We’d all like to have a beautiful, flowing swing like Adam Scott, tee power like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, and the ability to repeat that swing round after round, day after day.
But what is it that stops most fans of that powerful, silky swing?
Most likely it is your hamstrings and lower back.
Let’s explore the connection between your hammies, your lower back, and that less-than-pro golf swing from the PGA, Golf Magazine.
Let’s start with the hamstrings. Most of us think we know where our hamstrings are and what they do, but do we really know? We always hear about baseball players, footballers, and basketball players suffering hamstring injuries. It is a common problem in many sports, including golf.
What are they and what do they do?
The hamstrings are a group of muscles located at the back of the upper leg. The hamstring group consists of three individual muscles: the semimembrinous, the semitendinosus, and the biceps femoris. To make my writing easier and for your eyes, we’ll keep it simple and call them hamstrings. The function of your body’s hamstrings is quite complex.
I will try to simplify it. First, the hamstrings bend the knee. Additionally, the hamstrings help stabilize the hip area. So when you’re doing just about any activity, your hamstrings essentially help keep your hips in place. They are great stabilizers. So next time you’re on the dance floor trying to do your best Fred Astaire or John Travolta impression, think about how hard those hammies are working!
In addition to bending the knee and stabilizing the hips, the hamstrings help with the rotation of the leg internally and externally. Let’s try something. At this time, stand up and turn your foot inward (dove toe) and then turn your foot outward (duck toe). These two foot / leg movements use the hamstrings to make the inward and outward movements happen. This is certainly not a complete list, but it should give you an idea of how involved the hamstrings are when it comes to the human body.
What about my back pain?
I think we all know where the lower back is, especially if you are a golfer. If you experience lower back problems like half the world’s golfers, you know intimately where your lower back is and how it affects your daily life.
The lower back is essentially a group of small muscles. All these small muscles together, including the lower back of the body. The muscles of the lower back have many functions. For starters, the lumbar muscles help stabilize the spine at all times, especially during movement. In addition, the lower back muscles are widely used to rotate the torso and to bend the hips forward or backward. Keep in mind that your body’s lumbar muscles are probably active and working 99% of the time. They are worked a lot! Daily. When was the last time you pulled weeds in your backyard for hours? How did your lower back and your hammies feel the next day?
All right, what about that choppy swing my golf buddies give me a hard time?
Now on to the golf swing. The golf swing is essentially a total body movement that requires the body to move through multiple planes of motion. The body has to stabilize your body in motion, accelerate aggressively on the downswing, rotate rapidly, and decelerate in a very short order during the golf swing. This causes enormous stress on the body and leads to general fatigue. For some of us, fatigue sets in on the course, and for others it’s after a 72-hole weekend and a few hands of poker with the guys. For the PGA Tour pros, hopefully it will be after walking until the 18th on Sunday in front of television cameras and thousands of viewers.
The connection is that your hamstrings and lower back are working very hard during the golf swing, and very often one or the other (lower back or hamstrings or even both) becomes “strained.” The tension we are talking about is something that most of you have felt at one point or another. And I think it would be safe to say that in addition to feeling these muscles tense, you know what effect it has on your game.
So, knowing that these two parts of the body are connected to the swing, now what?
Here’s why the Golf Channel won’t be calling you soon to exclaim about your beautiful swing … until you get a few things fixed.
Both the lower back and the hamstrings become “tight” when swinging a stick. When you actively use these two muscle groups in your golf swing, these muscles get “tired.” What do I mean when I say “tired”? Exactly that! They get tired, which means that the muscles get fatigued. They have no more gas left in the tank. And when muscles get fatigued, they don’t work properly or efficiently, and they get shortened and restricted. Basically, this is the body’s way of telling you that your muscles are tired and need to rest. It is also a kind of “defense mechanism” of the body to prevent injury. If you continue to “work” the muscles that are tired, they will eventually injure themselves. So when you swing the golf swing for an extended period of time, say for example 18 holes or a long practice session, your lower back and hamstrings will tire. If they get tired enough, they will become “tense.” And that’s the point where these muscles start to affect your swing. Your swing looks stiff and choppy.
So is fatigue really making my swing look stiff?
The golf swing requires your body to move through a fairly complex range of motion. This range of motion is essentially the back swing for tracking. This wide range of motion allows the golfer to swing the club in the correct path, create club head speed, and swing the club at the correct timing. Ultimately, it provides the golfer with the correct golf swing. For all these movements to occur in the correct sequence, all muscles in the body must be “loose” and have their normal ranges of motion at their disposal. It is as if someone took most of their clubs before a match. No putter. Driverless (probably a bonus for most golfers). Without wedges. You’re probably not going to score as well without all of your critical suits at your disposal.
Without his hammies and lower back working with a full tank of gas, his golf swing is stiff and choppy. This results in a reduction in clubhead speed and a lesser chance of swinging the club in the correct swing plane or with the correct timing. It is amazing to think how these two muscle groups that are associated with the golf swing can hamper your performance if they are “tight.”
That’s why I haven’t improved much after all those lessons!
We all need a coach or a coach. Phil Mickelson certainly has a swing coach, a short game coach, and I help him with his physical training.
What I’m saying is that without training your body to match your swing, your improvement in your swing will be limited by the strength, flexibility, and endurance of your hamstrings and lower back.
I would suggest implementing a golf specific training program that helps prepare the body to swing a golf club. This type of program focuses on developing the proper ranges of motion in these muscle groups for the golf swing. This type of program helps build the strength, endurance, and power needed for the golf swing. Also, a program like this can help prevent injuries to the lower back and other parts of the body.
