"Tom has been a key addition to the PGA Tour sports medicine staff, especially at The President's Cup, where his ability and personality have earned the respect of all our players."
—Jack Nicklaus
Two areas of the body that tighten as we get older are the mid back (thoracic spine) and hips. Not good news for the golf swing or for your golfing longevity if not addressed. One of the two results will occur when these areas loose their flexibility: 1) the golfer finds he or she cannot turn or rotate as well, which will affect the distance they can hit their shots, and 2.) to make up for a lack of flexibility in these areas, you will put a lot more demand on your lower back. Being the primary site of injury already with most golfers, you do not want to put any more stress on the lower back for any reason.
To improve flexibility in the mid back area it is best to do the following: 1.) sitting in the middle of the golf cart without your back touching the seat, reach across your body with your right hand and grasp the top of the golf cart seat (or steering wheel if you are not flexible enough) feeling the mid back and upper lumbar areas stretch – hold 30 seconds then reverse and reach across your body with the left hand: 2) stand on the side of the golf cart near one of the upright posts, stand at address position and reach across your body with the arm furthest away form the cart post. Grasp the post, feel your mid-back stretch, hold 30 seconds, then reverse your body position and grasp with the other arm, hold 30 seconds. Make sure you are at address position on this one. You will feel more of a pull and it is more the position you will need to be flexible in with your golf swing. See the enclosed diagrams to better guide your technique.
These exercises will help you to improve your flexibility on your backswing and follow through – aspects of the golf swing that will improve the torque or “coil” in your swing. A result that certainly will give you a chance to improve your distance and get your front shoulder behind the ball on your backswing.
