In harmonious execution

For the last several weeks I have been talking about golf and the components that make it up. Today I will conclude my posts regarding the general breakdown of golf and the physical attributes needed for success.

So, first was on mental preparation as you move towards the ball. Next was on the shoulder and it's importance, last week was on the hips and what they do, now it's on the synchronous execution of all of these parts and the success you will generate with them.

Without focus and clarity, your game is going to be terrible. Healthy shoulders will allow for the proper follow-through of your swing. Healthy hips will for the ball to fly with ease. But if you consistently break these into individual parts, you will fail.

Your body is so much more than parts. It's an orchestra of reaction and action that when one part is not functioning properly, the rest will fail with it. So it's more than strength, endurance, flexibility, focus, and knowledge...it's all those sections combined to provide you with movement and success.

When one part fails, the body will try to work around it, but it's not the same. Have you ever tried to take a shot with a hurt shoulder? You can, but your focus is off because you don't want to make it worse. But we are often too stubborn to acknowledge our weakness or inabilities.

Our bodies in golf and in other activities work in harmony within itself. We are greater than parts and often no less than such. Train the mind, body, and soul and you shall achieve success on the course and in life

Work in harmonious execution.

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.  

Bogeys, Birdies, & Eagles

This past weekend was the Masters.  One of the most historic and watched golf matches in the world and it got me thinking a lot about those who play golf, not necessarily at the level of those in the Masters but in general.

How many of you who read this play golf?  How many people do you know who play golf?  Do you, if you play, or those you know who play, participate in any fitness program that is not golf?

I bring this up because one attribute of many of my clients, especially during the summers, are that they are golfers.  Often, improving some aspect of their golf game is important to them and through weight training and conditioning, we can make that happen.

Professional and collegiate golfers, and sometimes high school, all participate in a strength & conditioning plan to improve some aspects of their game.  We can look at it in a variety of ways, from injury prevention to improving the ease of the swing, and many other attributes.  It's simple though, take two golfers of the same ability, take one through an S&C program while leave the other to solely playing golf, and the one through the S&C program is going to play better.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be going into some insight of how to look into an S&C Program for golfers.  This will highlight the purpose of the programs and the benefits that you would receive if you were to participate in a program of some sort.  Also, the rationale of why to not "go it alone" and have someone on standby for physical training.