The following is an article that I wrote that appeared in Canadian Business Magazine a couple of years ago.
The Science of Perfecting Your Golf Swing
Dr. Guy Bahar, D.C.
Golfing season is here and players are always looking for that extra edge to improve their game. A commonly overlooked issue when practicing or preparing for the sport is posture and how it affects a player’s swing.
Try this experiment.
Stand up, slump your head forward and round your shoulders as much as you can while assuming a swing position. Try out your swing and see what you notice.
Now straighten up as much as you can; shoulders back,head held high and try your swing again.
You can’t turn as well in the slumped posture because your stroke power is directly related to your range of motion. The greater the swing, the greater the force of the stroke. When you have a slumping, rounded shoulder type of posture (also known as Forward Head Posture), your range of motion is reduced, making it difficult to achieve that smooth, full range stroke.
If you’re like 90% of the population, you suffer from Forward Head Posture in your everyday life, not just on the golf course. With the vast majority of us spending hours slouched in front of our laptops, over our blackberries and behind the wheel driving, the incidence of this condition has increased dramatically over the past 10 years.
When the weight of the head is not balanced right over the neck and shoulders, but comes forward, gravity exerts a daily pressure pulling the head further and further downward. Over time, assuming and holding a healthy upright position becomes very difficult.
As a golfer with forward head posture attempts to get into an optimal golf stance, he/she may attempt to pull back the shoulders and head, but find it virtually impossible to fully straighten up. The rounding of the shoulders and the head coming forward of the center of gravity shifts the body’s balance. Without that balance and stability, stroke power, as well as stroke accuracy and speed, are highly compromised.
That’s why pros like Tiger Woods and Mike Weir say that improving posture is one of the most important keys to improving your golf swing. Optimal posture improves your ability to strike the ball more consistently by increasing the range of motion of your stroke, increasing your balance and improving your stability.
This doesn’t even mention the significant health benefits which include injury prevention, increased energy, expanded breathing capacity, and a reduction in chronic pain problems like headaches, neck tension and back issues.
Correcting posture problems is not as simple as your mother told you. Just standing up straight works for about as long as a weight loss programme based on holding your stomach in. Invest in a posture correction programme at your chiropractor and watch not only for improvements in your golf game, but incredible effects on your health and vitality as well.
Dr. Guy Bahar is “The Posture Doc”. He has developed the “Bahar Posture Training Method” for correcting posture with visible, measurable results, used exclusively in his Richmond Hill Clinic. You can reach Dr. Bahar at The Posture Clinic 905-731-7443, www.postureclinic.ca
