Now that it’s summer, golfers of all levels will embark on a never-ending quest to improve their swing. However, what many golfers and their personal trainers don’t realize is that your swing has as much to do with balance and form as it does strength and power.
As a personal trainer, you can use the truths of the human body to help golfers push through plateaus and reach their goals. Whether you’re a lifelong golfer or just discovering the game, you can apply principles of Applied Functional Science® and our Functional Golf System and see meaningful results. To start, here are three strategies for personal trainers that can help their clients achieve better golf swings.
Three Ways to Help Golfers Improve Their Swing
When golfers desperately want to improve their swing, they are susceptible to both misinformation and well-intentioned (but misplaced) advice. They might incorrectly believe that their lead arm should always be straight, they should swing as far back as possible, and they must always be square with the ball or transfer their weight in a certain way. In reality, golfers and their personal trainers need to start at the beginning if they want to understand how the body moves while golfing and how to leverage each person’s unique biomechanics to achieve a powerful swing.
Here are three things to consider while helping golfers with their swing.
1. Each Person’s Swing Should Be Unique to Them
What many personal trainers working with golfers need to remember is that each golfer has their own unique swing. It can be tempting to try and train all your golf clients to develop similar, “good” golf swings without remembering that each human body is unique. So, when you’re training golfers to achieve more effective swings, each person’s “best swing” will be unique to them. By focusing on helping each golfer achieve their own personal best, rather than on an ideal that isn’t attainable, personal trainers can empower golfers to achieve powerful results.
2. Lunge While Swinging the Club to Build Balance
Balance is the foundation of an effective and efficient golf swing. For right-handed golfers, lunging with the left foot is a way to build mobility and stability as they swing. Have your clients try lunging right rotationally as the club reaches the top of the swing. Growing their ability to balance will not only help them perform better when hitting the ball on an uneven lie, but they’ll have better balance on even ground as well.
3. Tweak Movements for Optimal Individual Performance
Understanding function allows us to identify dysfunction, resolve issues, and increase power. However, it can be challenging to identify problems when you don’t have a good system for understanding how the body should move when golfing. The hips, in particular, are often a source of dysfunction that many underappreciate.
For example, when in the backswing, a right-handed golfer’s right hip should flex, adduct, and internally rotate, and the left hip should flex, abduct, and externally rotate. When the hips don’t move like this, it can cause a chain reaction of pain and dysfunction throughout the body, most commonly in the knees and lower back. When personal trainers identify tightness, lack of flexibility, and other issues, they sometimes can correct them, relieve pain, and increase power simply by improving the golfer’s form.
Ready to Learn More? Enroll in Gray Institute®’s Functional Golf System Today
In our Functional Golf System course, we outline these principles, strategies, and more. If you’re working with golfers, or want to gain more golf clientele, this specialization will give you the tools to help them reach their goals.
At Gray Institute, our priority is using our knowledge of the human body to achieve greater health, healing, and athletic achievement. Our courses are designed to empower movement professionals like you with the skills you need to train golfers effectively — even if you’ve never played a full round in your life.
RELATED: How Personal Trainers Can Prevent Golf Injuries More Effectively
Learn to Treat and Train Golfers at Gray Institute
For over 40 years, Gray Institute has been on the cutting edge of the movement science industry. Our courses reimagine what it means to treat and train athletes at all levels, and we’re driven to help personal trainers like you achieve success with your clients. Our Functional Golf System gives you the tools you need to help golfers achieve their goals — whether they’ve been golfing for four years or 40.
Get started today by enrolling in an online or for an in-person course. Or, reach out to us to learn about the course, Gray Institute, or how we can help you achieve your professional goals.
We look forward to hearing from you!