Playing with Parkinson’s

Over the past 20 years, I have taught golfers of all different ages and abilities. No two golfers are the same, therefore, no two golfers can be taught the same. I recently had the opportunity to teach a golfer who has Parkinson’s disease, and it was an amazing experience.

As many of you are probably aware, Parkinson’s disease often results in the uncontrollable shaking in a person’s hands and fingers. This shaking adds a completely different level of challenge that most golfers don’t have to deal with. Rather than working on controlling the shaking, my student and I decided to take a different approach.

My student had been focusing all his attention on trying to establish a slower rhythm in his golf swing. After speaking with him for a few minutes, it was clear that we needed to go a different direction.

Rather than trying to slow down his rhythm while fighting off the shaking, we decided to allow his shaking to help establish his rhythm.

This resulted in more pre-shot motion that worked it’s way from his hands all the way down to his feet. By working this “energy” down to his feet, we were able to initiate his backswing once he felt a couple of taps in his feet.

He went from working on staying still and swinging slowly to allowing the motion throughout his body to establish the rhythm of his swing.

The lesson to be learned here is that you must determine what will work best for YOU in your golf swing. Proper rhythm in the swing doesn’t mean it has to be slow.

In fact, a faster rhythm may work best for you depending on your characteristics.

Parkinson’s disease can create a number of different challenges, but my student and I were able to use Parkinson’s to establish a new routine to his swing. It worked great, and I’m sure he will have plenty of success moving forward.

Rather than trying to slow down his rhythm while fighting off the shaking, we decided to allow his shaking to help establish his rhythm.