Scott Cole asked:


Copyright (c) 2008 Scott Cole

While in my late teens and early twenties, I won a local long drive contest three years in a row. During that period, I never weighed more than 160 pounds at a height of 6 feet tall. However, I was able to consistently drive the golf ball over 270 yards at a time when we were still playing with wood drivers with steel shafts. I was able to do this because I have a long golf swing with a wide arc.

Do you remember watching Tiger Woods in his amateur playing days and when he first came out on tour? In 1996, when he joined the tour, he weighed 158 pounds, standing at 6′2. Remember when Tiger was able to hit driver, wedge into the 15th hole at Augusta during his first Masters victory? That was a 500 yard par 5 at the time? Tiger was not the super strong athlete we see today. In fact, although he has added 25-30 pounds of muscle, he really does not hit the ball much further now than he did then.

Remember Sam Snead? Into his later years, he reportedly could still kick the top of a doorway with one foot still on the floor. It is no wonder that he remained very competitive on the PGA Tour into his 50’s. He set the record for oldest winner on the PGA Tour at the age of 52. In fact here is a story I learned while playing the Virginia State Intercollegiate tournament at The Cascades in Hot Springs. In 1973, Sam Snead’s nephew, J.C. Snead, a long time PGA Tour player, set the course record on the Lower Cascades course with a round of 60. In 1983, ten years later, Sam Snead tied it! He was 71 at the time!

I guarantee that Sam Snead did very little weight lifting, but knew the importance of flexibility!

I have played with many muscular golfers over time, but few could hit the ball as far as me. This was due to their inferior golf swing. They had focused most of their fitness training on building big muscles, rather than flexibility. Therefore, it is most important for you to develop more flexibility first. I can think of a number of hockey players and NFL quarterbacks that play golf pretty well, but not a single NFL linebacker!

With this in mind, it is my recommendation that if you have a golf swing that falls far short of having good extension with the arms, a good shoulder turn and a nice wide arcing swing, you should focus your attention on stretching first! A good stretching routine that covers the entire body will take about 30-40 minutes to complete, and should be done two to three times per week.

After you have noticed a considerable increase in your flexibility, which you should see in a couple of months, you should begin to notice greater ability to get that fuller shoulder turn and longer arm extension in your golf swing. Bear in mind, your flexibility will also be enhanced if you are carrying less baggage on your body as well. Aside from John Daly, who is naturally gifted and has been very flexible since his junior days, you don’t see too many very overweight golfers with a big full swing like Tiger Woods. Therefore, consider a proper diet and aerobic conditioning program with your flexibility routine.

After a period of time, and you notice significantly greater flexibility in your golf swing, then consider a strengthening program if want to add more distance.

One note about some of the golf training gimmicks out there. Some of them do have some merit. However, I do not believe in using a weighted golf club for strength training, and here is why. The golf swing is NOT a natural motion for the human body, and for many golfers, it has caused a lifetime of back problems. Just ask Lee Trevino, Fred Couples and Seve Ballesteros. The fact is the golf swing itself is very hard on the back, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Therefore, swinging a weighted golf club with any force at all simply makes no sense to me. I swing a weighted club very slowly for the sole purpose of loosening muscles before practice or a round of golf, but never for the purpose of trying to build up my golf muscles! On that note, swinging a weighted golf club nice and slow right after your stretching routine makes a good bit of sense to work on that fuller extension and shoulder turn in your swing.

By improving your flexibility, you will be able to develop a more natural and fluid golf swing that will be a bit easier on the body over time. Then you can focus on improving your strength to enhance performance even further! With that in mind, flexiblity first, strength second!



Phyllis

Chillaxed asked:


i don’t like to play myself, but i was just curious why the follow through is so important. i can see why your form is important at first, but when u hit the ball, its already on its way, isn’t anything else unnecessary? i felt lazy and thought ide ask u guys.

Chester

lmak13 asked:


Only when using my driver, the ball slices away drastically. I am an intermediate golfer, and would really like to know how to straighten out my drive.

Corey

yoyoyo asked:


Then also what is the farthest distance a bow and arrow can make?
Explain it in numbers

Ben

Sarah D asked:


I have a faimily member that wants this practices golf club that when you swing if it is not straight or a perfect it collapses and doesnt stay straight. he says he has seen it in a infomercial only once.

Does anyone know what its called???

Edwin

Sean Cochran asked:


Golf exercises involving flexibility training can improve your shoulder turn and golf swing speed. The biomechanics of the golf swing require high levels of flexibility to execute correctly. And all to often the golfer is lacking in the required levels of flexibility to execute the golf swing correctly, resulting in compensations to occur within the swing. Causing a loss of club head speed, distance, and accuracy with every shot in the bag.

In order to prevent such a situation from occurring and to allow you the opportunity to execute the golf swing correctly. We must assure ourselves your body has the flexibility levels required of the golf swing. The achievement of this result can occur through the utilization of flexibility exercises for golf.

First off let us quickly define flexibility. Flexibility is the ability of your body to move through the “required” range of motion to perform the activity at hand (a simplified definition but it work it for us). Knowing this definition and combining it with what you know about golf swing mechanics. We can come to the conclusion that in order to swing a club on the correct path, the body must have the required flexibility parameters to move that club on the correct path.

The most common areas of the body where flexibility becomes an issues for the golf swing and most individuals is the lower back, hamstrings, hips, and shoulders. “Tightness” in any of these areas of body can impede the ability of drawing the club on the correct swing path. Resulting in poor execution of the golf swing itself.

Now here is the interesting point about flexibility and the golf swing. The greater range of motion you can get the club to move through in relation to the swing plane (remember, range of motion is contingent on your bodies flexibility), the greater amount of power you can develop. Thus allowing you to increase your clubhead speed, increase the distance of your drives, and lower your scores. A pretty simple equation when you put it all together.

So if you are finding “tightness” in any of the muscles incorporated within the golf swing this could well be hampering your swing and the distance you are hitting all of your golf shots. Implementing golf exercises in the form of flexibility training in your golf fitness program could help this situation.

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly working with professional golfers, most notable PGA and Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. To learn more about Sean Cochran and his golf fitness exercises and training programs go to http://www.seancochran.com



Ronald

Keenan B asked:


Just wondering what causes this. I have heard of the club face being pulled to open but never closed.

Keith

tchrist36 asked:


Tend to pull golf shots left.

Jill

Sean Cochran asked:


Golf exercises for the lower back can be very beneficial in preventing injuries from the golf swing. First and foremost the goal of any golf fitness program or golf fitness training exercise is to develop the body in order to execute the golf swing efficiently and effectively. This can result in increased driving distance, more accurate shots, and consistent play. On top of this a golf fitness program has a secondary benefit. Such a training program can help in the prevention of injuries

I always like to say it is much easier to prevent an injury from occurring than rehabilitating from one. The next few articles will discuss common injuries from the golf swing and how a golf fitness program can assist in the prevention of such injuries. Probably one of the most common injuries, and one as amateurs we are well aware of is to the lower back. Research indicates that one out two recreational golfers will incur a lower back injury at some point during their playing career.

Why is the lower back so often injured during the game of golf? Research studies have provided us some keys as to why this is the case. The golf swing is typically broken down into phases (address, backswing, downswing, follow through), and the sum of these phases is the full swing.

Each phase of the swing can be performed either efficiently or inefficiently. A professional is more likely to perform each phase of the golf swing more efficiently than that of the amateur. As a result the professional’s swing has more efficient mechanics from start to finish, requiring lesser amounts of activity from the muscles to execute.

An amateur or less skilled golfer is more likely to have less efficient mechanics. To compensate for these improper mechanics the golfer will attempt to generate extra force from specific muscles than the amateur. Causing these muscles to work much harder to execute the golf swing.

Research from Hosea indicated in certain situations amateurs may develop up to 80% more peak torque in their lumbar spine (i.e. lower back) than a professional, muscles required to generate greater amounts of force are at a much higher risk of overuse injury.

Additionally, Hosea found professional golfers generate 34% more clubhead speed than the amateur, yet amateurs were producing spinal forces 50 to 80% higher, and 50% more trunk muscle activity than the professional.

All of this research points to the first reason as to why the lower back is commonly injured in the amateur golfer. Inefficient golf swing mechanics cause the muscles of the lower back to work harder to generate torque in the swing. Over time these muscles will become fatigued from the trauma caused by inefficient mechanics. Increasing dramatically the possibility of an overuse injury to the lower back.

How can the amateur take the first step in the prevention of a lower back injury? First and foremost is the development of more efficient swing mechanics. This can only be done through proper instruction and practice. If you are finding yourself in the category of a candidate for a lower back injury, my first suggestions is begin developing a more efficient golf swing.

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly working with professional golfers, most notable PGA and Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. To learn more about Sean Cochran and his golf fitness exercises and training programs go to http://www.seancochran.com



Miguel

nunu asked:


Someone on a previous post suggested , cut the sole and raise it in - and this will prevent a sway in the golf swing. Can somone who has done this be a little more descriptive on how to do this?

Please, spare the suggestions on lessons.

Ida