Stiff And Choppy Golf Swing

My golf buddies belly laugh watching my
stiff and choppy golf swing. How can I
fix it?


We would all like to have a fluid, beautiful swing like Adam Scott, power off the tee
like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, and the ability to repeat that swing round after
round, day after day.

But what is holding back most amateurs from that silky smooth and powerful swing?

Most likely, its your hamstrings and your low back.

We are going to explore the connection between your hammies, your low back and that
less than PGA pro, Golf Magazine type golf swing.

Lets start with your hamstrings. Most of us think we know where our hamstrings are
located and what they do, but do we really? Were always hearing about baseball
players, football players and basketball players coming down with hamstring injuries. Its
a common problem in a lot of sports, including golf.

What are they and what do they do?

The hamstrings are a group of muscles located on the back part of your upper leg. The
hamstring group consists of three individual muscles: the semimembrinosus,
semitendinosus, and the biceps femoris. To make it easier on my typing and to your eyes
well just keep it simple and call them your hamstrings. The function of the hamstrings in
your body is pretty complex.

Ill try to simplify it for you. First off, your hamstrings bend your knee. Also, your
hamstrings help stabilize your hip area. So when you are performing almost any activity
the hamstrings are essentially helping to hold your hips in place. They are great
stabilizers. So the next time you are on the dance floor trying to do your best impression
of Fred Astaire or John Travolta, think about how hard those hammies are working!

In addition to bending the knee and stabilizing the hips, your hamstrings help with your
rotation of your leg internally and externally. Lets try something. Right now, stand up and
turn your foot inward (pigeon toed) and then rotate your foot out (duck toed). 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 insight to how
involved the hamstrings are when it comes to the human body.

What about my aching low back!

I think we all know where the low back is located, especially if you are a golfer. If you
experience low back issues like half of the golfers in the world, you intimately know
where the low back is and how it affects your daily life.

The low back is essentially a group of small muscles. All these little muscles together
comprise the lower back region of the body. The lower back muscles have a lot of
functions. To start off, the lower back muscles help stabilize your spine at all times,
especially during movement. In addition, the lower back muscles are used extensively to
rotate the torso and to bend your hips forward/backward. Keep in mind that the lower
back muscles of your body are probably active and functioning 99% of the time. They
are worked a ton! Every day. Whens the last time you pulled weeds in the backyard for
hours? How did your low back and hammies feel the next day?

Alright now, what about that choppy swing my golf buddies give me a hard time about?

Now, onto 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 moving body, accelerate aggressively on the downswing, rotate quickly, and
decelerate in a very short order during the golf swing. This causes enormous stress on
the body and results in fatigue all over. For some of us that fatigue sets in on the range,
and for others its after a weekend of 72 holes and a few hands of poker with the guys.
For the PGA Tour pros, hopefully its after walking up the 18th on Sunday in front of TV
cameras and thousands of spectators.

The connection is that hamstrings and the low back are working extremely hard during
the golf swing, and quite often either one or the other (low back or hamstrings or even
both) gets tight. The tightness we talk about is something most all of you have felt at one
time or another. And I think it would be safe to say that in addition to feeling these
muscles getting tight you know what effect it has on your game.

So, knowing that these two body parts are connected to the swing, now what?

Heres why the Golf Channel is not going to be calling you anytime soon to exclaim about
your beautiful swing.until you fix a few things.

Both the low back and hamstrings become tight from swinging a club. When you are
actively using both of these muscle groups in the golf swing, these muscles get tired.
What do I mean when I say tired? Exactly that! They get tired, meaning the muscles get
fatigued. They have no more gas left in the tank. And when muscles get fatigued they dont
function properly or efficiently, and they shorten and become restricted. This is
essentially the bodys way of telling you that your muscles are tired and they need a rest.
It is also a defense mechanism of sorts by the body to prevent injury. If you continue to
work muscles that are tired they will eventually become injured. So when you are
performing the golf swing for an extended amount of time, say, for instance, 18 holes or a
long practice session, your low back and hamstrings are going to get tired. If they get
tired enough, they will become tight. And that is the point where these muscles start to
affect your swing. Your swing looks stiff and choppy.

So its the fatigue that really makes my swing look stiff?

The golf swing requires your body to move through a pretty complex range of motion.
This range of motion is essentially the back swing to the follow through. This large range
of motion allows the golfer to swing the club on the correct path, create club head speed,
and swing the club with the correct timing. Ultimately, it provides the golfer with the
correct golf swing. In order for all these movements to occur in the right sequence, all
the muscles of the body must be loose and have their normal ranges of motion available
to them. Its like someone taking most of your clubs away before a match. No putter. No
driver (probably a benefit for most golfers). No wedges. You are probably not going to
score as well without all your critical clubs available to you.

Without your hammies and your low back working with a full tank of gas, youve got your
stiff and choppy golf swing. This results in reduced club head speed and less likelihood
of swinging the club on the correct swing plane or with the correct timing. Amazing
when you think how these two muscles groups that are associated to the golf swing can
hinder your performance if they are tight.

So thats why I havent gotten much better after all those lessons!

We all need a coach or a trainer. Phil Mickelson certainly has a swing coach, a short
game coach, and I help him with his physical training.

What Im 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 low back area.

I would suggest the implementation of a golf-specific training program that assists in
getting the body ready 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 assists in developing the needed strength, endurance, and power required of the
golf swing. In addition, a program like this can assist in the prevention of injuries to the
lower back and other parts of the body. Finding a quality, golf-specific, PGA Tour-
proven program can be difficult.

Thats where we come in. Our programs have helped golfers from amateurs to a Masters
Champion. They are available to you at www.bioforcegolf.com. Programs at our site are
geared towards developing your body around the golf swing. They essentially are swing
tools working on the piece of machinery that swings that 450 cc driver you just bought!
The programs are tour proven and work for both the professional and the amateur. They
do not take long to perform (15 minutes a day). And I think it is safe to say anyone
serious about their golf game will spend fifteen minutes a day with a program that could
lower their handicap by 30%. Dont you think? Thirty percent!

Check it out and I am sure you will agree.

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today.
He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has
made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques
available to amateur golfers on the website www.bioforcegolf.com. Check out his
manual and DVD, Your Body & Your Swing, (
www.bioforcegolf.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=93 ) on
BioForceGolf.com. To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com.

About the Author
Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today.
He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has
made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques
available to amateur golfers on the website www.bioforcegolf.com.