Hidden Health Habits

How the Little Things Add Up In Golf

In golf fitness, so much of our time and energy goes into making sure the swing is as effective,  efficient, and powerful as it can be. Having a fundamentally sound swing, as well as the proper mobility, stability, coordination, and sequencing is critical to long term success and long term health in golf. 

Yet, the golf swing takes up only a small fraction of our time during our 4 hour (and sometimes longer) rounds.  Obviously, walking around the course, carrying a bag, pushing a cart, and riding can take a physical toll on your round, and our training plans at SMART Golf & Fitness take all aspects of fitness into account. 

For more information on why we know golf fitness to be critical, read this blog on the importance of golf fitness.

In terms of movement, what are we missing?

Oftentimes, the little details make a significant difference, and that can boil down to your “Hidden Habits” on the golf course, on the driving range, and in everyday life.

Several years ago at a conference,  I heard a sports physical therapist speak in regards to an epiphany he had while treating a successful PGA Tour Pro.   When the therapist learned he would be treating this golfer for back pain, he did his research and studied up on his swing as much as he could before meeting him in person at a charity golf event.

While following him around the course during his round, he noticed a few tendencies he did not consider at first:

• Whenever this golfer bent down to tee the ball, pick up the tee, mark his ball, and grab the ball out of the hole – he lunged and bent down over his right leg.  That is typically 4 lunges on one hole, on just his right leg.  
• Whenever he was watching the other players in his group hit, he stood cross legged, with most of the weight on his right leg. This averaged out to around 5 minutes per hole of a single leg stand.  

Let’s do the math.

If that was a typical hole, then he was doing:

• 4 lunges on 1 hole is equal to 72 lunges over 18 holes
• 5 minutes of a single leg stand for 1 hole is equal to 90 minutes of a single leg stand for 18 holes. 

If that player plays 6 rounds a week (4 round tournament, plus 1 practice round and 1 pro am round) that’s equal to:

• 432 more lunges on the right leg than the left
• 9 more hours of single leg standing on the right leg than the left.

No wonder his back was hurting! 

What does this mean?

Just think for a second, if not pointed out and corrected, what kind of long term strength and mobility imbalances these “hidden habits” can create. If that player’s right leg eventually gets fatigued toward the end of a round or the end of a week, it can throw off the precise sequencing and timing of the golf swing when it could matter most, and over time that fatigue could cause compensations elsewhere.

This therapist knew the best way to help this player was to make him aware of these tendencies and put a plan into place to correct them.  WIthin a few weeks, this player’s back pain noticeably lessened.  

Granted, most golfers do not play golf on a PGA Tour schedule.  Even still, these mindless, repetitive movements and positions could add up over time, and not just from time on the golf course.  How we are positioned at work, in our car, how we practice, etc. put us into the shape and posture we are in, and sometimes, that may not be ideal for optimal golf performance.  

Here are a few examples when correcting a hidden habit can prevent imbalances:

• If you lunge down to pick up a ball, tee, marker, etc., try to utilize each leg relatively evenly, to not create a strength or mobility imbalance.
• When you are standing on the course watching other players hit, try to keep your weight distributed equally between both legs, or shift them back and forth to keep moving.
• If you can utilize a double strap to carry your bag, do that.  If you can’t, try to alternate which shoulder carries your bag every other hole.  This can affect your posture and core strength.
• Slumped posture when sitting, driving a car, looking at your phone, and even when shielding your eyes from the sun when walking the fairway can reduce your thoracic spine’s ability to rotate by settling into that “hunched” position. The more upright your posture, the better you can rotate, so try to keep a neutral spine when not moving for prolonged periods of time.  
• If you work a desk job, try to stand up and walk around for about 10 minutes every hour if you can.  Prolonged sitting can tighten and weaken certain muscles, like hip flexors and glutes, from being in a shortened and deactivated position.  Periodic activation like walking is great to reduce this strain.  

About the Author

Dan Ellis, an Arlington Heights native, graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2007 with a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology. That year he moved to Austin, Texas to pursue and earn a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology at the University of Texas, and begin his career in the fitness and sports performance industry. While earning his Masters, Dan was a volunteer strength coach for the UT men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as coaching local golfers, high school, and college athletes.

After Texas, Dan spent 2 seasons as a minor league strength coach in the Oakland A’s farm system, including 1 season with the Kane County Cougars. Since then, Dan has remained in Chicago working with people, golfers, and athletes of all ages and abilities, from youth to NCAA, NFL, NBA, MLB, and the Olympics.

Click here to learn more about Dan.