Top Three Golf Stretches to Develop Perfect Golf Swing

Flexibility for the Perfect Golf Swing

The modern day perfect golf swing requires that your body has good flexibility in the right places to effortlessly turn the hips and shoulders through impact and the follow-through. This post will present three flexibility & strength exercises to increase the turn of your hips and thoracic spine which will help you: 1) turn your hips and shoulders more easily, 2) increase your shot consistency and power, 3) take the stress off your lower back and 4) improve your golf performance. This post will also show how to use the Powercore 360 sports performance training programs & equipment to improve golf flexibility.

Golfers with normal (good) flexibility in their hips can turn the body and swing the club using the turn of their hip joints.

Golfers with good flexibility in their thoracic spine can turn their shoulders & body to swing the club.

Not only does this make it easier to turn, but improving hip & shoulder turn helps square the club-head to the ball with the turn of the body with less inconsistent manipulation of the arms & hands.

Golfers with good flexibility in their hips and thoracic spine can turn their shoulders, hips & body to swing the club with very little turn or stress on the lower back.

Who Needs to Improve Flexibility?

If you sit a lot, are an aging golfer or are just generally tight there’s a really good chance you can’t turn your hips and your shoulders very well, which reduces your shot consistency, decreases distance and many times places the stress of the golf swing on your lower back, causing low back pain.

Sitting Hurts Your Golf Swing

When you sit, muscles and other tissues around your hip joints and the upper part of your back get tight. These tight muscles will restrict your ability to turn your hips & shoulders, reducing your ability to wind-up using the big muscles around hips and spine to turn the body and create the necessary forces to hit the ball with power.

Age, Flexibility & the Golf Swing

As we age we lose flexibility, hip & shoulder turn, power, distance & shot consistency.

Tight Hips & Restricted Shoulder Turn Cause Low Back Pain

If you’ve lost your hip & shoulder flexibility and your still trying to play golf your body is still turning, albeit more limited than normal, but more than likely it’s turning in other areas other than the hips and t-spine. It’s very likely the forces or more accurately the torque that is created is ending up in your lower back.

It’s really important to note that the spine in your lower back only turns a few degrees. If your hips and t-spine aren’t turning, then the turn of the body are ending up being placed on your lumbar spine and lower back. This is a common cause of lower back pain and injury in golfers.

Improving Hip & Shoulder Turn Flexibility Improves Golf Performance

Restoring the turn of the hips and the t-spine will pay major benefits for your golf swing, as you will be able to turn more, turn easier, hit more consistent straight shots and increase your distance!

Improved Hip & Shoulder Turn:

• Engages the bigger stronger muscles of the legs and around the pelvis & hips, which will increase shot power and distance.
• Places more of the stress of the golf swing in the hip joints and thoracic spine and off of the lower back.
• Allows the hips and thoracic spine to help square the club-face to the ball and the target. This is especially important when playing under stress as stress tends to tighten the muscles of the arms and hands, negatively impacting grip pressure and the fluidity of the swing.

How to Improve Hip Flexibility & Hip Turn – Specific to the Golf Swing

There are many different hip stretches and exercises you can do to generally improve hip flexibility, strength & endurance all of which is great for general fitness & health.

Functional Golf Swing Stretches

If you want to ensure that the hip stretches and exercises improve your golf swing and your golf performance, then you need to do specific functional golf swing stretches that will target the specific muscles and other tight tissues that are restricting your hip turn, while you perform the golf swing movements.

In the picture above, attaching the resistance band to the hip trainer gives the golfer the FEEL for how to correctly move the hips & pelvis, while at the same time stretching, strengthening and building endurance in the golf swing muscles. The band will actually pull, turn & move the golfer’s pelvis for him, accelerating the learning process because athletes learn faster when they can feel & repeat the correct movements of the body while performing the golf swing.

Stretch #1 – Assisted Hip Turn

For a right-handed golfer, attach resistance band to right hip on the hip trainer and connect the other end of the band at hip height to your left. Step away from the band anchor so there’s some stretch in the band.

Set-up for this movement by placing your feet at shoulder width with knees slightly bent and hips back.

Slowly perform your back swing, ensuring that your right knee stays inside the right foot and that the in-step of your right foot stays in contact with the ground. Don’t let your weight get on the outside of the foot or allow your right foot to roll out; keep your weight on the inside of the foot as if you were pinching someone’s fingers under the in-step.

In the picture above, the band resists the turn of the hips which strengthens hip muscles and helps the golfer feel how to start the downswing with the movement of the hips.

Move your arms to the top of the back swing, then start the downswing with the turn of your hips. Imagine that there’s a dot on the front of the back hip) and turn the hips so the dot would point down the target line as you swing.

The pull of the resistance band will help you start to shift your weight, from the right leg to the left and begin to turn your hips. Try to slowly turn the imaginary dot on the front of the back hip towards the target.

In the picture above, the band is pulling and turning the golfer’s back hip, ideally to where an imaginary dot on the front of the back hip points down the target line.

As you shift your weight from the right leg to the left and your hips start to turn, at some point you will probably feel some tightness around the outside of the left hip. Where you feel the tightness varies from person-to-person. Some may feel it in the hip(s), in the lower back or other areas.

• Do NOT force the stretch!
• Try to remain tall in good posture and allow the pull of the band to turn your hips until you feel a comfortable stretch and then hold the stretch 5-20 seconds as you breath (in through the nose and out through the mouth).
• After a few seconds you may feel that some of the tightness releases as you exhale.
• You should just feel a comfortable stretch in muscles or soft tissues around your hips.
• Stop if you feel pain or if you feel pressure in the knees or other joints.
• Perform a minimum of 2 repetitions of this same golf swing movement.

Then remove the band and perform the golf swing movement and you should already feel improved flexibility and greater ease of turning the body to perform the golf swing.

In the picture above, after performing just 2 repetitions, the flexibility of the hips specific to the golf-swing movement has dramatically improved!

Stretch #2 – Resisted Hip Turn

For a right-handed golfer, attach resistance band to left hip on hip trainer and connect the other end of the band at hip height to your right. Step away from the band anchor so there’s some stretch in the band.

Set-up for this movement by placing your feet at shoulder width with knees slightly bent and hips back.

In the picture above, the band is pulling the hips & pelvis to the golfer’s right, making him work muscles in the legs, hips & pelvis just to hold the set-up or address position. This builds strength & endurance in these golf-specific muscles which will help your golf performance.

Go through the same golf swing movements, as in the assisted hip turn, slowly performing your back swing, and then once again starting the downswing with the turn of your hips turning towards the target. The resistance band will now resist your weight shift and hip turn.

In the picture above, the golfer is starting his downswing and the band resists & strengthens the specific muscles in his legs and around his hips & pelvis which are responsible for correctly moving his hips & pelvis. The golfer FEELS how to correctly sequence the downswing as he strengthens them at the same time.

Try to slowly turn the dot on the front of the back hip towards the target and then hold this position staying in a tall good postural position.

In the picture above, because the band is resisting & pulling the hips back towards the golfer’s left, just holding this position is building strength & endurance in the muscles around the hips & pelvis. The muscles on the back of the hips & pelvis are being strengthened, while the muscles on the front and sides of the hips & pelvis are being stretched.

As opposed to just doing a passive stretch, where only muscles are being stretched, this exercise using hip trainer and bands increases the effectiveness and uses your time better as you stretch, strengthen and improve your golf swing technique at the same time!

Because the band is resisting your movement, you will have to use more of the strength from muscles in the legs, hips and pelvis. To get to the finish position and then to hold this position, you will develop golf-swing-specific strength, endurance and flexibility.

• As before, do NOT force the stretch! Try to remain tall in good posture and control the turn your hips until you feel a comfortable stretch and then hold the position 5-10 seconds as you breath (in through the nose and out through the mouth).
• You should just feel a comfortable stretch in some muscles or soft tissues, while other muscles are working to hold the position of the hips and body. Stop if you feel pain or if you feel pressure in the knees or other joints.
• Perform a minimum of 2 repetitions of this same golf swing movement.
• Then remove the band and perform the golf swing movement and you should already feel improved flexibility and greater ease of turning the body to perform the golf swing.

Stretch #3 – Resisted & Assisted Torso Turn

For a right-handed golfer, attach resistance band under your right arm on the torso trainer and connect the other end of the band at chest height to your left. Step away from the band anchor so there’s some stretch in the band.

Above, using the torso trainer and a resistance band will help to quickly improve the turn of the shoulders, as the torso harness fits around the ribs. Performing the golf swing movements will stretch & strengthen the specific muscles that are restricting shoulder & thoracic spine turn.

Go through the same set-up and golf swing movements as in the assisted & resisted hip turn exercises above, slowly performing your back swing until the turn of your shoulders to your right stops. Then hold this position, take a deep breath in through your nose and then as you exhale turn your shoulders a bit more to your right. Repeat this breathing and shoulder turn movement to your right 2-3 times.

When you breath it helps some muscles relax to improve shoulder turn.

Because the band is resisting the turn of the shoulders to the right, you’re actually strengthening and building endurance in these golf-swing muscles at the same time!

Once again start the downswing with the turn of your hips turning towards the target. The resistance band will now assist the turn of your shoulders from right to left. When you get to your finish position, hold the position in a good tall postural position, and then inhale through your nose and exhale as the band helps turn your right shoulder towards the target.

The resistance band will now help turn your spine and shoulders more, stretching tight golf-swing muscles which are limiting your shoulder turn and golf performance.

• Do NOT force the stretch! Try to remain tall in good posture and allow the pull of the band to turn your shoulders until you feel a comfortable stretch and then hold the stretch 5-20 seconds as you breath (in through the nose and out through the mouth).
• You should just feel a comfortable stretch in muscles or soft tissues around your spine. Stop if you feel pain or if you feel pressure in the spine, shoulders or other joints.
• Perform a minimum of 2 repetitions of this same golf swing movement stretch.
• Then remove the band and perform the golf swing movement and you should feel a great deal more flexibility to turn your hips, shoulder and body while performing the golf swing.