How high-tech mobility analysis diagnosed this golfer’s swing flaws

Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a GOLF.com series where the game’s brightest minds share their tips to help you, well, shave strokes! Today, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Tom Stickney explains how learning about your body can help you swing better than ever.

Swinging a golf club consistently is a hard task on its own, but when you’ve got mobility limitations, it can be nearly impossible. The problem is, lots of golfers struggle from mobility limitations without even knowing it.

One such student’s story is highlighted below. Luckily for him, he was under the guidance of one of the brightest minds in the game, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Tom Stickney.

Read on as Stickney explains how he used Proscreen AI to diagnose his student’s mobility limitations to get him on the path to swinging better than ever.

As we get older it becomes harder and harder to move the body, generate speed and place ourselves into solid fundamental positions during the swing. Because of this reality, flaws tend to materialize. It’s these swing flaws that are caused by poor physiology that hamper even the best golfers in the world. Secondly, because these issues are impossible to “see” most instructors are trying to place their students into positions that they cannot achieve physiologically and this brings improvement to a standstill.

Over time there have been a few organizations in other sports that have focused on testing their athletes’ ability using functional movement screens, but it was not widely used in golf training until the advent of TPI created by Dr. Greg Rose and David Phillips. They developed a series of subjective movement “tests” that would show the instructor to what degree their student could move their body in different positions. Wherever there was a weakness — whether it be from stability or mobility — an exercise plan could be put into place based on these tests so the player could eliminate that deficiency and make better swings over time.

With the advent of video-based 3D Motion Analysis and AI new products have come out on the market that have made screening golfers for movement less subjective and more measured. Now for the first time, we are able to map the movement screens of golfers in any setting and show them how much they actually move. This gives us a numerical baseline of the player’s ranges of motion, mobility and stability within different body segments and these results can be compared over time to see how a player’s body reacts as they continue to stretch, workout or do whatever they need to do in order to improve.

Below is a five-minute testing protocol I did using, Proscreen AI on one of my students screening the following movements: Golf Posture, Golf Stance Upper-Torso Rotation, Golf Stance Lower-Torso Rotation, Overhead Squat, Internal Hip Rotation, External Hip Rotation, Back Flexion, External Rotation of the Shoulders, Shoulder Flexion and Single Leg Balance.

These tests show this golfer’s ability to “move” in the three planes of motion that golfers are required to move within and will show us any deficiencies that they might possess.

The screening

In assessing this player’s swing mechanics, it is clear that they are grappling with both left shoulder mobility impingement and limited left hip mobility. These interconnected issues are significantly impacting their overall swing performance. The left shoulder mobility problem is causing the hands to kick out during the backswing, which disrupts the necessary positioning for an effective shot. As the player struggles with their left shoulder, the arms tend to lift and push out, leading to an unfavorable club position at the top of the backswing. This misalignment not only hampers their ability to make solid contact but also complicates the transition into the downswing.

Compounding the issue is the player’s restricted left hip mobility. This limitation further exacerbates the pressure transfer problem during the swing. As the player attempts to initiate the downswing, they tend to shift more weight into their left hip and left heel, resulting in a smaller, more cramped posture through the hitting zone. Unlike elite golfers who maintain an elevated stance through the hitting zone, this player’s restricted lower body movement can lead to a lack of power and fluidity in their swing.

The fix

Addressing both the left shoulder and left hip mobility issues is crucial for this player’s improvement. By enhancing shoulder mobility, they can achieve a more effective takeaway and club position, which are essential for a successful swing. Additionally, improving hip mobility will facilitate better pressure transfer and promote a more dynamic downswing. 

Ultimately, resolving these interconnected mobility problems will lead to a more consistent and powerful swing, enabling the player to perform at their best on the course. A focus on these aspects of their game can transform their overall performance and enhance their enjoyment of the sport.

Through the Proscreen’s KAMS testing protocol, we found that diagnosing the left shoulder and left hip mobility issues affecting this player’s swing mechanics became much easier. This objective assessment simplifies the process of identifying specific faults that might otherwise go unnoticed. Ultimately, KAMS testing underscores the importance of precise evaluation, allowing us to effectively target and address the player’s performance challenges.

As always the player and the coach has two options once they get the analysis results — work on the body in the gym or work around the “swing flaw” if the golfer is not willing to work out. Obviously, working out would be the best option, as proven by TPI, but as we know some people refuse to go to the gym so the only other way we can swing effectively is to work around the weaknesses of the body. However, if we cannot identify the functional movement inefficiencies then there is no way we can effectively teach our golfers.

Nick Biondi of Radley Run Country Club in West Chester, Penn. contributed to this piece.

Tom Stickney is the Director of Instruciton at Jonathan’s Landing Club in Jupiter, Fla. and is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher. He can be reached at toms@jonathanslanding.com.