Keys to Improving Your Golf Swing and Playing Pain-free
Keys to Improving Your Golf Swing and Playing Pain-free
Have you been having pain when golfing or difficulty with your golf swing due to pain or lack of mobility? Then, this information is for you!
Mobility is Key
You need mobility to be a great golfer and have an efficient swing. Period. If you feel stiff or tight, but you don’t work on your mobility outside of golf, then it should be added to your routine! Trunk and hip rotation are two of the biggest areas that lack mobility in the golfers that we see. Here are several videos including two trunk mobility and one hip mobility exercise to work on.
Hip Hinging
Another big thing we see in the clinic with our golfers is a lack of the hip hinge movement pattern. It is really important to be able to hip hinge in general with daily life, but especially for golfers. We see many complain of back pain as a result of an inability to hip hinge. This video explains its importance and how to practice it!
Strength
As important as mobility is for golfing, strength is also just as important. Full body strength is very important and often undervalued in the golfing world. We love to work on strength training with our golfers, especially trunk, hip, and shoulder strengthening. The following clips are examples of several exercises we potentially work on with our golfers, depending on their needs. A huge one is the deadlift. This is important because it reinforces the hip hinge and helps keep your posterior chain strong. Also featured are lateral lunges for loading those hips, ball trunk rotations (which you can do in a variety of ways and slow or fast), and pallof press (a great core strengthening exercise).
Wrist/Grip Issues
We always like to discuss wrist mobility/strength and grip strength as well. You can have limitations in this and it affects your golf swing or you can have pain due to weakness or mobility restrictions in your wrist. Make sure you are keeping your wrist mobile but also working on your grip strength!
A great balance between mobility and strength can help you golf pain-free and improve your golf swing. We hope these exercises help with your issues or awareness of how to improve your game. If you need more help or are still having issues, book an appointment and come see us at Refuge Physiotherapy!
