At Saratoga Health and Wellness, we how the body should move during the golf swing. Golf is a rotational sport. In order to create an efficient, powerful, accurate swing, we need to generate as much force using our body in a rotational fashion. Just like a pitcher in baseball, a boxer throwing a punch, tennis player hitting a forehand or a hockey player taking a slap shot, golf is no different in the way that it generates this force. If done properly, every one of these athletic feats shares a commonality called kinematic sequencing, or the bodies ability to generate rotational force from the ground up. If we can improve how your body rotates and help you develop better kinematic sequencing, you will not only hit longer and more accurately, but score lower.
The key points to know about the kinematic sequence are the following:
1. There is an identical sequence of speed or energy generation for all great ball strikers. That sequence is lower body first, thorax second, lead arm third, and the club shaft last. This sequence occurs in the downswing.
2. Each segment of the body builds on the previous segment, increasing speed up the chain.
3. Each segment of the chain slows down as the next segment continues to accelerate. Think of the handle of a whip. The first thing you do is accelerate the handle of the whip to generate speed. Then you rapidly decelerate the handle to transfer speed to the next part of the whip. The same thing happens in the best ball strikers in the world. Their lower body represents the handle and club shaft represents the end of the whip.
4. Unorthodox styles may have no effect on your ability to generate a good kinematic sequence. In other words, Jim Furyk and Davis Love can have vastly different swing styles, but can have the same kinematic sequencing.
We’ll discuss some exercise that can help kinematic sequencing next month. To learn more about the golf fitness program at Saratoga Health and Wellness and the Titleist Performance Institute certified professionals at Saratoga Health and Wellness please contact us at [email protected].