Keeping the Golf Game Sharp This Fall/Winter

Off-Season Golf Training

It’s that time of year again folks.  The weather is getting cooler, the leaves will start changing soon.  Golfers in this area will retreat to the warmth of cages to work on their swing and maybe even the office to work on their putting.  So once that cold weather blows in and the snow starts falling, most golfers put the clubs away.  Sure, you could put on some ear muffs, a wool scarf, and a nice heavy winter coat and head out to the driving range but it’s just not the same.  So if you’re like many other golfers out there, once the clubs are put away for the winter, you probably aren’t working on your game much, unless you’re playing Tiger Woods on Wii. If you don’t have the cash or the desire to relocate to a warmer climate, what are you doing to work on your game? Most would say they are working out at a gym, and some might even say they are using some type of indoor golfing net.
This is where SSOR can help you and your game.  For most avid golfers, it’s hard to go a season without developing some aches and pains and maybe a few faults in your swing during the course of the year.  And winter time is a great opportunity to get back in shape and work on any swing faults without even swinging a club.

 Swing Faults

There are three things that lead to efficiency breakdown: poor mechanics, poor conditioning and poor equipment. Working on your mechanics and conditioning are two areas that we can work on during the off-season. Having poor mechanics means that there is a breakdown in the swing that causes common swing faults such as early extension or sway in your backswing. Poor conditioning means that there are limitations in the body that could be creating problems within the kinematic sequence of your swing.  (For example, poor core strength leads to loss of posture in your swing, which ultimately causes poor ball striking.)  In a majority of cases there is a significant correlation between your swing faults and your musculoskeletal deficits. We refer to this as a  “Physical Fitness Handicap” (PFH).
There are two key points that are most important in ball striking. We need a good kinematic sequence (which is the key to consistency and accuracy), and we also need a good segmental stabilization (which is the key to power). In order to assess these two areas, it  is highly recommended that you go through a golf specific physical assessment to look at your mobility, flexibility and strength. It is also important that we look for any faults within you swing so  that we can determine if they correlate to your physical assessment.  Through this we can then begin to build a comprehensive program that will start to work on these deficits so that you can maximize your game.

Golf Exercise Program

When you go to the gym, you don’t generally see machines that tell you how to exercise specifically for golf. But once we have determined your PFH, we can begin to build an off-season exercise program that will help improve your golf game.  With a program that has been designed specifically for you, you no longer have to worry about whether you are doing the right exercises or not.
At SSOR, John Smith is our golf fitness trained sports physical therapist through the Titleist Performance Program. He understands the golf swing, and the staff at SSOR are experts in sports rehabilitation if you need it following surgery or if you are having pain. If you are bothered by any aches or pains when playing the game or notice you just aren’t hitting the ball as far as you feel you should be able to, SSOR is the place to go for your off-season golf program. Call us today and schedule an appointment.