By Nancy Chan
Golf Fitness Tips
My teen-age daughter took her first golf lesson a couple of summers ago at the Palo Alto Hills Golf Club. I was at once amused and struck by how “feminine” her golf swing looked.
I figured it could not have just been due to the fact that she didn’t want to ruin her freshly painted nails. So, I put more thought into analyzing this and studying this more thoroughly.
How are men and women really different when it comes to golf?
There is a common desire that men have when it comes to the game of golf - they want more consistency. Oftentimes, one of the reasons for inconsistency is lack of sufficient flexibility to execute the golf swing correctly.
What follows is compensatory types of body movements which lead to inconsistency in the swing. In reality, it is flexibility men need and want.
Men, you can admit that you have watched in envy at the flexibility some women have. You have noticed how many of them can bend over and touch the floor with their hands whereas you struggle to reach to your ankles?
On the other hand, women generally have trouble hitting long drives. They often lack the strength to be fully in control of the club at the top of the swing and in the follow-through of the swing. The result is the inability to hit to greater distances.
Women often are noticeably weak in several key golf-specific body areas like their outer hips, abdominal muscles, chest, shoulders, arms and hands. Women, you can admit that you wish you had the strength of a man when it comes to golf!
Too much flexibility combined with too much weakness in key golf muscles is not ideal for the women golfer.
It is difficult to get the tissue tension needed as you wind up in the take away. It is hard to generate the power needed to gain the longer distances you want as you swing to hit the ball. It is not unusual to see a woman overswing with her arms since they have the flexibility and lack the control.
No surprise then that the most common injuries for women golfers are muscle strains, tendinitis and sprains to the wrists and hands.,
There is an anatomical difference in men and women not frequently obvious to the lay person that explains the tendency for women to develop the tendinitis and sprains in their wrists, elbows and hands.
Place your arms in front of your body and touch your lower arms side by side. Notice the angle formed by the lower arms and upper arms on each side. This angle is called the carrying angle.
Of course, there is a reason that women have a greater carrying angle than men.
To help with childbearing, women typically have wider hips. Their arms must hang at a greater angle from their elbows so their arms do not bump into hips as they walk. How clever of mother nature! But not good for golf.
A woman’s wrist tends to collapse at the top of the backswing due to the increased carrying angles. This, in turn, can contribute to injuries.
One solution for women is to try to achieve a wider triangle position of the elbows and hands at the top. This allows the elbows to support the club weight instead of having the hands, wrists and forearms carrying all the weight. The potential for injury is reduced by this position. Another plus is that it is a better position for improved shot making.
A good start in making this swing change is to improve the physical characteristic that will facilitate the women golfer’s ability to learn a new technique more easily and safely.
For the golf posture at address, we want the elbows to be positioned outside the hips, not pointing inside the hips due to the excessive carrying angles. Facilitate this by strengthening the middle and upper back muscles between the shoulder blades. This helps the woman achieve the proper position and then maintain the position throughout the swing.
There is a simple but difficult exercise women can start with to strengthen their upper back and shoulder blade muscles.
Lie on your stomach with a small rolled towel under your forehead so you can breathe more easily while face down. Straighten both arms over your head. Gently contract your shoulder blade muscles, pulling each blade slightly down toward the buttocks. Next, hold this contraction and lift one arm off the table. Alternately lift one arm and then the opposite arm. Do this rhythmically and at a quick tempo.
Once you are able to do this easily, lift your legs off the table alternately as well as you move your arms. At any given moment, you will be lifting the opposite arm and leg together. Maintain this motion for up to 10 seconds. Repeat 10-20 times.
This is an excellent exercise to improve posture at address. In addition, it will strengthen the upper back and shoulder blade muscles that help maintain the proper elbow position at address and at the top of the backswing. Do these exercises every other day and you should begin to increase strength. Gradually add different exercises to your strengthening regime and you will find one day that you need not be so envious of the men.
Please consult with your physician first if you have any health problems or concerns that can be affected by exercising.
Chan is a physical therapist at Back to Fitness in Palo Alto. She was trained by Dr. Paul Callaway (the first physical therapist on the PGA Tour) to deliver his Body Balance For Performance program, designed to safely improve a golfer’s performance. For more information, call Chan at 494-0991 or logon to www.fitgolf.com and click on “Back To Fitness.”
