Back pain is a common hurdle for many golfers at some point in their playing journey. So, a lot of amateur golfers also battle with the frustrating slice.
Now, there are various reasons behind back pain, but today, I want to focus on one of the most widespread anti-heroes related to your golf technique: “The Sway.” So, without any further ado, let’s dive straight into it:
If you want to smoothly pivot on your right hip (if you’re a right-handed golfer), there are a few important physical factors to work on:
- First up, it’s crucial to have good internal rotation in your right hip. If your body can’t rotate around that hip because of joint or muscle limitations, you might end up swaying.
- Another key factor is the ability to separate your upper body from your lower body, allowing you to make a solid shoulder turn without that sway. This separation often gets hindered by limited spinal mobility.
- Last but not least, you want to be able to keep your right leg stable during the backswing. This relies on the strength and stability of your glute muscles, which prevent your right hip from lifting and moving sideways when you swing.
Many golfers find the sway tough to execute, but what’s not widely known is that this sway is the starting point of the bad slice. When golfers attempt to fix their slice, they usually focus on things like their grip and posture, which are indeed crucial.
Now, you might be wondering how this sway is connected to both the slice and back pain.
Well, here’s the deal: if you’re swaying, you’re missing out on a solid base to shift your weight from the right foot during the transition into the downswing. This not only robs you of power but also messes with the natural sequence of your swing.
To break it down, when you sway, your head and upper body tilt towards the target, which messes up your spine angle. This puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the left side of your spine.
As a result, you might kickstart your downswing with your arms, leading to that over-the-top move and an outside-to-inside swing path, which is exactly what you need for a slice.
But that’s not all. When you follow through, you might end up with another reverse spine angle, creating what we call the “crunch factor.” And guess what? That crunch factor can bring on lower back pain on your right side. None of this is a winning situation for your golf game or your back!
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