A most debilitating situation for a sportsman and particularly a golfer is lack of joint mobility; be it through injury or age where wear and tear play an enormous part in our inability to produce the speed and fluency we once had.

Does this mean we settle for below par performances or heaven forbid give the game up? A golfer, to produce their most athletic movement requires the ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, elbows and wrists to be healthy but if one joint, be it on the left or right hand side of the body has limitations then compensations will occur to accommodate the restriction.

Reading Jan’s article you will note that there is either rehabilitation (see a good Biokineticist) or surgery available to correct unhealthy joints but what is the option if you do not have the inclination to go down those avenues.

It is very difficult to produce our maximum speed with limited joint mobility but you can still hit the ball straight by accommodating the limitations with perhaps a change in your basics; turn your hands to the right (right handed golfer) to make your grip stronger

 – this will help you create more leverage and make it easier to square the clubface at impact. Draw your right foot back at address

to make rotation a little easier in the backswing (keep your hips  and shoulders parallel to the target line), move the ball further back in your stance if you have had a left hip replacement and feel nervous about a load being put on that hip

There are some physical conditions that do make it very difficult to play golf but your immobility may not be as limiting as you think.  Source a teaching professional who will work with you to find the best combination of compensations to accommodate the way your body moves and you may well find satisfaction in your performances – limitations in body does not mean you limit your ability to play and score.

Golf is a game for life, get out and enjoy the ride!

 Roger Wessels
(Head Coach)