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Strengthen Shoulders To Lower Golf Handicap

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Published: 20Jun2009
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Strengthen Shoulders To Lower Golf Handicap

You don't need golf instruction sessions to learn to drive the ball long and straight. But you do need to make a good shoulder turn. It creates the torque needed to strike the ball solidly. Good ballstriking helps lower your scores and trim your golf handicap. Unfortunately, not everyone makes a good turn. Some fear they'll mis-hit the ball if the turn too far. Others are unaware of the importance of a good turn. And some can't turn because of injury.

Shoulder injuries can really mess up your swing. They often occur in the dominant arm, which crosses your torso through impact. But they also occur in the non-dominant arm as well. Among the muscles in your shoulder is your rotator cuff. It plays a critical role in transferring power from your torso to the club, so it must be strong to hit the ball long. Rotator cuff injuries often cause a dull pain in the shoulder. But it's enough to inhibit your swing.

Strengthening Your Rotator Cup The following exercises strengthen the rotator cuff:

* Buy an elastic tube that stretches. Attach it to some point on the ground. Pull the elastic tube upward—from parallel to the ground to the top of your shoulder—with the forearm only.

* From a push-up position, walk your arms from the 12 o'clock position to the 10 o'clock position. Then, from the 10 o'clock position to the 12 o'clock position. Now, walk them from the 12 o'clock position to the 2 o'clock position.

The following exercises are done with a dumbbell. Make sure you use one that you can lift comfortably. Otherwise, you could injure your shoulder.

* Palm facing forward, lift a dumbbell from in front of your thigh outward, until your arm is parallel to the ground.

* Bend from the hips and lift, so the dumbbell is parallel to the ground. Use a table to brace yourself with the other hand, if you must.

* Brace your free arm on a table. Bend at the waist and lift the dumbbell until the palm is facing the floor.

* Hold the dumbbell with the knuckles down and lift the arm until it's parallel to the ground.

Do these exercises at least three times a week. Do three sets of 20 repetitions each. Perform them slowly and stop immediately, if you feel pain.

Improving Your Shoulder Turn Another way to help improve your shoulder turn is to do the following golf drills:

1. The Mirror Drill promotes a full shoulder turn. I teach it in my golf lessons, but you may have read about it in my golf tips or in a sports magazine.

Take an address position in front of a mirror. Place your hands on your hips and look to the right (for right-handers), as if you were looking at someone behind you. If you have to lift your left foot off the ground, go ahead. Feel the rotation of your spine and the coil of the turn. Now, look in the mirror. See how your back faces the target? Your left knee should point inward. And your weight should be mostly on your right side. That's all there is to it.

Left-handers, or course, must do the drill in the opposite direction.Work on the Mirror Drill regularly. When you're familiar with the sensation involved, head to the practice range and hit some balls. You may be surprised how well you hit them.

2. Many golfers use their hands and arms only when swinging the driver. They don't rotate their shoulders, sapping power from their swing. This drill helps keep your hands, arms, and shoulders in sync as you swing back and through.

Lower yourself down to the floor onto your knees. Hold a ball between your hands and out in front of your chest. Start by making some small moves swinging the ball back and forth. The idea is to keep the ball in front of your chest as your arms swing and your shoulders rotate. Increase the length of your swing going back and through. As you reach the end of your backswing and forward swing, allow your arms to fold. Swing back and fold your arms. Swing down and unfold them. Swing through and fold them again.

Work on this drill regularly. After doing so, you should see yourself getting more distance from your shots. A strong rotator cuff is crucial to a good shoulder turn. And a good shoulder turn is crucial to hitting longer shots. Improve your turn and you'll hit the ball longer and chop strokes off your golf handicap.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

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