Being flexible is one of those fitness goals that we all have, but seldom have time to work on specifically. Sure, we stretch out before a workout (you do, don't you?), but devoting a workout to increasing your flexibility is something few of us have time for. However, if you are a golfer, or want to be, you might want to reconsider and make the time for flexibility in your golf fitness program.
The reason is simple. To be flexible is to have the ability to move your body in the proper way along the full range of motion. For a golfer, it means you can move such that the club face travels where you want it to go-- through a complete backswing, returning square to the ball and a full follow-through. When your flexibility is maximized, you gain two key benefits.
The first is that you are able to keep the club where it is supposed to be. You are able to create a golf swing plane that is the best for your given objective (for most of us, sending the ball far and staight). The club rotates when it is supposed to, follows the proper arc, and returns to the correct angle at the place of impact. When you think about it, the golf ball doesn't care what the club does before or after it is hit. The only thing that matters is the speed and direction by which the ball is impacted by the club. That directional element dictates where the ball goes. The simple physics is why sometimes it seems so easy, and yet so challenging.
Now, the speed of the golf club govens your power. Most golf professionals will use an analogy of a spring in some way with their students. The tighter the spring, the more energy it holds and the more energy it can unleash when released. The ability to have a longer and more powerful stroke is the second big benefit of flexibility. If you are able to coil further, you can impart that much more energy to the golf ball.
The danger of not being flexible is easily seen from these two angles as well. If you are not able to maintain the swing plane you are trying for, the body will compensate. The fact of a backswing, impact, and follow-through are inevitable, but if you just can't maintain proper form, you will unconsciously compensate with a little too much bending here, a little hesitation there, and before you know it, you are cringing at the sight of yourself when your local pro videotapes your swing. If you manage to maintain a decent swing, but can't achieve a good coil, you are like a spring with no punch-- and the ball leaves the tee not with a bang, but a whimper.
Take the time to become more flexible. It will help your swing, lower your scores, and earn you that coveted view of a golf ball streaking away, on the trajectory you planned, like a cannon shot, not a bb-gun.
Resources:
Sean Cochran's PGA Fitness Blog
