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Hey, this is Ryan from Age Defying Golf, thanks for reading! Are you tired of punk kids, with their drooping pants and hats on backwards, hitting better and longer golf shots than you? If so, this post could change your experience. Redefine yourself as the long ball driver with this and upcoming short articles with body fixes, pro fixes, and training helps shown to work! Just because you more than 50, does not mean you need to settle for weak drives. Get the "POP!" back in your swing with Age Defying Golf. Backswing Positions In your backswing, your weight needs to remain on the INSIDE of your right foot. All too frequently, we see golfers shift their weight onto the outside of their right foot, what we call supination of the foot. This is a major defect that leads to loss of power and poor contact.  To test your self, take a full backswing and hold that position. Ankle Position Feel if your weight is on the inside of your back foot or if it has actually rolled to the outside (called swaying). Knee Position In addition, your right knee needs to stay virtually still throughout your backswing. It should NOT straighten or go into extension. Ideally, we do not want your knee to turn too much in your backswing although this is not as important as making certain it does not lose its natural flex. If your knee loses its bend, you have lost the power of your hips. This is problematic since the hips should be the most powerful muscles in your swing. This swing fault has several possible origins: 1) habit, 2) reverse pivot shift, 3) poor hip flexibility. Test Yourself To limit the root cause, have a buddy or spouse assist you. Get into your normal address position and have your partner kneel down behind your right leg. In this position, they ought to hold your knee tightly, not allowing it to straighten (however you can allow it to turn). Now take your backswing, stop at the top of the backswing, and feel the difference. If you feel more constraint in your backswing than your R hip and (potentially) spinal rotation is restricting your swing. If not, it is most likely the other two sources. There are a great deal of devices on the marketplace that could help train your knee to preserve the appropriate position. In our practice, we have discovered the most convenient means to train this position is to knock in your knee in slightly and concentrate on holding that position throughout your backswing. X-Factor The importance of the right leg being steady has its roots in the "X-Factor" which is the difference in between the amount of your shoulder turn and the amount of your hip turn. For maximum power, you want there to be a big difference between the two with shoulder rotation maximized and hip rotation minimized. If your weight shifts to the outside of your right foot and your knee cap turns to the right, your hips will be allowed to rotate excessively, reducing the X-Factor and losing the benefit of excellent shoulder rotation. It resembles a coil; to tighten up the coil you wan to spin the ends in contrary directions. However, if you have a lot of flexibility constraints or have a history of even more than one spinal stablizing surgery (ei fusion, laminectomy) you may need to turn your hips more to compensate for the loss of upper body rotation from a stiff back. Check back for options when I write the post on the orthopedic swing coming this spring. Fitness Fixes This stretch enhances hip/spine flexibility so you could make a turn without your knee or ankle compensating or rolling outward [caption id="attachment_482" align="alignleft" width="243"] Lay down on your side. Bring your top leg up and across. Take your top arm and stretch the opposite direction. Hold for 30 seconds.[/caption] And here is a comparable stretch you could do in standing [caption id="attachment_482" align="alignleft" width="235"] Hold a golf club at both ends. 1. Take a large step forward with one leg 2. Rotate your arms around to the side of the forward leg and hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs.[/caption] If you are unable to keep your right knee bent in your backswing, your hamstrings are the culprit. Try this stretch: [caption id="attachment_496" align="alignleft" width="581"] Stand with your feet apart, arms wide. Keeping your back flat, bend forward at the waist and twist so one arm is pointing to the ceiling and the other to the floor. Hold for 2 seconds, repeat to the other side and do 10 repetitions all together.[/caption] Pro Fixes The ball under back foot drill has been around a long time and is still very efficient. This drill pronates your foot so that your weight is on the inside of your foot making it harder to sway too far to the right [caption id="attachment_474" align="alignleft" width="343"] Place golf ball under outside of back foot. Take some practice swings and hit balls. Remember to allow your foot to come off the ball naturally in your follow through.[/caption] As far as keeping the flex in your right knee at the top of the backswing, there are not many good swing drills. However, I really like the Tac-Tic knee trainer to help correct this fault (link below). If you are going to train yourself to keep the right knee flex, all you really need to do is take your backswing concentrating on keeping the knee bent. Have your golf buddy watch to ensure it stays flexed. If you are unable to keep your right knee bent, your hamstrings are too tight and you can refer to the stretch pictured above. www.agedefyingolf.com/products Training Aid Fixes I have come to respect training aids! If you get an excellent training aid, it will greatly improve your training because an aid uses a number of feedback mechanisms (feel, vision, resistance) to improve training. I do not receive any payment from these companies so you could rely on these referrals are authentic. 1. The Pivot Pro is a training aide that resolves the exact same issue in 2 different ways. Once more, the swing fault we are trying to fix is a lateral sway and a loss of your R knee flex. The Pivot Pro is connected to your R foot and is angled to withstand lateral motion. In addition, the pole attachment lets you know when your right leg is moving laterally ... double input = efficient learning. The Pivot Pro retails around $ 79.95. 2. For a less costly option, I really like the Tac-Tic products since they also provide auditory feedback. They click when you move incorrectly....instant feedback. Many of my students at first found the Tic-Tac to be annoying because it was "clicking" all the time. Even though they felt they were keeping the knee stable, the Tac-Tic indicated otherwise. In other words, they never would have believed me when I told them they were moving the knee incorrectly until they heard the feedback from the training aid. With many students, they had the ability to correct the swing fault in a few sessions (bear in mind this was the swing fault they did not think they had ... this could be you!!). The Ankle Tac-Tic retails for around $ 19.95 and the Knee Tic-Tac for $ 59.95. QUESTION: DID YOU TEST YOURSELF? DOES YOUR KNEE MOVE MORE THAN YOU EXPECTED? WERE YOU ABLE TO GET A FULL, SMOOTH BACKSWING WHEN SOMEONE HELD YOUR KNEE IN PLACE? Thanks for reading! Dr. Ryan York, DPT CGS. Doctor of Physical Therapy. Certified Golf Performance Specialist. www.agedefyingolf.com . This series of posts is especially created to help you correct swing faults that you could find in our FREE EBOOK, "Self Swing Evaluation," designed for golfers over 50. Download your cost-free Ebook today so I can help you develop an Age Defying Golf Swing today! www.agedefyingolf.com
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