My wife is a goddess, as was proof this past week when it comes to golf injuries. I am thankful for having such a great girl. You see my college buddies and I who have keep in touch over the years planned a golfing get away. We had planned this golfing get together for the past year. Then it happened my golfing back started to act up putting some doubt on the trip. We all had looked forward to this weekend of playing golf, shooting the breeze and yes perhaps a little side betting on our golfing.
Believe it or not, my wife encouraged the trip… (hmmm.. wonder why she wanted me out of town?) and showed me how to get my back into proper shape. She’s a dancer and only watches golf when she walks through the living room and Tiger Woods is playing.
Back pain and Golfers Elbow are just two or the most common Golfing Injuries. Here are the other Top Ten, Shoulder Pain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, DeQuervain’s Tendinitis, Knee Pain, Trigger Finger, Wrist Impaction Syndrome, ECU Tendon Subluxation, Fracture of Hamate Bone.
During my college days I had dreams of playing on the PGA circuit while playing on the golf team. It seems that I was better suited for business than playing golf in the same league as the professionals. It’s funny how when you are twenty you don’t sustain any golf injuries compared to being over forty.
As I turned thirty the strain on my back seem to increase as I used my driver. Now that I am over forty, if proper exercise is not done I am going to have bad back problems. My wifes advice is very important if you want to keep playing often and want to get to the golf course a lot.
This is how my wife will talk to me when she wants me to listen…”Honey”….”It does not matter if you play golf or you are dancing, your core strength is what matters, it’s flexibility and stability”. With her wearing leotards I had to sit and listen. “The first thing you have to do is tighten up your abs as all the power comes from your center”. With that she showed me how my abdominals effect my hips and back. She added that I would have to make sure and stretch before beginning to play, the greater your flexibility and strength the better you will feel during play. She made perfect sense and who was I to argue with her. Even though she does not know a slice from a divot I took her advice seriously. Being that she was somewhat of an expert at keeping ones body in shape I started to heed her advice. Once a day I worked at strengthening my abs and stretching especially before a golf game. All in all I am trying to lead a healthier lifestyle. The end result is that my golf game has come back with longer more accurate drives and going the full eighteen holes is not a problem and I am not very tired at all.
With what my wife has taught me about core strength and how it has improved my golf game my college buddies are very envious of me. The golf injuries will be a thing of the past much like in my younger days. I have replace some of my strength and flexibility of my youth by exercising and stretching to keep in shape and play better golf.