Using the GolfForever Swing Trainer to Improve Your Golf Swing

The golf swing is one of the most dynamic motions in sports, requiring coordinated loading and the generation of power and force throughout the kinetic chain. Physical therapy can help golfers improve their golf swing by enhancing agility and power for longer drives, improving mobility and flexibility in the hips and shoulders and dynamic balance, and enhancing core strength and neuromuscular control for a powerful, controlled, and accurate golf swing. Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Bobby demonstrates the variety of ways we utilize the Golf Forever Swing Training Tool in our clinic to improve your golf swing.

Biomechanics of the Golf Swing

The golf swing demands coordinated loading and generation of power and force throughout the kinetic chain. It is a complicated combination of dissociated movements that require postural control, balance, flexibility, mobility, and strength to generate and transfer power throughout the kinetic chain. Power is generated from the lower body, through the hips, trunk, and thoracic spine, particularly during the backswing. The downswing unloads this energy and power, initiated through the hips to the pelvis, trunk, arms, club, and golf ball.

During the swing motion, the front leg (lead hip) and back leg (trail hip) work together while performing identical opposite movements. Weight is transferred from the back leg into the front leg and lead hip as one transition from the top of the backswing into the down swing. The golfer rotates the front leg while the foot stays planted on the ground. The lower half of the body must remain stable while allowing mobility in the upper trunk, shoulders, and arms to engage in the swing. It is also essential to have sufficient shoulder external rotation and mobility in the trail arm in order to shallow the path of the club to the ball from the top of the backswing until hitting the ball. This improves accuracy and consistency in ball striking.

For a strong, consistent golf swing, a golfer also needs adequate thoracic mobility to rotate the body to bring the golf club behind the body and follow through after hitting the ball. Thoracic mobility refers to full range of motion in the thoracic spine in the mid-back. A golfer also needs flexibility in the latissimus dorsi muscle, which is a muscle that attaches at the top of the arm, wraps around the back, and attaches to the backside of the pelvis. Proper flexibility in the latissimus muscle allows for proper spine posture, sufficient rotation, and a good backswing length to generate power.

Progression of the Golf Swing

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How to Improve Your Golf Swing with Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can help golfers improve their golf swing by enhancing agility and power for longer drives, improving mobility and flexibility in the hips and shoulders and dynamic balance, and enhancing core strength and neuromuscular control for a powerful, controlled, and accurate golf swing.

A physical therapist can provide a golfer a thorough assessment, determining any muscle weaknesses or mobility deficits negatively affecting your golf swing and designing a customized program to address individual deficits, manage pain and injury, and improve swing mechanics. A therapist focuses on building core strength and stability for optimal swing power, spinal and cervical mobility for proper swing rotation, wrist and forearm strength for control at the end of the swing, lower body mobility and stability for drive distance, pelvic tilt and hip strength for optimal power and control, and single leg balance for the correct transfer of energy during the start of the golf swing.

The physical therapist may use targeted strengthening exercises, aerobic conditioning training, single-leg and dynamic balance training, agility and coordination drills, and range of motion and rotational exercises to enhance your golf swing. One tool that can be used to enhance a golfer’s fitness is the Golf Forever Swing Trainer tool.

The GolfForever Swing Trainer is a new addition at Mangiarelli Rehabilitation to enhance a golfer’s fitness, mobility, and strength in one integrated system, guided by our physical therapists. In the video below, Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Bobby demonstrates the variety of ways we utilize this tool in our clinic to improve your golf swing:

The Swing Trainer is designed to help golfers gain distance and consistency in their golf swing by building mobility, balance, and speed. The swing trainer includes a 44.5-inch resistance training bar to build strength and mobility in diagonal, rotational patterns as well as light and medium resistance bands to target specific muscle groups like the shoulders, hips, and core muscles.

Whether you’re just getting into the swing of the golf season for the first time or you’re a seasoned golfer, physical therapy can help you improve your golf swing, prevent future injury, and maintain a consistent golf performance.