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Hey lagster, Finally, after a bout of some mysterious yech! and then a long standing business trip I am back to the work of TGM. As you can imagine, I could write volumes about the things that you could do to injure your body in the golf swing. In fact I've tried to create something that looked exactly like what I thought you wanted to know. What I realized is that I am only repeating what I have seen since I have only played with the instruction of TGM, really no previous exposure to holding a golf club. I watch the golf channel and cringe often enough but it is second hand reflection at best. I do know that TGM offers the best tools to apply the perfect stroke and avoid injury and I like to suggest that over time, if you are really engaging the theory of the little yellow book you are changing most of the 'bad' behaviors. Besides, it's never good to dwell on 'bad' behavior.
With that said you can always create a potential for injury if:
1. You don't have the level of health required for our sport. The fact is it is repetative motion and to expect your body to recover between shots and between games means that you expose it to the more preferred balance of tension Yes, every golfer hsould have a stretching program specifically addressing their physical gifts, limitations, and life experiences.
EX: Since I have fused cervical and thorasic vertebrae from a car accident I have very specific stretches and motions I perform after about every tenth swing and literally every night. Do I have to do it every night? Certainly not. But I found out that ten minutes in the floor kept me out of pain no matter how much fun I had. So . . . seemed reasonable to me.
2. If you create your action from the little muscles of the shoulders and arms without the benefit of strong core muscles, those includeing: chest, back, abdominals, glutes, quads and hamstrings. Yes all of those muscle make up the core and should initiate your action and then you rely on the smaller muscles to manage and refine the action. That doesn't mean you have to have the greatest physique or the biggest pecs on the course (Tiger is lean and mean) but you have to have an understanding of your own physical intention when you address , start up, back stroke, top out and then start down in your swing; incidentally whether you are a swinger or a hitter. Your tricep muscle is incredibly instrumental in creating a hitters drive but the action is initiated from it's primary muscle, the pectoralis. One of the best ways to understand this is to go through the motion without your club in your hand, as suggested in chapter 9; Learn your body.
3. You are not balanced in your alignment. If your original posture is not as close to correct, the original blueprint, as you can get it, then you are continually having to over-come this in order to create the movement you want. Ex: If you want to be a hitter but your shoulders are rounded through years of success but you find that you start getting a shoulder pain, then something in your own physiology is getting in the way of the application of your sport. Not impossible to correct; not for the golfer's I know. It just means a little more attention to your body off the course. Again, find the balance in your present health, a flexibility program, resistence training, cardio and watch the quality of everything improve!
Sorry to be so long winded. Between the freeze last week (it was 66 degrees one week later) a cold or something, a business trip and lost cable on Sunday (Buckhead community raised cain for the loos of every conceivable power over the freeze so there's much repair going on here)
I've had much to say. Glad to read your post on DDL.
Let me know how you are coming. Let's move on to the next stage and thanks for the PM. I intent to address that tonight and tomorrow.
Vik
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