Healthy Shoulders, Healthy Game

The shoulders may not be the most pivotal joint in the game of golf, but they are important.  The joint works in synchrony with the hips to produce a quality swing.  Without the shoudlers, you fail in the setup and the execution of the swing so it's important to keep them healthy.

Healthy shoulders is a dynamic effort.  They are involved in nearly every movement in the upper body in some way or another.  Keeping the shoulders healthy is vital for not only golf, but for general comfort as well.  The shoulders are often disregarded for larger muscle groups such as the chest (pectorals) or back (lats, traps;  I'm only using the "common" names for the muscles to keep it simple for most readers).

For the most part, the main part of the shoulder is the deltoid.  Take your arm, either one, and keep the elbow straight, now bring the arm up to either the side or to the front only in line with the top of the shoulder.  This is your deltoid at work, pretty simple huh?  Keeping this muscle strong is vital to the overall health of the shoulders.

The rotator cuff is a collection of smaller muscles that rotate the arm.  This is the thing that many tear as they enter the
ir 50s and 60s.  The surgery and subsequent rehabilitation is an arduous process.  So the goal would be to strengthen these muscles when you can.  You don't need much weight, bands are good for this.  But keeping this group healthy can keep your golf game for awhile.

Shoulders, the main junction in your upper body.  Without these, everything you want to do stops or dramatically reduces.  Keep them healthy and you'll play forever.