The other day I went to the club to play and walk nine holes. I ran into two friends as I walked up to the first tee and we joined up to play. Since I played the back tees (around 6700 yards) at Village Greens in my home town, the two friends, who play the white tees stayed back with me at the blue until I hit before moving up to the white.
Having just arrived and not hitting any range balls, the first thing I always do, whether before warming up on the range or especially if I go straight to the 1st tee, is stretch out. I start with a total upper body stretch by standing erect and extending my arms straight out, forming a T with relation to my torso. When the arms are stretched I then turn them palms facing the sky, which really stretches out the upper arms, the chest, shoulders and neck.
Dr. John Roman, a chiropractor who works out on the PGA Tour, taught me this and says it really important. Stretching the chest outward counteracts the chest being compressed inward every time we bend over holding a club at address to swing. I may do the T stretch many times in a round, especially when waiting to play my next shot. I stay working on the shoulders, stretching them by lifting or hunching them up and rolling them in a circular motion forward and then backward, around 10 times each direction. This really loosens up the shoulders and neck and upper back. Next, I stretch out my fingers, then my arms, and then I swing a sand wedge, holding it around the end of the grip in a big circle to the side of my body, first right handed and then with the left hand to again stretch and loosen up my shoulders and rotator cuffs.
With the upper body warm and stretched, I start working the hip and lower body. I lift my right leg up, bending it so the heel comes up toward my butt and hold it for around 10 seconds. Then I stretch out the left. This stretches out the calf, especially the hamstring. (Note: when I started doing this my foot/heel was about 1 foot from touching my butt. Now, without my butt growing, my foot now is only around 3 inches away which means my legs are much more flexible.) Next, I really work my hamstrings one at a time. I straighten my right leg and lift my right toes off the ground. I then bend over and grab my toes with my right hand while my left leg flexes or bends as I reach for my toes. I stretch this out for a 15 second count and then switch over and stretch out the left leg. I love this, because not only does it stretch out the hamstring of each leg, but I also get a really great stretch out of my back and spine. Many times I can hear the vertebrate pop 4 or 5 times in my back. It seems to always pop more when I stretch out the left leg.
Lastly, I spread my feet shoulder wide, lock them out at the knees and bend over and touch the ground. Usually, I can immediately reach the ground with my finger tips and within a few seconds I can make a fist and touch my knuckles to the ground. I would love to lay my palms on the ground but am not able to do it yet. I suspect I never will, but I will keep on trying. All this stretching takes 3 to 5 minutes max and really has me ready to swing, but again not until I make four or five smooth practice swings, working up form 50 percent power to just about the full level of my first drive. (Note: I also do these back and leg stretches when I get up, and before getting into bed. Many times I jump up when working too long at the computer writing these articles as stretching relaxes, loosens up the body and refreshes the mind.)
When I finished my stretching routine I was really surprised and even shocked when both guys remarked with amazement a comment to the extent of why I would waste my time stretching out. I gave them a quick course in the importance of stretching for increasing strength and performance and injury prevention. Which leads me to sharing with you what I just read in the morning newspaper, which you may already have as it is in the syndicated column of Dr. Donohue who answers medical question.
His column this morning was in response to this question. 'I play golf with three others my age ' 75 plus. Two of my group make a fetish of performing swinging exercises at every hole. Is this of any benefit?' Dr. Donohue's answer: 'Not if it's just a few swings. Ten minutes of exercise before a round of golf prevents injuries and increases the speed of the golfers swing.' The doctor added that the extra benefit of increasing the speed of the swing will add to longer shots — another great reason to stretch.
I had already decided to write this article about stretching. Whether it is ironic, coincidence or fate that Dr. Donohue's answer on stretching was in today's paper, I don't know. But because the timing was right, and it was, I could add his insights to this article, and I am really glad it was there for me to share them with all of you.
The main key is that if you want to remain healthy, active and productive in your life, all the experts say physical activity is a must and stretching is the key to performing any all actions with more strength and dexterity, and less stress and strain, which reduces the chance of injury. Stretch out daily to feel better and play better golf. This is all a win — win.
The Surge!