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What Do
The Core And The Golf Swing
Have In Common, Part Two?
In part one of this
article we discussed the core and its relation to
the golf swing. A quick review of the information in
article one will indicate a definitive connection
between the "athletic movements" of a golf swing and
the core section of the body. Prior to beginning
this article let us take a brief moment to review
information provided in the first article on this
topic.
A quick review will
indicate that the core is an anatomical region of
the body. This region of the body consists of all
the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and neural
structures, located from the hips to the lower
chest. This comprises all of the structures of: the
hips, abdominals, low back, and obliques (side
abdominals). In addition to describing the
anatomical region of the core, part one of this
article described the following: the relationship
between the core and golf swing in the specific
areas of range of motion, coordination, speed of
motion, and balance. Part two of this article will
discuss core flexibility, strength, endurance, and
power. We will relate these three additional topics
to the golf swing as we did in part one.
Recalling from the
first article, range of motion is directly related
to distance. Distance that a body moves in a
specific amount of time when discussing
biomechanics. Relating range of motion to the golf
swing indicates that the greater range of motion
that the core mechanism of the body can move
through, the greater amount of force can be created
to deliver into the club head.
The second topic
discussed in article one was speed of motion.
Remember, speed of motion is directly related to
range of motion. Speed of motion is essentially
adding a component of time to range of motion. The
faster that an object or the body can move through a
specific range of motion, the greater amount of
force can be created through this range of motion.
Thirdly, we
introduced coordination. Coordination is the ability
to time the movements of the body in the correct
sequence to perform the activity desired. This
requires the body to move through the required
ranges of motion with the correct speed of motion.
The final topic
discussed in section one of this article was
balance. Balance is the ability of the body to
maintain a center of gravity during a movement.
Increased balance allows for greater accuracy with
athletic activities. Moving forward into section two
of this article, we build upon the information
discussed in article one. Relevancy to the core and
the golf swing is easily seen when connecting these
topics (range of motion, speed of motion,
coordination, and balance) to the athletic movement
associated with the golf swing.
Flexibility
Flexibility is the
range of motion around a joint and is influenced by
skeletal structures, ligaments, muscles tissues, and
joint capsule type. Range of motion is a result of
the deformation of soft tissues (i.e. muscle tissue,
ligaments, and tendons) surrounding a joint.
Flexibility is essentially the ability of the
neuromuscular to create a desired range of motion by
the body. The golf swing requires the core, and the
entire body, to move through a specified range of
motion to create contact with the golf ball.
Limitations in flexibility can create the inability
of the body to move through the required ranges of
motion at the correct speed to perform a golf swing.
This will result in numerous problems as a result of
poor mechanics in the swing. A direct connection
exists between range of motion, speed of motion, and
flexibility. If flexibility is limited the result
will be limitations in ranges of motion and speeds
of motion.
Strength
Strength can be
defined as the ability of the neuromuscular system
(neural system, muscular system) to create and exert
force. A lack of strength limits the ability of the
body to create force for a given athletic movement.
In relationship to the golf swing, strength is a
required component of the core. A large proportion
of the force created in the golf swing is a result
of the lower body and core musculature system. As a
result, creating the force needed to develop club
head speed is directly related to strength levels
within these structures of the body. A lack of
strength lessens to a degree the amount of force
that can be created in the golf swing, thus reducing
the amount of club head speed available to the
golfer.
Endurance
Endurance is the
ability of the neuromuscular structures (muscular
system, neural system, ligaments, and tendons) to
perform the same athletic movement repeatedly over a
specific amount of time. The golf swing is a
repetitive athletic movement requiring the
neuromuscular system to perform the same
neuromuscular activity over and over again for a
given number of swings, time, etc. This requires the
body to move through a specific range of motion,
with the correct speed of motion, coordinating the
movements in the correct sequence, with the required
force outputs (i.e. strength), and correct levels of
endurance. A lack of endurance in the neuromuscular
system will limit the ability of the individual to
perform the components required of the golf swing
listed above.
Power
Power is the ability
to create the greatest amount of force in a
specified amount of time. Power is contingent upon
the combination of strength and speed of motion.
These two components working in conjunction create
power. A decrease in strength or speed of motion
limits the ability of power production by the
neuromuscular system. The golf swing requires the
body to produce power to deliver into the club head.
The amount of time to perform this is limited and
contained within the ranges of motion through which
the body moves during the golf swing. The point to
be made is that a direct connection exists for power
production between range of motion, speed of motion,
and strength. These three components working
together determine the power outputs created by the
body during the golf swing.
Summary
This article
discussed an additional four components that are
relevant to the core structure of the body and the
golf swing. The key point to make between the topics
discussed in this article and article number one is
the connection between all of these components.
Range of motion, speed of motion, balance, and
coordination are contingent upon the points
discussed in this article. The ability of the body
to swing a golf club requires the ability of the
body to have the required ranges of motion, speeds
of motion, balance, and coordination to perform the
swing. The development of flexibility, strength,
endurance, and power within the body allows for
these activities to occur. Thus all eight of these
components (range of motion, speed of motion,
balance, coordination, flexibility, strength,
endurance, and power) are interconnected to perform
a golf swing. The relationship to the core and these
activities is a follows: the core region of the body
is a main component of the golf swing. It is
utilized greatly in all aspects of the golf swing
from maintaining balance to creating power. The core
can be considered to be the "engine" of the golf
swing.
Sean Cochran
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