Improve Your Swing, Right From The Start

Golf is a difficult game, but what if you could take strokes off your round while reducing your risk of injury at the same time?

One of the low-hanging fruits to improve your golf game starts with your position at address. Your posture at address can fall into one of three categories: Neutral spine (ideal), C-Spine or S-Spine. Here is an easy assessment to find out which posture you start out in:

• Set up your phone so it can take a picture or video. Start recording.
• Give yourself enough distance from the phone, and assume a normal position as if you were swinging your 5-iron.
• Come back to the camera and assess!

Here are some examples of what the different postures might look like:

Okay, now that you have identified which posture you naturally set up into, here are a few tips to see if you can bring yourself closer to that neutral position at address.

If you have S-Posture:

The main dysfunction of this posture is too much arching of the low back. To help reverse excessive arching through the low back, focus on stretching your hip flexors and strengthening your glutes. For starters, try the Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch and Glute Bridge exercise that are outlined below.

Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

• Begin in a half kneeling position with one knee bent in front of your body.
• Tighten your core and squeeze your glutes (which will tilt your pelvis backward). Gently push your hips forward. You should feel a stretch in the front of your hip.
• Make sure to keep your hips facing forward and back straight during the exercise.
• Hold each stretch for 30 seconds, and repeat 3-4 times per leg.

Glute Bridge

• Begin lying on your back with your arms resting at your sides, your legs bent at the knees and your feet flat on the ground.
• Tighten your core muscles, squeeze your glutes and slowly lift your hips off the floor.
• Perform 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions.

If you have C-Posture:

This posture features slouching of the shoulders and back. Exercises, such as stretches that focus on the chest and strengthening around your shoulder blades, can help correct this posture, like the Pec Corner stretch and Wall Slide with Lift-Off exercise.

Pec Corner Stretch

• Stand facing a corner. Place your forearms flat on the wall on each side of the corner with your elbows at shoulder height.
• Slowly lean forward, taking a small step if needed until you feel a gentle stretch in the front of your chest and shoulders.
• Hold for 30 seconds and repeat for 3-4 repetitions.

Wall Slide with Lift-Off

• Begin in a standing upright position facing a wall.
• Rest both hands on the wall with your palms facing inward, then slide them up the wall.
• When your arms are straight, raise your hands a few inches from the wall.
• Bring your arms back down and repeat.
• Perform 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Ready to Start

Hopefully these quick stretches and exercises help to get you into a better starting position. This can lead to better ball-striking, improved power and less injuries!

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The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.