People don't think enough about balance. Most folks assume that once, as toddlers, they're able to successfully stand on two feet and start to walk, they've mastered balance and don't have to think much about it from that point on. Unfortunately, balance is the least understood component of sports performance. And no sport will expose your inability to maintain your sense of balance more quickly or more profoundly than golf. That's the bad news.
If you’re an adult reading this, can you imagine your body being completely different 6 months from now? I’m not talking about packing on a few pounds; I’m talking about gaining 3-5 inches in height, dealing with those long, gangly teenager arms, and having a center of gravity that’s constantly changing as you get taller.
Golf has a lot of rules and we don’t always want to follow all of them. You don’t want to be the party pooper and ruin all the fun. We get it. But what if there was a way you could exercise good golf safety without being a stickler for the rules? Even the thickest skulls can be seriously hurt by a golf ball hitting them in the back of the head. Golf safety is a no-brainer (no pun intended).
You don't need me to tell you that this has been a strange year. Life as we knew it was flipped upside-down from March to July. A trip to the supermarket suddenly became just as adrenaline-filled and nerve-rattling as a bungee jump. Kitchens and living rooms doubled as home offices and classrooms. And the only "sports" we were able to participate in were bidding wars on eBay for toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
Have you ever had to fight through 18 holes with a sore shoulder? Are your feet killing you? It ain’t easy and it certainly takes away most of the fun! Like most athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, golfers are prone to some aches, pains and injuries, especially retirees who suddenly have plenty of time on their hands, yet may have spent the last 40 years sitting with poor posture at a desk.
Suffering from lower back pain or chronic back tightness?
In modern society, back problems are, unfortunately, an all-too-common issue. Too many of us spend long years sitting at work or at home. When you add little to no exercise into the mix, our bodies deteriorate. They start broadcasting warning signals (pain). The good news is, it’s not too late to make changes.
Who says exercising has to be all work and no play? Why have we decided that all exercise must be an intense, stressful activity we don’t really look forward to?
Most of us play golf because we love the game. We love going out onto the course with great people and enjoying a day in the sun. But if your body is not in the best shape (especially if you recently retired and you’ve been sitting in an office environment for 40 years), golf can be hard on your body. You might not have the energy to play a full 18 holes while still enjoying the experience.
In this bizarro world known as 2020, a condensed schedule has already had the PGA Championship, the FedEx Cup playoffs, and the U.S. Open all taking place within a seven-week period. And it's not slowing down. Other than the week of Thanksgiving, there are tournaments straight through the middle of December with The Masters taking place in November. This is great for fans who were starved of action in March, April, and May, but for the players, it's a grind unlike any other.
While there are many areas of the body prone to injury, few injuries are worse than back injuries. Whether it’s a dislocated disc or nerve damage causing intense pain to shoot up your spine, not treating your back pain (and prevent it from happening in the first place) is never a good solution. Left untreated, you risk even serious injuries and debilitating pain and suffering. So let's think twice and swing once.
When you go for your annual check-up with your doctor, does he shake your hand, ask how you're doing, and then immediately schedule you for an appendectomy? At your last dental appointment, did your dentist start randomly drilling a bunch of your teeth?
