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Flexibility exercise for golf is a critical component to performing a repeatable, powerful, and mechanically sound golf swing. Senior golfers are the prime target to benefit the most from flexibility exercise for golf. With a declining level of both flexibility and strength, the muscles of the senior golfers are not as pliable and responsive to the physical demands of the golf swing.

The golf swing requires a higher level of flexibility to produce maximum power. Turning your upper body (shoulders) 90 degrees, while maintaining less than half that with your hip turn takes a tremendous amount of dynamic strength and flexibility.

It always surprises me when I speak to a golfer and really spell it out to them. I’ll even go through the swing visually and explain and certain points where physical restrictions can ruin your golf swing. I think the combination of my showing the golfer and explaining it really hits home for them.

It’s tough via an article like this, or any of my websites to get the golfer to understand these physical demands on flexibility (and strength). I can, and will do my best to always explain it in a way that gives you a good visual.

The sooner you realize flexibility exercise for golf is a necessity, the sooner you will see improvement. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience total “golf transformations” with the golfers I’ve worked with.

Testing them before they started, on backswing range; follow through range; initial posture set up and restrictions: I’ve seen miraculous results with golfers. The senior golfers are the ones who see the biggest improvement. That’s mostly based on their initial level of fitness when they started.

That’s why I always tell golfers I come intact with…”it’s NEVER too late!” Never! Everyday that goes by is another day you’ll have wished you would have started. Don’t let one more day go by. Get started right away!

Now…to define flexibility exercise for golf you just need to take a look at the golf swing. Get in your golf posture right now, and bring the swing down into phases. Imagine taking a club back just a couple of feet.

Where do you feel the tension so far?

If you’re really paying attention to your body, you will feel the back of your legs (hamstrings), your left hip, the back of your left arm, and even your lower back. This is if you are a right-handed golfer.

Now take it back further. Where do you feel it now?

You’ll start feeling tension in your right shoulder, your core (from rotating), more in your upper left back muscle and shoulder.

Isn’t it amazing to slow the swing down and realize how restricted you are? It’s a wake-up call to embark in flexibility exercise for golf right now.
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How you finish often reveals what’s happening during your swing In fact, I often key on a player’s finish in my golf lessons to determine exactly how to help he or she can improve their game. You can do the same for yourself—if you know what to look for.

Below I describe four of the more common finishes I see when giving golf lessons, possible causes of the finish, and ideas on how to eliminate, the swing faults that cause them.

High Finish
The high finish position is among the most common. Hands held high and a flying left elbow (for right handers) characterize the position, associated with pushes, thins shots, and shots struck toward the clubface’s heel. High finishers tend to swing on an in to out path that’s extreme, with the club traveling to the right of the target, minimizing control.

If you read my golf tips, you’ll find that the in-to-out swing is my preferred approach; however, in this case, it’s extreme. When the inside-out move becomes severe, you push the shot. When club comes too far inside with a closed clubface, you pull the shot. Also, swinging too far inside delivers the club below the swing plane, preventing the club from striking the ball on a descending path. The key is not to exaggerate the move too much.

Low Finish
The low finish stems from an overly out-to-in swing path, caused by a downswing motion initiated by the arms instead of the body. Players developing this finish come over the top of the plane, as I’ve explained in my golf tips, causing the clubhead to cut across the ball through the impact zone. The position is associated with pull slices, pull hooks, and shots off the toe. Since the club is moving steeply and across the ball, none of the shots are well struck. Nor do they fly toward the intended target.

If you freeze this finish, you’ll notice that the player’s hands and arms seemed to be all jammed up. That’s because the arms have moved earlier than the body, impeding the arm’s movement and limiting their extension. To fix this problem, you obviously need to work on the body/arm synchronization, so your arms don’t out race your body on the downswing.

Lunge Finish
I don’t know how popular this finish is statistically, but I often see it in my golf lessons. With this type of finish, the player’s head is in front of his or her left leg, or the golfer feels himself or herself falling forward. It stems from a poor rotation of the lower body through the hitting zone, causing the upper body to get ahead of the ball. The end result: the player fails to stay behind the ball during the swing.

To correct this fault, you need to work on your hip rotation. Try leading the down swing with your hips instead of your body. Try placing a chair to your front side, with the back of the chair just touching your hips. Take a few practice swings being careful to stay in contact with the chair’s back as you turn through impact. Also, try finishing with your head over your left leg.
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Fix golf slice is a thought on many amateur golfers’ minds. Studies reveal over 80% of all amateur golfers slice the ball. There have been more training aids, drills and tips to fix the golf slice that I can’t even begin to count.

If you hit a golf slice, have you taken lessons; bought any training aids, and done several drills only to still hit a slice? What a frustrating situation! Do you realize what’s causing your golf slice?

A golf slice is caused by the clubface coming across the ball from outside the target line, creating side-spin on the ball. Upon first thought, this may seem like a mechanical issue. And it is…but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find it’s a ‘physical’ issue.

You see…your body dictates your ability to swing the club efficiently. If your body has ‘physical limitations’, your swing will not be mechanically sound and swing faults will appear.

In the golf swing there are many compensations for lack of proper mechanics. If you can’t make a 90 degree shoulder turn on the backswing, you’ll do whatever it takes to feel like you are making a full turn.

A good example of this would be to rotate your hips beyond the desired 45 degrees to enable your body to make a full backswing. What this does is rob you of power. You have no torque built up in your core to unleash into the ball at impact.

The same thing with a golf slice.
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Although hitting from a bunker is straightforward once you learn the basics of stance and posture, the thought of hitting into a greenside sand trap unsettles many golfers. Improving your technique reduces the fear of bunker play and builds self-confidence in your shot-making capabilities.

Assuming the texture of the sand is similar, and the ball is not plugged, the technique for hitting out of a greenside bunker remains the same for shots up to 30 yards (27m). The key to making this shot, as I’ve explained in my golf tips, is hitting the sand about 1 to 2 inches behind the ball, throwing the sand forward with the ball. For longer shots the only thing that changes is the swing’s length. Rhythm and tempo remain the same.

Below are 5 points I cover in my golf lessons on bunker technique. They’re the focus of my golf instruction once I’ve reviewed how a wedge works and the fundamentals of stance and posture.

1. Move Arms Away in Unison

Having taken a slightly open stance, resist the temptation to get too steep early in the takeaway. Keep the wrists passive as you sweep the club away. Try to synchronize the arm swing and body turn. In other words, make the first part of the takeaway a one-piece movement. Also, make sure the clubhead follows the path away from the ball parallel to the line of your toes.

2. Rotate and Open

Rotate your left arm and wrists as the swing continues, as if you were looking at a wristwatch. It’s a visual I often use in my golf instruction to help players remember to make the move. It opens the clubface and helps maximize the bounce effect on the sand wedge at impact. Also, start hinging your wrists as the clubhead passes your right thigh. Keep your head still, turn the left shoulder in under the chin, and turn your back to the target.

3. Turn to the Top

As your body turns, you should feel as if your clubhead is pointing toward the sky and your wrists are cocked. Keep your head and body centered over the over the ball. Swing the club down on a slightly flatter plane, with good rhythm and tempo, as always. This is a key move any time you swing a club.

4. Make the Right Contact

Hitting the right impact point is critical when playing from the sand. In golf lessons I tell students to visualize the ball sitting on top of a tee instead of the sand, then focus on clipping the tee beneath the ball, which just happens to get in the swing’s way. Executed properly, this move will throw the ball out of the bunker with just the right amount of sand.

5. Create a Controlled Explosion

As the club comes down in the downswing, you should feel your hands drag left, pulling them across the ball through impact. Make sure that your right hand doesn’t cross over the left and that you clear your left hip as the club comes through. If the stance and clubhead are open sufficiently, the ball will fly straight, with a high trajectory.
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