The Fitness Caddie Blog: “The Lip”

If you haven’t seen this yet, time to take a break and watch the master of power development in action…..and then go buy his DVD!

I have been wanting to blog about Tiger since last year, but had decided not to participate because although I have respect for what the guy has accomplished (on the course!), I have never been a huge fan of his foul mouth and bad attitude. However, in preparation for my trip to the US Open this week, I have been watching video random people have posted on YouTube of different players as they do their practice rounds.  Jack pot!  Although it’s hard to see from this angle, the gathering of fabric in Tiger’s lower back here gives an indication that he is not in neutral spine!

If you have read some of my previous blogs, I tend to talk about pelvic tilts quite a bit. In fact, I probably spend close to 10 hours a days discussing pelvic tilts and watching my golfers go through them. Why are they so important? I think of the pelvis as the power house of the golf swing, having proper mobility in both the anterior and posterior directions is vital to proper posture, power transfer and eliminating back pain. If a golfer addresses the ball with an excessive anterior tilt (also called S-posture) the result is activation of the lower back and hip flexors, which in turn shuts off the most important muscles in the golf swing, the glutes and abdominals. When the pelvis in too much of a posterior tilt (also called C-posture) the end result is rounding of the upper back which limits thoracic rotation and lack of hinge in the hips making it difficult to again transfer power in the swing. Neutral spine is the position in between those two postures where the body is best able to accomplish mobility, stability and power.
What’s my conclusion on Tiger?………the man is in poor posture at address, and if you take a look at the recent back and neck pain issues, coupled with his poor consistency in shots, he needs a healthy dose of pelvic tilts! (ok, this is where I could have inserted a joke…..but I’ll spare all of you!)

My back was feeling awesome this week, but my frustration with the driver has been increasing everyday!  I’m chalking it up to timing issues right now as I work through some swing changes, but I just couldn’t take it anymore…………thus the following video occurred!

Check out my TPI Medical Pro Dr. Harry Sese along with Jason Glass (a leading expert on everything golf and everything power related!) from B.C. demonstrating what can happen when all the elements of power production work together!

Be sure to check out Jason Glass’s website to find out more!