Healthy Golfer

Written by: Laurie Dakin	1:35 PM PST - 3/12/2009
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Whether we are doing Pilates, practicing yoga or playing golf, one of the most influential factors to success is mind/body awareness. The more aware and connected we are to our movements the more we can refine and improve our skills, whether we're on the reformer, the mat, or the fairway. This said, it gives golfers of all ages and levels more incentive to use Pilates and yoga to improve their game and increase their fitness.

The successful golfer is acutely aware of body position from address to follow through. Pilates requires the participant to be intently focused on stabilizing the trunk (core muscles) against the movement of the arms and legs from the beginning of a session to the end. Yoga allows us to slow down, while lengthening and strengthening the body through fluid movement combined with conscious breath. No matter what your chosen activity, mind/body awareness is key to a successful and enjoyable experience.

In this month's article we'll examine three Pilates' exercises and three yoga poses designed to help the golfer increase mind/body awareness and create a stronger, more fluid body that moves with ease on and off the links. Keep in mind these exercises are best performed under the instruction of a trained professional. Below you'll get a taste of the how you can benefit from this work and why Pilates and yoga can be a truly effective piece of equipment for your bag.

Side Twist Sitting

Lower back feeling tight? Is there a noticeable “twinge” in your back on your follow through? Side Twist Sitting can help you open up those muscles. It emphasizes a pure rotation of the spine. Properly performed, the torso begins rotating from the bottom of the spine and spirals up against a fixed pelvis, giving the participant the feeling of growing taller. Keeping the pelvis fixed and not rotating from the shoulder gives the participant a very clear picture of his/her true spinal mobility (or lack thereof). Armed with that truth, you can work to improve mobility and flexibility.

Side Splits

Side Splits stresses a stable torso over the movement of the legs. The exercise works to strengthen the abductor and adductor muscles. In order to keep the shape of the spine, you must use the hip and gluteal (buttocks) muscles and keep the abdominals strongly engaged, specifically; the rectus abdominis, internal/external obliques (along the sides of the torso) and the transverse abdominis (lower region). Maintaining the shape of the spine is the piece that relates to your golf game.

John Wood, who caddies for PGA tour player, Hunter Mahan, is an avid Pilate's devotee, and through his own Pilates practice, has reaped the benefits of a stronger, more fluid body. He is especially partial to the Seated Twist Sitting and Side Splits.

John says, “These two exercises work hand in hand for a golfer. One of the most important aspects of a strong, repeatable golf swing is maintaining your spine angle from address, through the backswing, the downswing, and the follow through. Two things that make this happen are having a strong core, and being very aware of what your body is doing.

These two exercises, abduction and side twisting, do both of those at the same time. When you really dig in with your abs, and use the muscles of the back, you can be assured the correct muscles are doing the work. It's amazing how similar a feel it is to how your torso should work during the golf swing.”

John noted that, “Your body acts as one unit, you feel a tremendous connection, and are keenly aware of any moving parts that shouldn't be moving. “I like to close my eyes on these and really simplify the move. It quiets my mind and really gets me focused on how this move should feel when done correctly...exactly like the golf swing. (Except for the closing my eyes part!)”

Single Thigh Stretch

Anyone with tight hamstrings and hip flexors (muscles in the front to the hips) will appreciate this exercise. It simultaneously opens up the hamstrings (of leg on floor) and lengthens the hip flexors (of the leg on the reformer). It's also important to maintain the length and natural shape of the spine through core stabilization. Despite the fact that you'll feel the greatest sensations in your leg and hip muscles, proper and vigorous use of the core is the mainstay of the movement.

John really took a liking to this exercise. He says, “The Single Thigh Stretch is my favorite exercise. It really gets at my two tightest areas, the hip flexors and hamstrings, working alternate legs at the same time. While I caddie, I constantly find myself bending over and shortening my hip flexors, and if you are a "walker" when you play golf, I would guess you do the same thing. This really opens that area up in one leg while stretching the hamstring in the other. I literally feel my posture has improved when I finish this exercise.”

Upward Facing Dog

Upward Facing dog works to widen across the collar bone, by lifting the sternum upward. Additionally, the hip flexors get an opportunity to open up, there is an extension of the spine and the use of the abdominals and gluteals work to strengthen those areas, and keep the movement out of the lower back. The regular practice of widening across the collar bone is a good reminder for proper address. Tight hip flexors can inhibit your swing, so it's important to keep them mobile and flexible.

Seated Forward Bend

From a standing position, can you hinge at the hips, keeping length in the spine and at the back of the knee and touch your toes? If you answered, “no”, keep reading. Tight hamstrings seem to be the bane of everyone's existence, golfers or otherwise. I rarely meet a client who doesn't complain of tight hammies. Rigid hamstrings preclude you from comfortably hinging at the hip and on most occasions cause hunching at the shoulders on address. None of that will get you the yardage you want.

Kim Welch, winner of Big Break Kaanapali, 2008, experiences tightness in the hips and hamstring, and this year is looking to yoga to alleviate that discomfort. If you experience tight hamstrings, the muscles of the lumbar spine (lower back) are probably tight as well. Seated Forward Bend addresses both of these issues.

As you see in fig. 5, we've elevated Kim's hip by seating her on a yoga block, this makes it easier for her to keep length in the spine, from the crown of the head to the base of the spine. Since she can't comfortably reach her toes, the strap gives her the length she needs to feel the pose work. She can deepen the stretch when she's ready by shortening the strap.

Pigeon

Since most of us don't get to walk 18 holes every day, we probably find ourselves in a seated position far too often. Whether it's behind a desk, a steering wheel, or at a conference table, being seated is one the biggest contributors to tight hips. Pigeon pose opens hip rotators (muscles around your buttocks) and the hip flexors (muscles on the front of your thigh and hip). Kim particularly likes this exercises because she can immediately feel her hip start to open up, not always pleasant at first, but definitely effective.

As a golfer, tight hips restrict your trunk rotation, limit your distance off the tee, and inhibit proper posture at address. Over time it will also cause back pain, the muscles of the hip wrap around the pelvis and attach to the lower back. If these muscles are short, the lower back muscles will be stressed on rotation. Hence, when you swing, the lower back muscles get pulled.

As we all know, Kim was known for distance on the Big Break Kaanapali, despite her tight hips. I can only imagine what great things will come to her game from her regular yoga practice and focus on lengthening her hamstrings and hips.

Yoga and Pilates build a strong inner foundation for the golfer. Each strives to improve muscular length and restore the natural curves of the spine. This type of work crafts a body that resists injury, improves technique and creates a more enjoyable experience on the course. And it undeniably reinforces that what you do off the course, is just as important as what you do on course.

Laurie Dakin, founder of Dakin Fitness, a wellness-based company, specializing in personal fitness programming, Pilates, yoga and corporate wellness design. She is ACE certified and Stott Pilates- trained. She is located in downtown Sacramento and can be reached at LaurieDakin@sbcglobal.net, (916) 206-1206