lunges, presses with dumbbells, and any movements which incorporate spirals, circles, arcs, and curves. That’s the way your body is designed to move!
Mike Romatowski creator of "18 Magic Moves for Golf Conditioning", owns Five-Star Fitness, a golf conditioning and post-rehab facility in Owings Mills, Maryland. Mike works with amateur and collegiate golfers, including 2005 U.S. Open participant Marlowe Boukis and AJGA (Chicago) winner Michelle Grilli.
The articles at GolfFitnessProducts.net are for informational purposes only and are not intended to substitute for direct examination and exercise prescription by the appropriate health professional. It is strongly recommended that you do not perform any exercise program without the consent of your personal physician.
