Do You Need a Golf Swing Analysis
It’s mid-season for us Michigander golfers who aren’t lucky enough to travel south for the winter. That may mean a few different things. It could mean your touch and feel around the greens is finally back or that your swing is finally settling into a groove and you’re a fairway hitting machine. Or it could mean you’ve picked up some new bad habits, or worse, you have a new nagging injury from endlessly beating golf balls at the range trying to find that swing feel that worked for that one round in early June. Let’s hope that no matter the case, it doesn’t mean that you’ve picked up a case of the dreaded “s” word that I refuse to type in this blog from fear of cursing all of us for the remainder of the season.
If you happen to find yourself in the camp of nagging injury it may be time to have a health professional who specializes in golf injury take a look at both you and your swing. It’s really hard to swing a golf club well with the hesitation that comes from the back-of-mind worry about pain during your swing. MyMichigan Health Rehabilitation Services employs multiple physical therapy staff who are Titleist Performance Institute Certified to perform golf swing analysis to help you figure out which components of your swing may contribute to that nagging injury, and additionally, what other limitations within your body may be causing swing faults.
What does a golf swing analysis look like?
Initially, it starts with a body screen to assess what movements you perform well and which movements we may need to work on to optimize swing mechanics. Secondly, we take a look at the golf swing and perform a video analysis to look at what common swing faults are present that correlate to the limitations found in our screen of the body. When synthesizing the information from both components of the screen we can then begin to work on an individualized program of exercises that improves the bodies performance of particular movements, reduce the number of compensations causing swing faults, and reduce the risk of injury.
Should your nagging golf-related injury require additional attention from skilled physical therapy services, we can certainly offer that to get you back on the course swinging freely. If you happen to be pain-free but seeking improved performance, we can address that with individualized exercise prescription and sharing knowledge of how the body should sequence itself to transfer forces from the ground and into the clubhead with optimal efficiency.
Spoiler alert: that usually results in a side-effect of gaining additional yards. Having a better understanding of these principles will help you look more like Fred Couples and less like Charles Barkley.* Above all else, having better movement patterns and swing mechanics will keep you injury free and on the course.
*Collaboration with your swing coach may be necessary for best results.
Chad Neal, P.T., D.P.T., O.C.S., is a physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist with MyMichigan Rehabilitation Services located in Midland.
