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Golfer’s Back Playing golf is a challenge in itself, let alone with a bad back! Many golfers are, however, injuring themselves unnecessarily on the course. The causes of injury to the back are usually due to: 1 Poor technique involving too much twisting to the spine and 2 Inadequate stretching leading to a lack of flexibility. These problems are easily remedied with improvements in the swing and gentle exercises. It is important to note that an injury may occur that does not result in immediate pain, but causes compensation elsewhere in the body. And this can affect your golf! How often can I play golf if I do suffer from a bad back? You can play golf daily as long as you exercise! This involves: a thorough warm up before each game, including the three simple exercises below; doing general exercises on a daily basis, and following our advice on how to successfully perform the most commonly used golf movements without sustaining further back problems. |
Warm-ups before playing golf
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Roll your neck but be careful not to go too far back.
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Shrug your shoulders rolling them forwards and then backwards.
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Bear hug yourself and twist to the left and right.
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Roll your trunk around your hips
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Stretch one arm up above your head and bend your elbow, then pull your elbow down with your other hand.
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Rock up and down on your toes, raise both hands above your head and lean from side to side.
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Take a step forward, lean back on your rear foot, and lift the toes of your forward foot off the ground.
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Roll your ankles keeping your toes on the ground.
EXERCISE 1: Put a club horizontally across the middle of your back and hold it there in the bend of your elbows. Swing gently from side to side lifting each heel off the ground as the swing reaches the opposite side i.e. so hips end up facing the same way as shoulders. EXERCISE 2: Hold the club across the back of your shoulders with both hands. Swing gently and repeat as for exercise 1. EXERCISE 3: Drop the club across the lower back holding with both hands and lift away from your body backwards. Hold there while you swing gently. |
Full Swing:
Back Sufferers lose distance because of weakness and loss of flexibility so they compensate by using a shorter back swing, coming down steeply from the outside, resulting in lots of slices and striking the ground. Ouch! Very bad for backs. So take a shallow angle of approach and allow your hips to turn with your shoulders. Turn your grip so that the 'V' made by your thumb and forefinger point towards the rear shoulder.
Work on a swing that draws the ball with the club head going away from you as you hit the ball i.e. from inside to outside as you swing.
Use a closed stance with your toes turned slightly out. Allow your forward heel to lift during the back swing and your hips to turn with the shoulders.
keep your back straight and aim to the right and draw the ball and finish with your body vertical, hips and shoulders facing the same way.
Chipping:
Keep your back straight, stand tall, grip the top of the club, flex your knees rather than your back and play with the ball back. Use the whole body to swing. Practice in shorter sessions with a variety of shots to vary the pressure on the back.
Bunker: