Golf Movements for a better swing
It may look like retired PGA tour pro Arron Oberholtzer is practicing a line dance for a wedding; but this poorly choreographed exercise is actually one of the best ways to teach your body how to turn from the ground up.
Standing on 1-foot turn forward. Standing on one-foot turn back. Now, try it on the other leg.
In the picture Arron is standing on his left foot at address. The second picture has Arron turning to his right; this simulates a backswing to his left leg. The third picture Aaron is turning through the ball or to his left simulating a follow through. The same can be said when standing on the right leg. I use this exercise as part of the assessment process to see how well golfers turn and stabilize their swings.
Let's look at the specifics of this exercise and see how it can make you a better golfer.
If you look at Arron in the pictures his bellybutton turns 180° from the start to the finish of this exercise. Many amateur golfers reach the leg across their body and turn very little. Indicating poor balance and decreased mobility in the legs. This exercise also lets me know how the player’s feet interact with the ground. Looking at Arron's planted leg, he does this very well, and stays firmly in contact with the ground. This tells me that he is generating his movement through the floor and stabilizing his leg to support the turn. In contrast, an amateur’s foot will not stay flat on the ground rolling towards the direction of movement. This indicates that the player may have tight hips and feet, or doesn’t know how to use the ground to turn.
To perform this correctly, start by slowly rocking forward and backwards at the ankle. This gives you the feeling of where most of the movement is going to come from and brings your attention to your foot. Be sure to concentrate and feel where most of the movement is coming from. Now add in a small side-to-side shift at the ankle. Try turning from the ankle to your left and to your right see if you can get a full turn like Arron in the image above. Try to generate the turn from the foot and not by pulling and pushing with the shoulders. Mastering this exercise will create mobility of the ankle and hip, help you with your balance and teach your body to use the ground for devolving power; longer drives are sure to come.
