A Case study in a holistic approach to game improvement 1
“If you don’t test, it’s just a guess!” This month we will help you to understand how important it is to make a full diagnosis to determine the cause of your swing problem and whether the cause is technical, physical or both. As captain of your ship, your golf coach will be the first to determine your direction.
Let’s take a look at the tests that your Gary Player professional will use to determine whether you have any limiting physical issues that may be causing the technical problem.
Case Study 1 – Anri, new golfer
Technical challenge: Lack of club head speed
Physical issue: Hip stability
Physical test: Bridge test
Anri’s challenge is that her hips over-rotate which causes her trail leg to straighten. Power in the golf swing is generated in a shoulder rotation on top of a resisting lower body, as shown in the pic on the left. When her hips over-rotate she loses her potential leg power (right pic).
The physical cause of the over-rotation in her hips is a lack of stability in her glutes, which was uncovered in a simple test performed by Ian, called the “Bridge Test”, illustrated below.
This test clearly showed that Anri’s glutes are unable to physically resist her upper body coil in the swing, since she was unable to maintain the bridge position without cramping in her hamstrings or “shaking & baking” in her hip area.
Case Study 2 – Gary, 16-handicap
Technical challenge: Swaying off the ball
Physical issue: Lack of hip mobility
Physical test: Pelvic rotation test
Gary sways off the ball which causes his center of gravity to move too far over his trail leg, which in turn causes an inconsistent strike.
The physical cause of Gary’s swaying is a lack of hip mobility and the test that revealed this to Ian was the “Pelvic Rotation Test”.
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This test is designed to determine whether the hips can rotate whilst maintaining a still and stable upper body. Gary could not comfortably perform this movement, which explains his technical challenge of swaying off the ball. |
Case Study 3, TJ, performance golfer
Technical challenge: Swing plane consistency
Physical issue: Scapular stability
Physical test: 90/90 test
TJ struggles to keep his club on plane consistently, which prevents him from gaining the accuracy he needs to perform at the high levels he aspires to.
The physical cause of TJ’s challenge is a lack of Scapular stability
and the test Ian performed to determine this limitation is called the “90/90 Shoulder Rotation Test”.
This test showed that TJ struggles to keep his left arm on plane. Due to scapular instability he cannot fold his right elbow in correctly in the backswing and that causes his left arm to swing too steeply.
So in summary, TJ should be able to get his hand to go back through at least 90 degrees, Gary should be more mobile in his hips and Anri should improve her ability to hold the bridge position.
Next month we will show how we help our “case studies” to work towards achieving these physical goals.
Presented by Ian Corbett, your fitness & conditioning specialist & Steph Spies, your AAA-class PGA and Gary Player teaching professional
