Golf Today

Let's examine an aspect of the game that I find par- ticularly fascinating:- The strong emotions associated with this game of golf.

Before I started becoming a fan of this game, I always wondered how a game that looked so bland----and at times down right comatose-----that seemed to take boredom to a whole new level------could possibly have Any emotional appeal.

DID THIS GAME ACTUALLY HAVE A PULSE?!

I mean-------what could be simpler? PUT THE BALL IN THE HOLE, RIGHT?

How could that POSSIBLY produce such strong emotions (both on the green and off).

I see now that it's NOT just about competing to be the best against others, and to better your own game.

But that the game APPEARS to be so deceptively simple. Could THAT be the source of this emotional rollercoaster?

Remember when you first began? How you may have experienced difficulty just gripping the club handle? (Or just being allowed to join the local golf club?) ;-]

But yet you still managed to "putt" the ball in the hole? (A typical case of beginner's luck). You probably thought to yourself, "This isn't so bad. Piece of caKE!"

But then, all the realities of what could possibly go wrong between the tee and the hole came crashing down on your head. (That your instructor was so gracious to point out to you).

Wind direction, contour of the land, sand traps, bunkers, the rough, other players mocking you,...

That temporary NIRVANA of IGNORANT BLISS that you lived in was shattered to pieces forever at the next hole. Now instead of 4 or 5 strokes, it takes 7 or 8 strokes. Then 8 or 9...

You begin to overthink everything. Something that once easily flowed...now becomes mechanical and forced. Your smile and upbeat attitude are gone. Now replaced with embarassment. Nervousness. Irritability.

And finally,---the dreaded FRUSTRATION sets in. TO quit seems more and more like a good idea. (I mean who needs the aggravation?)

But you don't quit, right?The game is like an addiction to you after several weeks. There's something deep within the subconscious of we human beings that enjoys facing down a challenge...even if it's a sport.

THere's a drive to conquer in all of us. Even to the point of conquering our own weaknesses and seeming lack of ability.

It's a tough battle sometimes. If you've ever seen a golfer break his expensive titanium club over his knee, tie it in a knot, then toss it into the nearest water hazard,... Or screaming at the top of his lungs at a golf ball... Or trying to run his caddie over because he forgot to remove the flag in time...you know what I mean.

But the love still remains.

If you've ever seen a golfer drooling over a new bag of clubs in the sporting goods department of a department store... or have known yourself to pay the grounds keeper to let you play just four more holes after hours...Or remembered to bring your clubs on vacation, but left your wife standing in the drive way...you know what I mean!

The highs and lows of this game in the hearts and minds of golfers.

THIS is the emotional roller coaster I was referring to.

Going from one extreme to the next.

Can you see yourself living from day-to-day without this sport for any length of time?

Just think about that for a second...

HMMmm?

Feels like a rather BLEAK outlook doesn't it? ;-] Hm?

This sport has been "knitted" to our souls. We practically live and breath it now. And are always striving to become better. To knock just a few more strokes off.

Just keep punching, and that mountain's gonna fall!

We know that true skill is a "diamond in the rough", that can only be refined through hard work and practice.

Well...

Just keep drivin' fellow golfer! Keep drivin'!

Copyright 2005 by Kevin D. Rolle. All rights reserved.

My name is Kevin D. Rolle ("The Golf Humor Artist"). I have a site at http://www.golf-humor-asylum.com which focuses on all the humorous and comedic aspects of golf. I am also an artist and cartoonist, and give visual meaning to golf humor through an exciting golf comic strip and commentary at my website. Thanks.

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It would be nice to think that all you have to do to improve your golf score is to read the right book or watch the best video. But the fact is, improving your golf involves putting in some work. You need to have the desire to improve, and be willing to do what it takes to perfect your swing and your game. Once you find the motivation, it will be much easier to put together a plan of action for playing better golf. Your scores will improve and you'll gain more respect from your golfing buddies.

Golf involves both physical and mental skills, and you need to get the two of them working smoothly together. If you spend some time improving the way you think about golf, then you'll notice that your game starts to improve and your score drops. Attitude is extremely important in golf, so you need to work at making sure your attitude is right. This will pay off by helping to become a better player.

It's good to spend some time practicing your putting. You don't need to be at a golf course to practice putting, you can do it in your spare time at home. Practice will help you develop confidence in your ability to control the putter, and in return you'll have better control over the ball. This skill is one that will make a big difference to your golf game and your scores.

If possible, play at the same golf course consistently. Knowing a course can make a big difference to your game, because you're more confident about the general layout and the feel of the individual greens. It's easier to putt well when you know the green. Also, use the same set of golf clubs each time. The more familiar you are with your equipment, the easier it is to get your swing right and hit the ball correctly.

It can be hard, but be willing to listen to advice or even criticism, particularly from more experienced golfers. Sometimes you might need to grit your teeth a little, but remember, the best way to learn is from someone who plays better than you. Listen to what they have to say, and give some of their ideas a go. You might be surprised and discover they're right. If it helps you improve your golf, take their advice.

Remember, too, that golf can be fickle, so don't get too cocky. You may have had a brilliant day on the golf course yesterday, but that's no guarantee that you'll play well today. It's okay to proud and excited when you play well, but keep your ego in check. Otherwise you might find that you end up playing alone.

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Perhaps in no other sport does balance play such as crucial role as in golf. Golf requires a high degree of accuracy and precise movement to succeed. Balance and postural sway is determined the golfers posture, which in turn, is affected by the integrity of the core and muscle balance. This article provides some basic information on balance and balance training that a golfer will find valuable in helping him or her shave valuable points off their game.

What is balance and balance training?

In this article, the term balance actually has two meanings. The first definition of balance is comparable to that of stability or the ability to control your bodys center of mass. The other definition of balance is the concept of muscle balance.

These two concepts are actually dependent on one another that is, it is impossible to achieve a high degree of stability with muscle imbalances and vice versa. Therefore, balance training in this article refers specifically to restoring muscle balance, as stability will naturally follow.

What are muscle imbalances?

Muscle imbalances occur when a muscle on one side of a joint or body part (called the agonist muscle) becomes excessively short and tight and the muscle on the opposite side (called the antagonist) becomes lengthened and weak.

Muscle imbalances may be caused by factors such as excessive sitting in a slouched position, an old injury and even left/right hand dominance.

How do muscle imbalances affect posture?

Muscle imbalances cause predictable deviations in a golfers posture. Posture is a term to refer to the vertical alignment of the various blocks making up the human body that is the head, shoulders and pelvis.

A very common example of the relationship between posture and muscle imbalances is a golfer with unevenness of the shoulders. An unevenness of the shoulders is usually associated with an unevenness of the hips, essentially making the leg on the low side longer and the leg on the high side shorter.

In this situation the lateral stabilizing muscle called the glute medius (side butt) will be weak and lengthened on the high side and its functional antagonist, the adductors (inner thigh) muscles will be tight and strong.

What is postural sway?

Postural sway is an indicator of body alignment due to posture and how well the bodys center gravity of the body is balanced. An excellent way of checking your postural sway is to stand with each foot on a standard bathroom scale. If the weights differ by more than 5 lbs it is considered significant.

How do muscle imbalances affect posture and postural sway?

Postural sway demonstrates a deviation of the center of gravity from normal. Consider the example of the golfer with unevenness in the hips. Because he is unable to keep the hip down due to a weakness of the glute medius, it becomes necessary to shift the body weight over the high hip.

This compensation causes a C-shaped curve in the spine, bowing toward the high shoulder side and affecting postural sway such that the center of gravity shifts toward the weaker hip. As a result, a golfer with this condition may find it difficult to stand and balance on the high hip side with the shoulders level.

How does postural sway affect my golf swing?

The power of a golf swing is generated from a horizontal weight transfer. Just as a baseball pitcher uses a striding movement from his back foot to his front to generate power, a golfer does much the same during the swing. During the takeaway the golfers center of gravity shifts toward the back foot, and during the down stroke it transfers toward the front foot.

Golfers with postural sway will not only lose power in their stroke because of the compensatory weight transfer, but will also find it difficult to control the accuracy of the shot. Stability is lost and it is like trying to shoot a cannon from a canoe.

Muscle imbalances will inevitably result in injury

Muscle imbalances disrupt the natural biomechanics of the joint or joints they surround. Stabilizing muscles (called stabilizers) maintain ideal posture and optimal biomechanics by ensuring congruence of the joint surfaces; but when the stabilizers weaken from injury, poor posture or long periods of sitting, other muscles attempt to substitute or compensate for this weakness.

These compensatory muscles are called mobilizers since they are responsible for causing movement and offer little in the way of stabilizing the body. Mobilizing muscles cannot perform the role of both stabilizing and mobilizing, and as a result change the normal movement of the joint or body part.

These compensations and substitutions result in a wasting of muscle energy and power and abnormal joint wear, eventually leading to injury. Common areas of compensation, injury and pain for golfers are the low back and shoulders.

Strengthening the core muscles is key to restoring muscle balance

The core is much more than just the abdominal muscles; it is a complex of 29 muscles that act together to stabilize the lower back, pelvis and hip (called the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex or LPHC). The muscles of prime importance are the transversus abdominis and the multifidus (deepest abdominal and back muscle respectively).

The core muscles control and stabilize the region of the body where the center of gravity is located and where all human movement, including the golf swing begins. The core acts as the primary anchor for almost every muscle in the body to pull off and as the bridge for conducting forces between the upper and lower body. The powerful leg muscles attach to the LPHC directly via the hip, while the muscles of the arms and shoulders attach indirectly via the spine and trunk.

Strengthening the core muscles helps reset muscle balance far from the core itself however it is important to combine a core strengthening routine with an effective stretching program for chronically tight mobilizing muscles too.

Stretch the tight muscles, work the weak ones

Be leery of any golf fitness professional offering a conditioning program promising big results, yet who has not performed a thorough postural analysis, gait analysis or some other form of functional testing. These tests provide telltale clues to the origin of muscle imbalances.

Tight muscles are usually overactive and strong, and lengthened muscles are usually underactive and weak. Overactive and underactive are terms that refer to the amount of motor nerve activity a muscle receives from the brain.

Typically, the muscles that tighten and become overly active are the hip flexors (groin muscles), low back, hamstrings, upper trapezius and levator scapula and the neck extensors. Muscles that are typically weak and underactive are the abdominal muscles especially the transversus abdominis, glutes (butt), lower trapezius, serratus anterior and the deep stabilizing muscles of the neck and spine (coli and multifidus respectively).

Consistently stretching a muscle will help to reduce the overactivity, plus will physically stretch the muscle fibers that have shortened. Strengthening the weak stabilizing muscles will increase nerve activity and cause the fibers to shorten somewhat.

In closing, this article has focused on the identification of muscle imbalances, their influence on postural sway and the resulting effect on the golfers ability to play consistently with power and accuracy. Correcting muscle imbalances is very complex, as the human body is a master at compensation and adaptation; but with instruction from an experienced golf fitness professional, the task becomes much easier. Remember it is better to treat the root cause of your hook or slice and lower back pain than whitewash it over with continual golf lessons and frequent club upgrades; both of which tend to enforce muscle compensations even further.

David Petersen is a Personal Trainer/Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Golf Biomechanic. He is the owner and founder of B.O.S.S. Fitness Inc. based in Oldsmar, Florida. More articles and information can be found at http://www.bossfitness.com

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