About Excessive Head Movement and Sway

Should you see a bear on the course, he would no doubt have excessive head motion and sway. Interestingly enough, the bear would suffer from these faults for many of the exact same reasons humans do; lack of skill and/or lack of ability. Before moving on, we should define exactly what these terms mean:

Skill(s): The ability to bring about some end result with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of energy, or time and energy (1). One¹s proficiency at a particular task (2).

Ability(ies): Factors that put limits on performance (1). The physical, mental, or legal competence to function (2).

To execute, and develop long term skill at the full swing, a player must have the ability to effectively and functionally utilize what I refer to as the body¹s tri-axial system. The backswing is initiated with the takeaway, which relies on predominantly a spinal axis (Figure 1-A). As one progresses toward the top of the backswing, there will be successive migration toward an axis through the right hip, with the right shoulder superimposed (Figure 1-B). The rate at which the body shifts from a spinal to a hip axis will be dependent upon the player¹s joint health and the working joints¹ abilities to effectively contribute to the goal motion. Additionally, the brain will influence the rate and ratio of change from a spinal to a hip axis based on an length/tension and length/force relationships in a player¹s trunk and hip musculature at that given instant.

Figure 1 A-D
Tri-axial Contribution to the Full Swing

At initiation of the downswing, force generation will begin at the ground, by necessity, progressing upward almost simultaneously to the hip. The force from the leg will serve to anchor and drive the pelvis, which will in turn activate the abdominal sling. Activation of the abdominal sling mechanism (internal oblique - contralateral external oblique) will coincide with a change in axis; the spinal axis will begin to dominate as the clubface squares to the ball and target line (Figure 1-C). As the body transitions into the follow-through, there will again be a progression toward a hip axis on the left side, the left shoulder similarly being superimposed upon the hip (Figure 1-D).

NORMAL HEAD MOVEMENT

Because execution of the full swing requires use of both a spinal and hip axis, there must be a progressive lateral shift of the body and head to accommodate both a change in axis and weight shift. Additionally, because the body is strongest at or near mid-range of any working muscle there will be accommodation of the shift to a hip axis via movement at the sacroiliac (SI) joints and pubic symphasis. The unlocking of the SI joints is initiated by bending of the left knee on the backswing and right knee on the downswing. The knee bend can be appreciated by comparing figures 1A to 1B,C and D; here bending of the respective knee and dropping of the pelvis via anterior rotation of the ilium are used to unlock the SI joints. By using gravity, this allows stretch energy to accumulate in the working muscle/tendon units and unlocks the SI joint on the bent knee side to facilitate rotation and minimize excessive loading of any joint in the kinetic chain.

Interestingly, the accepted lateral head shift of 1Ž2 head width corresponds to the geometry of the body (Figure 2). The head is almost exactly 50X of the bitrochanteric width (width of the pelvis at the hip joints) in every patient I have ever measured. Simply stated, this means that the head must stay within the confines of the two outer axes at all times.

Figure 2
Normal Lateral Head Movement

Through practical experience, teaching pros have found that if the head moves laterally to a magnitude greater than 50X of head width, sway is generated (Figure 3). Sway, considered incorrect weight shifting, is related to faulty pivot relationships and produces abnormal trajectories, erratic timing and teetering balance (3).

Figure 3
Excessive Lateral Head Movement and Sway

ADDRESSING CHRONIC SWAY

Initially, we defined skill and ability. Now, all of you are very aware that hitting a ball straight, consistently, is a skill. What I propose to you here is that there are a huge number of players at all levels of skill, right from the first timer to the touring pro that do not have the ability to perform the full swing. Granted there are those that have developed skill despite a lack of physical ability, yet you can rest assured they have never achieved their potential and never will until their physical ability to execute the full swing is restored.

To exemplify my point, consider that very few players have optimal cervical joint mechanics or cervical rotation, yet to perform the full swing within the confines of equal to or less than 50X lateral movement of the head requires full cervical range of motion (Figure 4). If there is loss of cervical range of motion via joint blockage or excessive tension in the neck muscles, the brain will seek to keep the eyes on the ball by compensating. The compensation frequently shows up as either hip sway or faulty side bending of the spine, resulting in a teetering balance point. The result is inevitably inconsistency! For the golfer who has become skilled enough to effectively compensate, the compensation will produce chronic muscle and/or joint pain; reduced performance in the second half of the game is to be expected.

Figure 4
Full Cervical Range of Motion is Critical for the Full Swing Should there be limited cervical rotation, the brain will facilitate faulty movement patterns elsewhere in the kinetic chain in order to keep the eyes focused on the ball. Such compensations are often the etiology of back, neck, shoulder, wrist and elbow pain in the amateur and professional player.

CONCLUSION

The teaching pro is often faced with the challenge of correcting common swing faults by enhancing their client¹s skill with sound instruction. When that does not work as well as they would like it to, they seek to correct swing faults by modifying stance and other swing factors that can be manipulated through instruction. In spite of being proficient as an instructor, many pros have clients that suffer repeatedly from such swing faults as excessive lateral head movement and sway. Learning to analyze the player¹s ability to execute the full swing based on biomechanics will provide the teaching pro with the necessary information to make sound decisions with regard to prescribing the needed stretches and exercises to restore the player¹s ability, as a necessary prerequisite to skill acquisition, or to refer the player to the appropriate medical practitioner to restore mechanical function.

When you become certified by the C.H.E.K Institute as a Golf Biomechanic, you will be able to bring about long term resolution of swing faults, restore prerequisite physical ability to each player, and facilitate skill development. Additionally, you will be able to identify those who truly need stance and swing modifications due to intractable orthopedic limitations in their ability to execute the full swing.

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