"Get Golf Ready is designed to provide important information, adapted from working with PGA Tour golfers, to the amateur for immediate use on the golf course, and the chiropractic student for basic knowledge of the clinical aspects that golf demands. It is ready to use information to better prepare you to play the great game of golf and to minimize the chance of injuries. Enjoy your round! ."

—Dr. Tom LaFountain

Improve Your Shoulder Flexibility

Get Golf Ready

At any given Saturday morning in the summer at your local golf courses throughout the country, you will see golfers getting ready to play by pulling their arms across the front of their bodies. Everyone knows that they should loosen up their shoulders to feel more comfortable swinging a golf club. Whether you spend all day working at a desk or doing physical work, you can be sure the front part of your shoulder is stronger and tighter than the back part. This imbalance will affect your posture by allowing your shoulders to roll forward or droop. It will affect your golf game by putting extra strain on the shoulder, neck, and even your mid and lower back. Shoulder pain often occurs with golfers and it can make it nearly impossible to have a consistent swing plane. Many instructors notice their golf clients swinging only with their arms or their arms breaking down with the swing because their shoulder muscles are too inflexible.

Although you are likely to be stretching your shoulders already, be sure that you are doing the exercises correctly. Four exercise positions should be performed:

1. Standing next to your cart or near a door frame, put your right arm at 90 degrees to your body, palm facing forward and gently grasp the upright bar on the cart or the door casing. Turn your body to the left slowly as you feel the front of the right shoulder stretch. Hold 30 seconds, then reverse and do the left shoulder;
2. Standing upright with good posture, reach behind your lower neck with your right hand, pointing your right elbow to the sky or ceiling. Reach with your left hand and cup your right elbow and pull slightly to stretch your right shoulder. If you are not flexible enough to do this, lean against a wall with the elbow . Hold 30 seconds, reverse and do the same with your left shoulder.
3. Standing upright with good posture, put your right hand behind your back and grasp your right wrist with your left hand (both arms are behind your back). Pull the right arm gently across your back to stretch the front aspect of the right shoulder; Hold 30 seconds then reverse arms to stretch the left shoulder.
4. Standing at golf address (hips slightly flexed), keep your right arm straight as you place it across the front of your body. Grasp the right elbow with your left hand and pull the right arm across your body gently to feel a stretch in the back part of your right shoulder. Hold 30 seconds, then reverse arms to stretch the left shoulder.

Doing these four exercises will take only a few minutes, but will more than prepare your shoulders for a more fluid golf swing. Also, with flexible shoulders you will take a great deal of stress off your neck and back as you swing. All to improve your golf game and help keep you playing at your best!