Core flexibility training is critical if you want to improve your golf swing power and driving distance. Your core is the engine to your swing. If your core is inflexible you will not be able to make a full backswing with minimal tension.
Picture your core being the middle of your body. Thatās as simple as you can get it. It is mainly your abdominals, but can also include glutes and lower back. This area of your body is the most susceptible to injury. Thatās why the majority of amateur golfers tend to have lower back injuries at some point.
Producing more swing power and distance does not mean swinging harder with your arms. Most of us have probably been guilty of doing that during the start of our golfing journey. Did we improve on our power and distance? Iāll bet not. Even if you did, it was most likely at the expense of accuracy.
Just like hitting a baseball, tennis ball or even throwing the discus in track and field, you use your core for most of your power. You rotate with your core to create torque, then you unleash that stored up energy into impact. The more efficient you become with using your core, arms, shoulders and hands in a sequenced motion, the added distance will come quite easy. Youāll be shocked at how quickly your driving distance goes up.
Core flexibility training incorporates ārotationā. Golf stretching in this manner warrants the best results in the shortest amount of time. Every core flexibility stretch you do should involve some form of rotating. This is very important since the golf swing consists of a rotation (turn) back and a rotation (turn) forward. The more range of motion you can achieve in your core area the more power you will be able to produce.
Hereās a little test you can do while your sitting there reading this article!
Put your arms across your chest, keep your eyes focused straight ahead. Now rotate your shoulders as far as you can to the right and make a note of how far it is. Did you get to a 90 degree shoulder turn (thatās where you ideally want to be)? Then rotate as far as you can to the left. How far did you get? If your answer is ‘not very far’, then this will serve as a āwake-upā call for you. If you find you canāt rotate at least 70 degrees off center, youāll have no chance at maximizing your power and driving distance. We’re doing this simple core flexibility test seated to remove cheating of the lower body. If you were standing, it would have been very easy to rotate your hips and get a bigger shoulder rotation.
So if you’re not hitting that 70 degrees rotation at least, then it’s time to work on your core flexibility. Start incorporating more hip and core stretches into your daily routine while also working on strengthening your core and back muscles. Do it consistently for at least a month and you should see some improvements in your rotation range.
Happy golfing!
