Is The Core Important During My Swing?
Every golfer is guilty of it, but no matter how many times we are told or read it in a book, we can’t stop ourselves from stepping up onto that tee with the meatiest driver money can buy in our hands and hit the crap out of a golf ball.
The primeval instinct in us, when we’re holding what part of our subconscious brain interprets as a caveman club, overrides everything we are told and the overwhelming desire to hit the ball as hard as we can is difficult to resist.
Of course, as you would have read elsewhere on the internet and in books, when it comes to hitting a golf ball a long way, brute neandertholic force does not get you anywhere. It might, but you’re likely to end up either slicing so badly that the ball ends upcoming coming straight back at you, or you hook it so far to the left that it ends up on the nearest road or in the club house.
Timing is everything
Irrespective of how expensive your driver or how broad your shoulders, the timing of the impact of club on ball is the key in generating control and distance down the fairway. The ability to perfectly time your swing is not just a natural talent but it can be made a lot easier if the whole “kinetic chain” of your swing is balanced, rhythmical and smooth.
Despite what you may have heard, these attributes can be attained by ensuring that the specific muscles which are responsible for stabilising and generating force throughout the swing are strong, balanced and flexible.
The Swing
In an ideal world, a golf swing should be a smooth and graceful movement from backswing to follow through.
The effortless transition of body weight from the back foot to the front foot as the club cuts through the air and strikes the ball at 150mph is the perfect start to send your Titleist Pro V 300 yards down the fairway.
For most part time golfers however, our swings rarely look or feel effortless and the frustration of not achieving a balanced and comfortable swing can lead to a miserable 18 holes and often despair at the game altogether.
The difficulty in correcting the shortfalls of your swing, is that there are often a number of potential reasons why your swing may not be functioning well and it is often very difficult to come up with a definitive answer.
However, the one consistent factor which crops up again and again with many of the golfers I have treated is related to weak “core” muscles.
Core strength – The golfer’s secret weapon
Responsible for supporting the trunk, the core muscles play a key role in preventing back injury and ensuring good posture is maintained during your swing. If your core muscles are weak, your balance through the swing is compromised, not only putting excessive stress on your back but also having a major impact on your final body position as you strike the ball.
The pros may have the luxury of a bio mechanist assessing every aspect of their swing and checking for symptoms of core weakness but for the rest of us - we are on our own.
However, here are a few tips and exercises to help diagnose weakened core muscles:
Is your core weak?
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your pelvis in a “neutral” position. ie not tilted.
- Place one hand on the floor, under the small of your back.
- Slowly extend your knees 90 degrees, so that your lower legs are now parallel to the floor.
- Firmly press your lower back down onto your hand and maintain the same pressure, as you slowly lower your feet back down to the ground.
If you were unable, or found it difficult to maintain firm pressure on your hand whilst you were lowering your feet, it indicates that your core muscles are weak and are likely to be affecting your golf swing.
Luckily for you, all is not lost if your core is weaker than the American dollar. For exercises on how to improve your core strength and strengthen other power generating and stabilising muscles, please click here.