Golf

Flexibility can make or break you

By RODNEY PAGE, Times Staff Writer
Published July 26, 2007

It is a routine most golfers fall into: Arrive at the course about 20 minutes before your tee time. Take a few practice swings, hit a few balls and tee it up on the first hole. ¶ Eventually, that routine will catch up to you. And when it does, St. Petersburg chiropractor Terry Golden has a table reserved. ¶ Golden, a Cornell football player from 1992-94, specializes in injuries to athletes. He has seen a lot of golfers come through his doors with back, shoulder and elbow pain. ¶ It is mostly a product of bad swing habits and bad preparation. Golden will leave the swing habits to your local professional. But he can help with the preparation. ¶ Flexibility is a must for any good golfer. So Golden offers five ways to gain flexibility and perhaps avoid a doctor's appointment.

Get the blood flowing

You may get strange looks from other golfers, but before you begin to stretch, do some aerobic work. Lightly jog, run in place or do some jumping jacks for about five minutes to get the heart pumping. You can also take some light swings with a club.

"You want to be warmed up before you start stretching," Golden said. "If you just get out of the car and start stretching, you could cause micro tears in the muscles. You want to increase your heart rate. That means some kind of walking or jogging, something to get the blood flowing. Most people don't do that, but it is important to get the heart pumping."

Golden also uses something called "the stick," which is, well ... a stick. It is rolled over the muscles and stimulates blood flow.

Loosen the muscles

Once the blood is flowing, it's time to stretch the muscles. Start by getting the leg muscles loose. Stretch the hamstrings by touching your toes. Put one leg on a bench or the seat of the golf cart to fully stretch the hamstring. Put your foot against a wall and lunge to stretch the calf muscle.

Then move on to the back and shoulders. Golden suggests grabbing the pole of the golf cart with one arm to stretch the back of the shoulder. For the back, you can take a golf club, put it behind your neck and rest both arms on the end. Then slowly pivot until the club is pointing to the front. That will help the hips and lower back.

"There are lots of different muscles used in the golf swing," Golden said. "But the ones that we see the most injuries from are lower back, shoulder and elbow. You need to stretch the hamstrings, the calf muscles and the quadriceps. Those are simple stretches, and you don't need any special equipment for that. You can use what you have: the golf cart, your clubs, the benches. You can hit six or seven muscle groups in about five or 10 minutes. If you do that, you'll be head and shoulders above 99 percent of the average golfers."

The driving range

You're loose and ready to go. Now it's time to hit some balls. The main thing, Golden says, is patience. Don't hit shot after shot. Take your time between shots, almost like a regular round of golf.

Also, hit as many different clubs as possible. That will allow you to work on different swing grooves, Golden said. An 8-iron swing is different from a driver swing, for example.

"I see people hitting too many balls," Golden said. "They'll hit a hundred balls in about 10 minutes, one swing after another. That's not what happens in golf. Look at the pros on the range. They'll hit a ball, then stand back and think about the next shot, which is what happens during a round."

Staying loose

Now that you've teed off and started your round, it doesn't hurt to stay loose. Flexibility is the key. The more flexible you are, the better you will play. So any time there is a lull in the round, take a few seconds to stretch.

"You're golfing for four or five hours, you need to be stretching along the way too," Golden said. "If it's crowded and you're waiting on the tee, you could get tight. It could be four or five hours before you last stretched. Just do the same stretches you did before the round. It doesn't take anything special."

Warm down

Before heading off to the 19th hole, give the muscles one more stretch. Golden said golfers would be surprised how many muscles and how much strength is used in one golf swing.

After five hours and 90-100 shots (for most of us), the muscles are tired. To prevent tightening, do some of the same warm-down stretches that you did during the warmup.

"Not only is all this safer, it will also make you a better golfer," Golden said.

[Last modified July 26, 2007, 14:37:07]