Australian Senior Golfer

Loss of flexibility, strength and conditioning can be a real problem for older golfers. Here, Trent Malcolm, an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, provides a tailored improvement program especially for older golfers.

Could your body be limiting your golfing potential?

By Trent Malcolm

Are you trying to change your golf swing and finding it difficult to get into the positions your coach is asking for?  If this is the case then maybe your physical make up is slowing your progress.  Perhaps you are too stiff around your back or shoulders, maybe the co-ordination/timing of your body movements is a little off or maybe you are swaying and sliding in your swing?  A conditioning program specific to your body and your swing priorities can fast track your golf improvement and reduce the likelihood of injury.

Figure 1

 
In a standing position with your arms across your chest, rotate your shoulders around as far as you can without moving your head laterally (Figure 2).  Pause for a second and rotate to the opposite side.  Gradually increase the range of this dynamic stretch as you complete 20 repetitions.

Figure 2

Does the timing and co-ordination of your swing feel a little out?

Bishop also says “A physical issue or poor swing concept can produce timing and sequence problems in the swing. The upper body has furthest to rotate in the back swing so should lead the motion followed by the lower half. This is reversed in the downswing. Think of any throwing or hitting motion you have ever performed and you will better understand the correct sequence.”

The following movements work on increasing rotation into both left and right hips and are designed to give you the feeling of improved hip release (for better sequencing) from the top of the back swing.

In figures 3 and 4, imagine your pelvis and spine make up a steering wheel and the column it is attached to.  Turn the steering wheel (your pelvis) to the left and the right in isolation (no lateral movement) to improve the co-ordination and range of motion of your pelvis.  

The next exercise (Figure 5) is a lot more advanced, and the previous steering wheel analogy can also be used here.  In the position shown, turn the steering wheel (your pelvis) to the right, pause for 5 seconds then turn to the left.  Your upper body is working hard to stabilise your shoulders and the muscles through your trunk to your pelvis are creating this rotational movement.

Both these exercise are designed to help you dissociate your upper and lower body, important in good swing mechanics.

Does your body move too far laterally throughout your swing?

Lower body strength is imperative in golf.  Bishop says “The lower body is the foundation of the golf swing.  If you lack strength in your lower body you will not be able to provide the stability and balance necessary for your upper body to rotate, which can lead to unwanted lateral movement and inconsistent ball striking”.

Stand with a broomstick across your shoulders, your feet wider than shoulder width apart and your toes turned out 45 degrees.  Squat down and rotate your shoulders, ensuring your back is flat and head focused forward (Figure 6).  Alternate your shoulder turn after each repetition.  In this position your inner thighs (the adductors) are targeted, to help stabilise your lower body throughout the swing and the turn of the shoulders will also help improve the range of your back swing.

 
In the next exercise, lie on your back with your heels up on the ball and raise your buttocks off the ground to form a straight line from your ankles to shoulders (starting position).  Now raise your right leg (about 20 cm) and rotate your pelvis to take your leg over to the opposite side (Figure 7).  Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds and return to the starting position; alternate legs.  This more advanced exercise will increase the strength of important muscles around the outside of your hip (like gluteus medius) that resist lateral movement in your swing.

There are two important questions you need to ask yourself: what am I trying to improve in my golf swing, and could this be related to my body’s physical limitations?  To maximise your golfing potential, a golf-specific exercise physiologist will design an exercise program which integrates information from your coach and golf-specific physiotherapist.  If most tour players are doing it to enhance their performance and reduce the likelihood of injury, why shouldn’t you?

Trent Malcolm is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist specialising in golf-specific strength and conditioning.  He consults to the Australian Institute of Sport Golf Program, Women’s Golf Victoria, the Melbourne Golf Injury Clinic and the Sandhurst Club (in association with the PGA of Australia), working with some of Australia’s finest young talent as well as numerous international touring professionals.  He is a regular contributor to Golf Australia magazine and designs golf-specific exercise programs for people online.

For your own personally designed golf-specific exercise regime you can contact Trent via email at tmalcolm@optusnet.com.au or call him on (03) 8707 0830. Visit his new website Active One Golf

Note: Before commencing any conditioning program it is recommended you consult a Medical or Allied Health Professional

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The Power of Posture!

WALKING not only boosts physical health but new Australian research shows it can also help your brain stay younger longer.

That’s good news for (the many cartless) older golfers and means that even if your score starts to skyrocket as your aging body deteriorates, at least you’ll still have the mental capacity to add it all up at the end of the round.

The University of Western Australia study was conducted over 18 months with 170 participants aged over 50 who felt they had memory problems.

The participants were divided into two groups and for six months one group aimed to walk for 50 minutes three times a week or participate in other moderate exercise.

The other group continued with their usual activities.

Results revealed the exercise group performed better on cognitive tasks and had superior delayed recall than the other group.

The landmark study was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lead researcher, Nicola Lautenschlager of the University of Melbourne, said the improved memory occurred not only during the trial but for 12 months after the end of the physical activity program.

“We have known for a long time that exercise is a great way to improve cardiovascular health, but it may be that in the future exercise can also be recommended to protect against the ageing brain,” she said.

“The improvement on the memory testing was significant and it was higher than in previous drug trials with Alzheimer’s (disease) medications in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Professor Lautenschlager said she believed this was the first ever trial to demonstrate that exercise can boost memory in older adults at risk of developing conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

She said brisk walking was the safest form of exercise for older people and the results suggested 20 minutes of daily exercise could possibly delay the onset of conditions such as dementia.

“We are not talking onerous, dramatic physical activity but (walking 20 minutes is) something which I think most people would feel, ‘yeah that is something I could incorporate into my daily routine’.”

Playing golf for four plus hours, including all the walking and associated physical activity, would have to more than fit the bill. We’d have to concede that even those using carts are still getting enough exercise to keep some blood flowing to the brain.

The Australian study comes on top of a recent Swedish study that found playing regular golf can actually prolong your life.

The study showed the death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status. See Golfers live Longer

Lowering your golf handicap can actually prolong your life, according to a new study by a respected international medical university.

The study shows the death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status. This corresponds to a five year increase in life expectancy. Golfers with a low handicap are the safest.

The study has just been released by the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet.  This is no crackpot organisation. Each year, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Following this study, many golfers might want to reciprocate the favor and award the institute its own Nobel Prize for Golf.

The Institute says it is a well-known fact that exercise is good for the health, but the expected health gains of particular activities are still largely unknown.

The study, which is published in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, is based on data from 300,000 Swedish golfers and shows that golf has major beneficial health effects.

Professor Anders Ahlbom, who led the study with Bahman Farahmand, is not surprised at the result, as he believes that there are several aspects of the game that are proved to be good for the health.

“A round of golf means being outside for four or five hours, walking at a fast pace for six to seven kilometres, something which is known to be good for the health,” he says. “People play golf into old age, and there are also positive social and psychological aspects to the game that can be of help.”

The study does not rule out that other factors than the actual playing, such as a generally healthy lifestyle, are also behind the lower death rate observed amongst golfers. However, the researchers believe it is likely that the playing of the game in itself has a significant impact on health.

Golf players have a lower death rate regardless of sex, age and social group. The effect is greater for golfers from blue-collar professions than for those from white-collar professions. The lowest rates are found in the group of players with the lowest handicap (i.e. the best golfers).

Maintaining a low handicap involves playing a lot, so this supports the idea that it is largely the game itself that is good for the health, says Professor Ahlbom.

What the good professor may not be fully aware of is that lowering your golf handicap makes you want to live longer.

The report publication is helpfully titled: “Golf!! A game of life and death.”

We all knew that.

Staying flexible and keeping the full swing tuned up can be major issues for older golfers.

So can overcoming niggling injuries and dealing with chronic conditions and pain.

A great resource in this area is the book Golf After 50.

Written in simple Q&A format, it draws on the technical know-how of orthopaedists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, nutritionists, and sports medicine doctors to address the common health concerns of the older golfer.

Top medical specialists look at the most common ailments that affect one’s golf game and explain how older players can overcome these health issues to play better, pain-free golf.

Whether it’s advice on playing with chronic shoulder or back pain, or following hip or knee replacement, or just the best ways to protect your skin from the sun, Golf After 50 delivers sage advice for older golfers.

There are simple precautions to take to avoid preventable injuries as well as general commonsense nutrition and wellness tips.

Golf After 50 is published by Rodale Press and should be available through good bookshops.

There are certainly new and used copies now available through the Australian Senior Golfer Bookshop by clicking here.

(Tip: The ASG Bookshop operates through Amazon and books are shipped from the US and other international sellers. Book prices can be far lower than available in Australia, but you should be aware you have to pay for international postage as well. Despite this, the ASG book price plus international postage can still mean a big saving on local prices and books are delivered to your door. Check it out for yourself)