Question from a PGA Client

Question:

My back feels great as evidenced by how I'm playing, thanks to you and your program.  But it's funny that I'm aware of tightness in my back after walking to the next hole and then being stationary for a while.  I've also noticed the same phenomenon among the students I teach.  Why is that?

Answer:

Walking takes specific muscles through a shortened range of motion. Couple that with dehydration on any level, and the importance of stretching pre, post, and DURING a round will be paramount. Any faulty length/tension relationships will be more pronounced over time/increasing levels of fatigue as the body gravitates toward a position of strength. Core deficiencies/dysfunction will contribute, too, of course. Both of these will likely take some time to resolve, especially as:

--the movement pattern of gait (walking) is much more deeply ingrained into the neuromuscular system than that of swinging a golf club/putting (unless you're Tiger Woods, perhaps).
--athletes tend to be "lazy" and present with more postural aberrations when doing something "simple" like walking than when performing a complex maneuver.

Hydrate.
Stretch.
Strengthen.

Do such simple concepts work?

The proof is in the putting...