Friday, January 20, 2012

About Back Muscles in Good Golf Downswing


A golf swing uses most of the muscles of your body, using them in coordination to create reactive power. Reactive power occurs when you take the club back, then forward, using the same muscles differently during the backswing and drive forward. During the downswing, you release the energy you created during your backswing to accelerate your club forward.
The Swing
During a golf swing, you create power using a back-and-forth motion that uses eccentric muscles to move the club backward and eccentric contractions to accelerate it forward. The larger the muscles, the more power they contribute. This is why it's important to rely on your legs, hips and torso for power, rather than your arms. Your arms should control the club. A slight slowdown at the top of your swing allows you to transfer the energy you created during your backswing to your forward swing without taking your club out of alignment. Swinging with a one-two rhythm, instead of a one-two-three rhythm, can cause too much reliance on the arms and create a swing path that creates a hook or slice.
Back Muscles
During a golf swing, you use the muscles of your back more during the takeback, particularly the latissimus dorsi. Working with your lats, the back of your upper arms, or triceps, and back of your shoulder work together as one part of the kinetic chain of events that occurs during a sport movement. When you move the club forward, you continue to use these muscles, with the hips starting the forward swing, and the abdominals, pectorals, biceps and deltoids as major initiators of acceleration. The muscles of the back play a role in helping stabilize your forward rotation into the ball.
Vertical Downswing
The higher you raise your club during the backswing, the more gravity will act on your downswing, creating more acceleration. This can also cause you to come under the ball, creating a chopping motion that can result in hitting the ground or sending your ball with a higher trajectory, losing you distance. A higher swing may also cause you to take the club back a shorter distance, losing you energy you would create with a longer, eccentric muscle contraction. Experiment with a high takeback to determine its effect on your control and distance.
Horizontal Downswing
A longer, "flatter," more horizontal backswing may give you the best combination of power and control. The longer swing lets you build more acceleration going back, and lets you swing on a more even plane with the ground going forward. Experiment with different takeback heights, around and below your shoulders, to see how they affect your control and distance.
Downswing Basics
The downswing, also known as the forward swing, should start with your hips. This will help generate the most power, as your hips pull your torso and trailing shoulder into the shot, letting your arms follow naturally. This motion allows you to keep more control of the club, since your arms aren't needed to generate power and can stay in their natural position moving forward.

 
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