Test your Golf Swing Mobility the Easy Way

Golfers the season is almost here and far too many of you know just how Rusty the body can feel when you get back to work on your G this year we wanted that to be different and that is what this video is all about because here we're going to go through the five simple exercises of the DRVN Mobility assessment to see if you are flexible enough to create a good golf swing okay along with this is actually first in a three-part series getting you prepared for the season we're going to look at your rotation and then we're going to help you deliver more speed all right and there some really cool free downloads here in the description you're going to get full access to the course for our Mobility assessment huge amount of information on golf biomechanics how to test and how to improve all right you can also get an additional YouTube discount in our preseason event for the best workouts in golf over on the DRVN app Mobility is there that is how you really improve this here all right so we're going to look at these five exercises let's get to work our first Mobility test is all about the setup position now this is about organization connecting to the ground and also being ready to go but not tense so this really is about how you stack your centry of gravity how you balance the weight between your feet and how the big muscles are primed to move into the back swing and into the loading of your golf swing and that is why we're going to use the simple body weight squat here you have to organize all of those big muscles through the joints and we test your range of motion it's a very much a fundamental movement where we're going to bend at the knees let our hips drop and work down into that full squat now we are looking for your feet to be pretty much shoulder width apart at this point if we go too wide some people are going to struggle go too narrow you're not going to have the balance so really we want to standardize and go that shoulder width a heart position from here you want to engage down into the big muscles okay so we don't want to rock into the toes we don't want to go into our heels because just like our golf swing if we're not connected to the ground you're going to lose stability and you're going to lose quality of movement so once we set our feet we are then looking at that neutral spine position which is super important for your golf swing okay and so many golfers are limited through the hips and doing this test you can find out exactly how limited you are because if those hip flexes on the front side are too tight it's going to pull you forward you're not going to be get able to get into that full squat position that's why even such a simple movement is an incredible way to test your setup position so feet set eyes forwards where you can have your hands out in front we're going to drop down we're going to get the hip past the knee crease and look for that full range of motion if you can maintain that neutral spine and work all the way down this is where your setup position is going to come from so feet engaged eyes forward drop into your squat drive and stand up okay so that is going to be a full range of motion you can see other examples here and that is what we're looking for this is something that you can improve with hip mobility and overall range of motion exercises that allow you to organize the body and get into a full squat position how does this benefit your golf swing exactly what we talked about and engagement stability and the big muscles ready to fire up into your swing because if we're connected here we can rain our posture working through the swing the big muscles can fail we can use the ground and from there we can have an effortless powerful golf swing test number two is all about creating a fully loaded wide back swing so that when you change direction you have all of the potential energy and quality of movement to drop the club into a great position create awesome ball striking and create more power to test Mobility into your back swing we are going to focus on your thoracic spine basically the middle of your back and somewhere where so many golfers get tight from sitting at a desk driving and just generally being a part of the modern day lifestyle but when we get to the golf course if we're restricted through the thoracic spine you're going to be losing your posture you're going to be restricted in your rotation and from there we cannot load we cannot get into the optimal back swing position and our golf swing is going to be restricted so here we use the static windmill test and yes we are going to test both sides of the body we don't just look in one direction we're looking for symmetry here as well okay so to perform the windmill test we are going to take a wide stance okay this is going to be outside of your shoulder width but make sure both feet are still flat very slight Bend at the knee make sure you are in a comfortable position okay this does form part of the test itself we need to be able to hinge at the hip and get into the position that we need so into the start position stay engaged to the ground hinge at the hip and then let your hands touch the ground if you can do we are then going to walk to one side of the body touch the foot and we're going to rotate up and around what we're looking for here is a full 180° turn okay that is the high end of this test and that is maintaining excellent stability through the lower body and a wide range of motion through the thoracic spine up and around the body okay so once you can rotate like that we can apply that to the dynamic movement of the golf swing like we said we always test both sides so we go back in we're in control you can hold on to the foot with the opposing arm reach up and around and aim all the way for that 180° rotation this is a challenging movement but it's going to give you incredible insight into how much you need to focus on the thoracic span on the upper body and how you rotate to create your golf swing one of the best things about creating an optimal lorded back swing is that it makes the downswing that transition movement easier than ever and honestly that's the hardest part of the goal s and that's where so many golfers go wrong because if you're not loaded and rotating well into that trail hip too often golf is going to come over the top or get stuck underneath and that means your dispersion is going to be pretty wide okay so now that we focused in on the back swing you loaded up you understand where you need to work on to get that position we're looking at the down swing okay so this is all about separation you'll hear analysts golfers talk about that how the hips fire first how the upper body stays back and it's this stretch between the upper body and lower body okay the more the hips can turn to the Target whilst the upper body stays back the greater the stretch the greater the potential for Club head speed but also importantly that's going to help us keep the club Behind the body into the optimal pre-impact position to then release the face and hit the golf shot that you want to all right but that separation is difficult and it relies on Mobility which is why we use the split stands rotation test for the split stands Mobility test you're going to use a golf club okay and very simp simply we're going to go into that split stand position okay so that would mean your body goes right between your legs right we're not backwards or forwards your center of gravity is going to sit right between the legs okay so that trail knee is pointing down the front foot's engag to the ground and our torso is in a very neutral position this position is important because it allows us to work on our lower body stability in that asymmetrical position one leg doing different to the other okay it fires up the glutes your hips are working and it fixes them in position it's very hard to rotate into the side that we're going to rotate on whilst here okay that's the idea we're trying to lock the hips and now we're going to rotate the upper body okay that's where that separation comes into so we're locked and loaded from this position the clubs out in line with the chest we're going to rotate over the lead leg okay so this is very much challenging your balance as well and it's that separation okay we're turning the upper body independent of the lower body and that gives us a great idea of how much potential you have okay so set down into a solid position Club up to arms length and then from there we rotate looking to get to 90° okay that's why we use the club because it gives us a really simple gauge okay and also when you perform this test number one always test both sides okay we're looking for imbalances we're looking for different range of motion on the right and left sides of the body to help you understand your golf swing and outside of that don't cheat the test okay if we can just move our arms around a corner that's not rotation that is compensation okay so really keep that club out in line with the shoulders fix that position and rotate feeling yourself work through the hips while staying in balance and creating that rotation that will allow you to separate in the GOL swing okay the lower body stable the hips are working well the big muscles are firing and we're creating that rotational pattern that works into your golf swing okay so to pass this test we are looking for that 90 degrees of rotation on both sides of the body that gives you the potential to rotate really well in your golf swing so at this point we have solid posture we can rotate around the spine we can stabilize the low body and we can separate okay now it's time to impact and what's going on to impact everything okay all of that potential energy that potential Force you've created during your swing is now being delivered down into the ball and we have to be able to resist those factors as well as deliver all of the energy into the club head okay because if we're in efficient the body's doing an awful lot but we're not applying it to the club itself the ball is not going to fly the way that we want it to okay so what we're looking for here is incredible engagement of the big muscles to use the ground to stay in our posture and to create massive pressure into the ball okay and where so many golfers struggle is that when they come down into the ball that hip mobility and the glute activation leaves them okay that's where we get that humping of the ball okay we have to relieve that position when we really don't want to the best plays are all going to be down into the ground and then pushing to extend to maximize Club head speed too many amateur golfers will find that as they come down into the swing their hips cannot maintain that load they have to stand up that weakens the club and he's going to see a drop off inconsistency as well all right so we've looked at those other factors we're working on a hip mobility that means to test our impact position we are looking at the glutes and we're going to use the bridge very simply the glute bridge is going to show us if we can fully activate the glutes if we have that Symmetry and if we can get to an excellent impact position so taking this line position with feet flat knees up we are then going to take your arms above our chest the first part of the test is just a simple standard glute Bridge Okay so feet flat we then want to engage the glutes all right feels that you scoop underneath don't push the pubic button forward first feels that you scoop under Engage The glutes and get that fully extended position okay you can hold and then relax okay that is part one of the test that is both glutes working together activating and get to that nice flat position from knee all the way down to the shoulder okay part two is going to be single leg all right we're always looking for asymmetries in the golf swing in your positioning and in your Mobility this is a big one okay so here take one leg at the same angle of the leg that is on the ground hands back out in front and then we engage aing to get to that fully extended position okay so you should feel it in the glute if you start to feel it in the hamstring you have an imbalance we need to work on that as always working both sides looking to work the glutes and we're looking for a hip drop as well okay so when you push up we're really looking to see this nice straight line from Shoulder Through To knee with full engagement and full stability okay this one we have to get down we have to engage the glutes we want to isolate because this is so important for your position okay but when you can do this when you can get those glutes functioning you're going to have more power more consistency and better ball striking in your goal swing all right so get your bridge on let's see let's be really accurate in terms of how you use each side of the body and make sure you get that free download on the mobility assessment to understand the different levels of hip activation and exactly where you're at all right the whole point of the mobility assessment is to give you a simple effective way to test your Mobility for the golf swing it's going to take you less than 10 minutes it's going to give you an incredible amount of data to inform how you improve all right because if you're trying to get a specific go swing position but your body can't deliver it doesn't matter how much technical work you are going to do you're not going to be able to achieve it okay that's why so many golfers have golf lessons and don't see the results that they want okay you're trying to achieve something that you cannot physically do and it's so easy to improve your Mobility okay so simple not easy that's the wrong word all right because it is the consistency element it is having a plan and is making that progress over time all right so we've already got our rotation our posture our glue activation HP Mobility our fifth and final test is a little bit of fun but also it's relative to your finish position all right we all look at the golf swings apart from Sheffer I guess where the play finishes in beautiful balance all right and that is symptomatic of an effective gol swing because everything that went before it is then in a good position okay so we're looking at balance and the final test very simply is a single leg balance test all right again we're going to use a golf club just as a guide and it is exactly as it sounds we're looking for 15 seconds plus of single leg balance all right it sounds like a funny one it sounds like something everyone can do you will be surprised okay and also we need to get that knee all the way up to a 90° angle with the hip just to show that hip mobility one more time all right so bring that club up in front of you knee up to the hip and then stabilize okay so the foot is working you'll feel just little adjustments you're going to feel that position and we want to go 15 seconds plus all right so if you do start to wobble that's okay but you can't fall guys all right so making sure our connection to the ground is solid our overall awareness and propri reception of our movement is being tested and like I said it's a little bit of fun as well all right so Club out in front we go to the other side see if there's any imbalances in the body you don't have to talk all the way through this but I do cuz we're on the video okay so you're finishing out with the test this is one that you can improve every single day all right stand on your one leg for a period of time have some fun and see actual progress over time guys right those are five exercises you can do them during a golf lesson you can do them at home before you go play and basically it's about progression of over time all right each exercise is scored out of five okay this is very important because if you're a three now and you do two weeks of work and you become a four that's real progress all right and that's going to impact your swing more than you think it is all right so get yourself a score you need to go to the free downloads to be really accurate with your scoring get some more detail get some more information and actually learn a whole lot more about golf swing biomechanics all right but this is the mobility assessment this is part one of a three-part series for our pre-season here at DRVN because we want to help you get to the course feeling your best injuryf free and ready to absolutely crush the course this year all right so make sure you get this done and tell us all about it