Junior Golf Fitness

Fitness training for the junior golfer in high school and college is a key foundation for playing competitive golf. TPI has gathered the best training plans and thinking from expert sources around the world and integrated them into an approach that we think is currently the best in the US. We see the details of this training in the TPI Junior Coach classes and TPI Golf Fitness classes where several top international instructors contribute their expertise. Here's what they find.

Junior athletes in the 12 - 15 yr age bracket typically experience a developmental growth spurt that governs what they can realistically accomplish in golf without excess risk of injury. It's a good period for focusing on speed and quickness in fitness training. We like incorporating exercise challenges that corrrespond to the wide variations in strength and coordination we see at this stage. We want to increase the development of fast twitch muscle fibers in this growth phase.

Juniors in the 16 - 18 yr age group can increase their focus on strength and power training. The key here is to be sure that developing muscle and bones are not stressed to the point of inducing overuse injuries. These types of injuries are a common problem in juniors who bring dedication and determination to the training facility. Safe training progressions need to be built on a solid athletic base that permit the development of explosive rotational power.

Power is the product of strength and speed; and golf is a rotational sport. It means that developing explosive rotational power will help a talented junior to play the best golf their talent and training level will allow. In these age groups, physical training phases need to be coordinated with biological (developmental) age rather than chronological age -- we've explained some of the reasons on our Juniors web page.

A year-long training plan individually established for each athlete is essential. The plan will include different activities during each training session, and the sessions will vary during the training year. Group classes have their advantages, but classes where everyone does the same exercise in the same way each session may not always be recommended.

We've had opportunities to learn from the best junior coaches in the world, and we especially thank Jason Glass from Canada, Denis McDade from Australia, and Janet Alexander in the US (via New Zealand) for their insight into junior golf exercise progressions. 

Golf is an Art Form

Golf is a physical art form that reflects our individuality, like our signature. Most of us are taught to write with the same handwriting skills in our early school years, but as we learn and mature our signatures change and become unique. Similarly, most of us are taught the same basic mechanics of a golf swing. But as we learn, our swings evolve to reflect our physical capability and understanding of technique. 

Considering how the art of golf becomes a part of us, why do so many players leave the game? Of all the speculation we've heard, the answer we find most intriguing is the frustration of not being able to execute an effective swing that often leads to injury.  

The physical effort of swinging a golf club can injure the unprepared body. In swinging a club the body generates speed that requires mobility and balance. How your body generates force and transfers it into a golf club varies with the person. If there is any fitness limitation that impairs a body's ability to absorb reaction forces, injury is often the result. Golfers often leave the game because of injuries.

A growing number of professionals are finding that the best way to reverse this trend is to incorporate fitness awareness into their teaching. Golfers learn to swing a club in ways that complement the efficient motion of joints and muscles. The ability to swing a club depends on movement patterns common to all of us. Learning how to use them efficiently in a golf swing is the first step towards injury-free golf. 

Our entire analytical approach of a player's swing and golf clubs focuses on understanding how limitations in both can affect performance. Efficient swing biomechanics and golf-specific conditioning are inseparable, and we help players understand their golf signature.

Golf Fitness Summit 2

The 2012 World Golf Fitness Summit (WGFS) gave us several presentations on what I think of as the bookends of golf fitness. On the front end is golf swing biomechanics -- in the case of the TPI view it means what all great ball strikers have in common. On the back end are problems that happen when there are fitness/range-of-motion limitations, a common problem among pros and amateurs alike. 

Components of the golf swing were examined beautifully by Chuck Cook, a top instructor from Texas, who used the K-Vest 3D motion capture system to analyze individual swings. He also described a series of functional training exercises to enhance mobility and minimize physical limitations. The overall emphasis of the training was to improve separation of upper body and lower body movement.

A look at the backswing showed that as the upper body turns away from the ball, the thorax extends (becomes more upright) while being matched by a corresponding side bend (tilt) to the left side (for a right-handed golfer). From an upper body forward bend at address of 35 - 40 degrees (men), the upper body extends to within 2 - 15 degrees at the top of the backswing in an efficient swing. Because forward bend and side bend are changing simultaneously in the swing, video and direct eye perspectives can be misleading when thinking about spine angle changes.

The pelvis is turning too, of course, but not as much, creating a separation of 45 - 55 degrees from the upper body in the best players. Pelvis extension in the backswing is matched by a corresponding side bend towards the lead side. 

Through the transition from backswing to downswing, the separation between upper body and lower body may increase slightly, an action characterized as the X-Factor stretch. It generates extra power in the swing. On the downswing, the shoulder turn moves the trail side downwards creating a force against the ground as body weight shifts to the lead side. Ground reaction forces translate into downswing power. 

The hips reach their peak acceleration about halfway through the downswing and the shoulders reach peak acceleration a little later but well before impact. In an efficient swing the separation between hips and shoulders returns to about 5 degrees at impact. Training for optimum separation through the transition and through impact is an important key to generating efficient power in the swing. The  K-Vest is an ideal tool for training, overcoming the difficulties of perspective that complicates just about any video setup. 

While we can break the swing down into components for detailed biomechanical analysis for efficient movement, we are careful not to lose sight of the beauty of the golf swing. Our goal always is a smooth and rhythmic swing that seems to generate effortless power from the flow of the movement. We think it's an essential part of the satisfaction that comes from sending the ball long and accurately to our chosen target.

Golf Fitness Summit 1

The TPI 2012 World Golf Fitness Summit (WGFS) was held in Orlando this past week where we heard presentations by more than 40 illuminaries in golf fitness and golf instruction. Topics ranged far and wide. We learned how top instructors and trainers apply their craft, and we were exposed to current thinking on what's most important for improving golf performance.

The best of the talks coalesced around a central theme: movement patterns define the golf swing. When we see a swing fault, the best way to correct it is to understand the underlying movement patterns. When a progression of golf-specific exercises is prescribed by the trainer, they are most effective when the focus is on movement patterns generated by two or more interacting joints. Top instructor Chuck Cook showed how K-Vest 3D motion capture technologies bridge the knowledge gaps between swing technique and range-of-motion exercise schemes.   

It's a rare conference where the exhibitors have products and discussions that equal the caliber of the featured speakers, but this year's WGFS was a model for hosting superb companies with clever products that all of us in the field should know about and experience. They were a vital part of the conference.

Hearing Dr. Joe LaCaze (Dr. of Chiropractic and former Navy Seal) explain novel Rotex exercises for hip and shoulder joints, seeing Dave Herman (developer of SuperFlex bands) demonstrate versatile techniques for resistance training, and learning about the novel glucose polymer formulation in the UCAN energy drinks were highlights for me. We are already incorporating these exciting products into our golf technologies, and we'll be sure to review each one in detail as we gain more experience with them.

The WGFS was dynamic proof that when creative thinkers look at how to improve golf performance for pros and amateurs alike, new and effective ways of doing things are certain to emerge. The WGFS gave us triumphs of evidence-based approaches over opinion-based alternatives.

A Stable Core

We see many excellent swings sabotaged by core instability. Our K-Vest 3D  swing analysis often reveals poor sequencing of lower body and upper body with an underlying cause that stems from insufficiently strong core muscles. Carefully chosen words that reflect a complex problem.

What is the core? In anatomical terms, it's the trunk of the body -- the axial skeleton and about 30 muscles that contribute to the structure of the abdomen, lower back, and hips. These muscles transfer force between the upper body and the lower body through kinetically linked systems important for fundamental movements. We like to think of the golf swing as a fundamental movement, but we're biased.

Core stability has become increasingly recognized as an essential feature of effective body motor activity. We need strength and endurance in the hips and trunk to maintain proper alignment of body structures required for athletic motion. In other words, we need core stability to generate effective movement. We won't get into the details of functional anatomy -- unless you ask for it -- but the bottom line is we need a stable core to execute an efficient golf swing.

When we have an unstable core, our lower body can't properly resist the forces generated from swinging a golf club. Arms and shoulders are pulled out of plane and the loss in distance and accuracy can be substantial. Most swing faults start here. Golf lessons often don't get at the root of the problem because they are typically based on effect and not cause. 

Our approach to helping golfers incorporates an analysis of core stability and determining which muscle groups need to be targeted for improved strength and endurance. We balance it with understanding mobility and flexibility restrictions that often develop as compensations for reduced core stability. It's where golf swing improvement must begin if the results are to be long lasting.