By Kelly Blackburn
Golf requires flexibility in all parts of the body. Tight muscles restrict and slow down the motion needed to effectively swing the golf club and as we age, muscles aren't as naturally flexible and supple as they were in earlier years. That means older golfers must work harder just to maintain the same level of flexibility they had in their twenties and thirties.
Keeping flexible requires a great deal more than simply warming up with a few stretches at the first tee before a round. Golfers who want to improve their games need to take flexibility training as seriously as hitting practice balls or working on the putting green. Here are some reasons why:
- Stiff muscles and tendons in the trunk and lower body inhibit proper setup and cause golfers to slouch. You can't make a proper golf swing from a poor setup, and you can't set yourself in the proper position at address without some degree of flexibility.
- Making a proper shoulder turn is impossible if your deltoids (the shoulder muscles), pectoralis major (the chest muscles), obliques (the stomach muscles), and latissimus dorsi (the upper back muscles) are stiff and unresponsive. The backswing is a turn of the upper body around the relatively stable lower body. Upper body flexibility makes that turn possible.
- The biceps, triceps, wrist and elbow flexors must also be flexible in order for the arms to work properly in the swing. You may have heard the phrase "releasing the golf club".
This term refers to the point in the swing when the wrists, elbows, shoulders, and hands work together to generate the greatest clubhead speed at the exact moment the club makes contact with the ball. In order for those body parts to work in this synchronized fashion, each muscle group in the arms and shoulders must be flexible. Stiff arms lift the club and make a slashing, violent, and technically incorrect swing. Supple arms swing the golf club fluidly.
- The hip flexors and adductor muscles must also remain flexible if you want to swing the club efficiently. Because the lower body initiates the downswing and provides the stable base on which the entire swing is structured, having a full range of motion with these muscles is critical.
- Making a good golf swing also depends on a flexible back and abdominal muscles. These opposing muscle groups are stretched to their limit in golf and players must go to great lengths to stretch these muscles properly. If you don't, poor golf is the least of your worries. You can fix a bad swing. A bad back can last forever.
