PERFORMANCE

■ Some golfers with good thoracic rotation still tend to lose their spine-hip angle or to turn their whole body rather than just their trunk. For the upper body to turn on a relatively sta- tic lower body requires good internal rotation of the right hip on the back-swing and of the left hip during the follow- through. The study by Bechler (17) highlighted the muscle work in the hip and knee during the golf swing showing a sequential firing of muscles that generates power from the lower limbs through the trunk to the upper limbs.

■ According to Whiteley (18) higher handicap players try to gen- erate extra power from the shoulders and arms rather than the trunk. In doing so they place additional strain on the stabilis- ers of the scapulae and glenohumeral joints. This can also occur in elite age-group players, particularly if habitual poor posture at address is affecting the position of the left scapu- la. The analysis of static and dynamic scapular stability has resulted in the development of basic scapular stabilising exer- cises to control the club during the swing (19,20).

■ Almost all the players profiled have poor endurance and strength in the muscles of the posterior rotator cuff compared to the anterior rotator cuff muscle, particularly in the left shoulder. However, muscle endurance and strength are still being assessed subjectively in the absence of an objective test of rotator cuff strength that can be used “on the range” rather than in a clinical environment.

■ The role of the lumbar-pelvic stabilisers is investigated in order to enhance the golfers’ stability and control during the swing. The progression of exercises developed by Sahrmann (21) has been used to assess the golfers’ understanding of control before progressing to maintaining this control during the swing. What started as a form of injury prevention has become a performance enhancer as players have realised that better lumbar-pelvic stability results in an improvement in ball-flight distance irrespective of the club used.

■ In an effort to reduce the strain on the upper limbs (18) and in line with the findings of Watkins (22), the players are shown an exercise to improve the strength-endurance of the abdomi- nal obliques in outer range.

PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT Annual meetings of ELGA and EGU regional physiotherapists have resulted in a greater repertoire of exercises being developed. Any exercise progression takes into account the player’s: ■ ability at golf ■ ability to perform the current exercises well ■ chronological and developmental age.

Balance is a coaching point frequently used by PGA coaches. The use of balance cushions, (eg.”sitfit”, “disc-o-sit”), designed to improve sitting posture, has highlighted the lack of balance and/or inappropriate strategies to maintain balance in many of the golfers - even those amateurs already compet- ing at international level. Asking players to stand on one or two balance cushions whilst hitting balls (with any club) has shown a lack of control and stability. Encouraging the golfers to improve their scapular and lumbar-pelvic control and to maintain this throughout the swing has shown an improvement in the their balance, which has encouraged the PGA coaches and the players to persist with these exercises in order to

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