Golf Stance Alignment: Two Common Golf Swing Faults
As if the golf swing wasn’t already hard enough, your performance and physical health can be impacted before you even start your swing. Poor alignment in the golf stance can have a direct impact on the mechanics of the swing making it more difficult to strike the ball clean. In addition, poor alignment at stance can facilitate poor movement that places unnecessary stress to our spine. There are two common alignment faults in the golf swing; S-Posture and C-Posture.
S-POSTURE
S-Posture is among the most common sources of low back pain in the golf swing. S-Posture is when a player has too much arch in their lower back. Too much arch places stress on the joints & muscles of the lower back, while inhibiting the abdominal muscles on the front of the trunk. The S-Posture promotes a loss of posture, which messes with the swing path of the club. In addition, it limits the spine’s ability to rotate, and decreases power by inhibiting your abs and hip muscles.
C-POSTURE
In my previous post about golf stance alignment, we discussed the S-Posture and its negative impact. Now let’s switch gears and discuss those players that have a C-Posture. Everyone that works a full-time desk & computer job, listen up!
C-Posture occurs when a player slumps their upper back and rounds their shoulders. This places unnecessary stress on the upper back, neck, and shoulders. Similar to S-Posture, C-Posture also limits the spine’s ability to rotate. If the spine isn’t able to rotate, a multitude of swing mechanical break-downs can occur such as loss of posture. Many causes of C-Posture exist, but most often they are associated with muscle imbalances & joint restrictions that have accumulated over time due to poor sitting posture.
If you are dealing with pain in your golf swing, or would just like to improve your game then don’t forget about what you do before you swing the club!