Want to Improve Driving Distance, Increase Your Backswing

By Jim Fanara. CSCS

 Most golf instructors would say that one way to improve driving distance is to get more backswing rotation.  No one drives 345 yards with half a backswing.  The clubhead needs distance to impact to build up speed. The farther the clubhead is from impact the more time there is to develop speed.

 Poor Everyday Posture Will Kill Driving Distance.

 If you have one of the most common postural imbalances of the modern world then you will have trouble increasing backswing rotation. And without the capacity to get some distance from impact in your backswing, it’s very hard to boom a drive.  It’s also more likely you will have some type of back or shoulder issue if you keep golfing.

 And odds are pretty good you either have a significant case of this imbalance or show some signs of this posture.  It’s called Upper Cross Syndrome. 

 What is Upper Cross Syndrome?

 Once you know what it is, you’ll notice how many people have this posture. You’re mom probably knew what UCS looked like if she told you slop slouching and stand up straight! It’s that hunched over, slouched, tired, defensive, depressed posture, you know; what teenagers look like when they are texting or just standing!.  (Dudes using “bro science” who think bench pressing is the key to all things physical get that look too.)

 You’ve seen it, but probably just didn’t really give it much thought; it’s the posture with forward rolled shoulders, more than normal flexion in the upper back; the head out over the shoulders with the chin pushed forward. 

 Watch for it next time you’re in a store; maybe you should look in the mirror too.  I mean, this is about YOUR golf game.

 Good Posture is a Reflex; You Shouldn’t Need to Think About it.

 If you have UCS, just pulling your shoulders back won’t fix it.  Posture is reflexive.  Good posture should happen without you thinking “stand up straight”.  Mom was right; she just didn’t know how to fix it.

 The modern lifestyle has many of us sitting too much.  Hunched over our computer keyboards and desks too much and driving too much. And of course, texting on our phones too much.

 Postural adaptations such as UCS are caused by chronic behaviors like too much sitting, typing or bench pressing.  The body adapts to habitual postures and movements; these adaptations can be good for movement quality or bad for movement quality.  It depends on what you do every day.

When things go bad, muscular imbalances develop that disrupt normal joint function.  Muscle imbalances can lead to injury, especially when you swinging a golf club.

Many Weekend Golfers Have Some Type of Postural Issue.

 Face it, many golfers are sedentary all week.  That’s the modern lifestyle, either by choice or necessity.

 For many golfers, modern lifestyles have:

•           Created Hip and Postural Dysfunctions
•           Put Their Joints in Chronically Poor Positions
•           Decreased Their Range of Motion
•           Disrupted Their Basic Motor Function

 Hip and posture dysfunction are placed together at the top of the list for a reason.  They are associated with each other; In fact, it’s very often the hip dysfunction that starts all the other issues.

 With these movement quality issues, it’s no wonder so many golfers have back issue and other injuries.  They can’t safely access the positions required for a fundamentally sound swing.  They can’t even get there once, much less repeatedly during practice and rounds over many years.

 What’s the Cause of all This Dysfunction?

 Here are a few.

•           Sedentary lifestyles
•           Lack of Movement Diversity
•           Stress
•           Poor Sleep and Nutrition
•           Misguided Exercise Programs
•           Previous Injury
•           Chronic Issues Like Arthritis and Spinal Stenosis

 Even poor breathing patterns impact posture and mobility.

 All this leads to the muscle imbalances that impact posture, keep joints in poor positions, decrease movement quality and limit mobility.

 You Wouldn’t Drive Your Car with the Parking Brakes Engaged.

Improving backswing rotation with UCS posture is difficult and reversing UCS takes time. 

 But, trying to increase your rotation without fixing UCS first is like trying to drive with the parking brakes on.  Drive for a short distance and there won’t be much damage.  Keep the brakes engaged for a long time and components of your brake system will be damaged. You’ll surely need a visit to your mechanic.

 Force more rotation with UCS posture and you’ll be trying to get your spine and joints to go to places they just can’t reach. Keep forcing joints into end ranges they don’t want to go with lots of range sessions and playing rounds and you’ll surely need a visit to your orthopedist.

 Why Does Upper Cross Syndrome Hurt Backswing Rotation?

 To get the club back you need to rotate your shoulders. To fully rotate your shoulders, you need to rotate and extend your T-spine, retract your scapula and elevate your arms.  All those movements are hard to do when your T-spine is stuck in flexion and your scapula is locked in a forwardly tilted position.  Which is exactly what happens when you’re stuck is a UCS posture.

 Try it right now.  Roll your shoulders forward, stick your chin out and keep your upper back flexed forward.  Try to take a backswing.  Not so easy.

 This postural problem puts stress on your shoulder joint soft tissue and the rotator cuff muscles that stabilize the shoulder joint.  It also places your spine in a poor position to deal with the forces of a golf swing.

 And obviously it robs you of the distance to impact you need to generate lots of clubhead speed.  So, if you can’t fully rotate because your everyday posture is the UCS posture; work on fixing your posture first.  You need to take the brakes off your spine and shoulders to get that full backswing that increases driving distance.

 What’s Muscular Imbalances are Causing Upper Cross Syndrome?

 Let’s say you hunch over work at your desk all day and commute in your car for an hour every day. That means for an extended period of time the muscles of your upper back are in a stretched position.  Over time, (months and years) those back muscles stay stretched and are weakened. 

 The weakened muscles happen to be the muscles that control scapula movement.  They contract to keep your scapula rotated back and pulled toward the spine(retracted). They release to let your scapula roll forward and allow your arms to reach forward (protract). 

 The muscles of the upper back help control scapula movement. As those muscles stretch and weaken, they are less efficient at drawing the scapula toward and down the spine. In opposition are the muscles of the chest that that become chronically shortened pulling the shoulders into the midline of the chest.  The weakened back muscles can’t resist the pull of the shortened muscles in the front; UCS develops.

 When everyday posture is the UCS posture, it takes a lot of muscular effort to get back to good posture. So, the body just defaults to the poor posture because it takes less energy.

 (Hey bro, bench pressing too much without offsetting pulling exercises can do the same thing!)

 How do You Reverse Upper Cross Syndrome?

 In terms of exercise, you need to reverse what’s happening.  Stretched and weakened upper back muscles need to be strengthened.  Contracted chest muscles need to be relaxed and lengthened.  It takes time to reverse this posture and it’s often not enough just to work on the upper torso.

 As I have said, hip dysfunction is very often at the heart of back issues and postural problems.

 What you do Everyday Impacts Hip Function Which Impacts Mobility.

 What you do everyday results in structural adaptations like muscles imbalances. Muscle imbalances disrupt normal joint function. When joints don’t function as they were intended, range of motion is affected. That means mobility suffers.

 And the epicenter of joint dysfunctions due to the modern lifestyle is the hip.

Hip Dysfunction Sends a Cascade of Compensations Up and Down the Kinetic Chain

Hip issues create compensations up and down the kinetic chain, placing the vertebrae and associated soft tissue and discs in a more vulnerable position.  Knee, ankle, foot, shoulder and the neck function can also be disrupted by hip issues.

 Without Daily Movement Variety, It’s Difficult to Improve Hip Mobility.

 Daily movement variety is the key to maintaining mobility.  Jogging, treadmill and elliptical workouts, spin cycling and 1970’s style weight training (you know what that is; bench press, curl and bench again…) won’t change movement quality.

 Even a well-designed exercise program will be hard-pressed to offset 8 to 10 hours of sitting each day. Even if you’re exercise plan is full of movement-based programs like yoga, Pilates, martial arts, and dance class, how many hours a week do you spend on these activities? Can 6 hours of exercise a week really offset the impact of an otherwise sedentary lifestyle?

 A well designed and targeted exercise program, specific to your needs, combined with more non-exercise movement everyday is the answer to reversing UCS.

The Golf Training Hacks System has training sections developed specifically to help golfers revere UCS posture and improve overall movement quality.  Improving movement quality is the key to keeping and maintaining the fluid athletic swing while staying injury free.