IF YOU WORK ON JUST ONE THING IN 2023…
I’ve chosen this essential exercise because it directly addresses the two things golfers most often complain to me about… not hitting the ball far enough and battling a slice. Often, we can trace the technical causes of these issues to a physical limitation. Working on that limitation needs no special equipment, and you can do it anywhere there is a wall. Get into the habit of working on it every day for five minutes or so; it will bring you longer, straighter shots.
Always consult your GP before adopting any new fitness regimen.
1. Double whammy
Here is the downswing golf coaches see every day… golfers trying to rotate and clear their hips, but in doing so, unwinding their upper body too. A stiff back denies the hips and shoulders the mobility to work separately from each other… and the result is an over-the-top, powerless and sliceinducing attack.
2. Back reacher
To work on this, stand side-on to a wall, 18 inches or so away from it, in golfing posture. Reach back to place both your palms flat on the wall, as shown. Allow your hips to rotate and your lead knee to move inward with the motion. This should feel relatively comfortable to you; you should feel no strain through your body.
3. Hips turn, shoulders don’t
From here, things get a little harder! Rotate your hips smoothly as close as possible back to square while keeping both palms flush on the wall. Be careful as you do this, and if you feel any pain stop immediately. This is a gentle introduction to so-called dissociation, the pelvis rotating without taking the torso with it.
4. Triple win
This single move is the key to three massive golfing benefits:
It allows you to develop a more powerful unloading sequence – lower body first, upper body second.
It improves your delivery path by delaying the uncoiling of the shoulders.
It shallows out the over-steep attack angle that tends to accompany the over-the-top path.
If weak slices are the bane of your life, make this stretch a part of your day.