The PGA Championship is at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island this week, and one characteristic of this property that will play a factor in the rounds of the competitors this week are the strong winds. In order to give yourself the best opportunity at maintaining posture in your golf swing amidst blustery conditions you must have the ability to stabilize the lower body.
Many golfers struggle with inconsistent ball striking in these conditions and get frustrated when they don’t understand why it’s happening all of the sudden, or how to improve it. For many, I would encourage you to resist the temptation to head to the range to beat balls over and over again until you think you have “it” figured out. Rather, put the clubs away and head into the gym. If a golf athlete lacks adequate stability in their lower body, the result will often be too much, essentially inefficient, movement. The lower body is meant to move, don’t get me wrong! But too much (especially if you’re limited in certain areas) can lead to a loss of posture and additional compensations will have to be made throughout your swing.
So what am I saying? Stabilize your lower body! Again, this doesn’t mean your hips don’t rotate, we know they have to; however, in order to truly create separation you need to be able to isolate your upper body from your lower body independently (thus stabilizing your lower body segment). Once you can do this, you are on your way to eliminating those fat or thin shots from your game when the wind picks up. Try this exercise for better lower body stability in the golf swing!
Lateral Bounds w/ Rotation
A dynamic exercise we use to increase lower body stability are Lateral Bounds w/ Rotation. To perform this exercise begin by standing only on your left foot with your arms across your chest. Bound approximately 2-3 feet to your right, landing on your right leg. Stabilize and hold the landing. Once you’ve stuck the landing, rotate your upper body toward the leg that you landed on (in this case the right). Bound back to the left, stabilize on your left leg, and rotate left. These do not need to be huge jumps. Focus on quality over quantity at this point, breaking this exercise down into deliberate steps, and your ability to stabilize your lower body will improve.
See you in the Zone!
Tyler
