HEALTH MATTERS

GETTING FIT FOR '06

by Dr. David Berv

As golfers dust off their clubs in preparation for the new season, we also need to attend to our deconditioned bodies. Spring training for avid players requires polishing one’s body mechanics. Golf is a “feel” sport, with timing and tempo, balance and posture, golf muscles and golf motions being instrumental to one’s success. The following steps outline some effective measures to regain what the winter has taken away as the new season swings into action.

Step 1: Attend to your aches and pains. A nagging lower back, sore knee or rotator cuff injury can magnify and distort efficient mechanics. These body compensations, compounded by reinforced practice sessions, can lead to season-long inconsistencies.

Step 2: Make your weight training routine golf-specific. Perform lifting exercises in a standing position as much as possible. One can also benefit from sitting or lying flat on an unstable surface such a large rubber exercise ball while using hand weights. Both of these techniques require your body to utilize core strength and general stability to properly execute the motions. In contrast, seated postures with back or chest supports give an artificial mechanical advantage that is incongruent with the physical requirements of the golf swing.

Step 3: Practice the subtleties of weight shift. Try this technique: Take a hip-width stance with a slight bend in the knees. Slowly transfer most of your weight onto one foot, keeping both knees bent and your head steady – no dipping up and down.Next, slowly transfer your weight onto the ball of your foot, then your heel, while maintaining good balance and ground feel. Now, switch your weight to the other side and repeat the motion a few times. This will control one’s early-season tendency to sway and slide as well as promote extension tendencies.

Step 4: Check out your posture. It’s important to get visual feedback as to how much we really are slumped over the ball or how wide a stance we think we are taking. Observe yourself in a full-length mirror in the address position from both a face-on and down the line view. Play around with more stable and better postures. You could even continue with this idea by observing yourself in your backswing or finish posture.Perceptions of our own posture are often far from reality.Awareness of posture will lead to less slouching in your daily life and more consistent ball striking on the course.