| In this Issue:
The X-Factor (part 1) Fitness Tip - K.R.
Bio-Mechanical Drills 1 and 2 -Chris Welsh
About Chris Welsh guest contributor
Upcoming Events
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In a Nutshell:
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| “We are not defined by our score.”
Stewart Cink once said that when he made a conscious decision to not allow himself to be personally defined by his score he began playing some of the best golf of his life. Mr. Cink now leads the tour in putting. Do the math!
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Yoga for Golfers Fitness Tip: The X-Factor (part 1)
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Having taught fitness for golfers for twenty years I can tell you that most golfers are looking for more distance. How do you get more distance? You will need to increase your range of motion, specifically your ability to turn your trunk and shoulders in relationship to your hips! The “X-factor”! I use Jim McLean’s term to describe the ratio of shoulder turn to hip turn. According to Jim the optimal “x-factor” is a 90 degree shoulder turn to a 45 degree hip rotation. What does the “X-factor” mean to you? When I teach with Hank our objective is to make your swing as good as your swing can be. The goal of this series is to provide you with the tools, yoga poses and balance ball exercises, to help you achieve your optimal “X-factor”.
The range of motion in your trunk directly correlates to the ability to generate club head speed, maintain your spine angle for more consistency, efficiently generate power transferred from the lower body and maintain your endurance.
We will use a series of yoga poses based on the Crescent lunge and trunk rotation. Training the body to rotate the shoulders separately from the hips will increase your ”X-Factor” and increase your ability to generate power from the trunk.
Let’s get started!
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Crescent lunge pose with extended club - trunk rotation:
Begin with the right leg bent at a ninety degree angle and slide your left leg back placing your knee on the floor. (Note: if your knee is sensitive place a towel under your left knee)
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Place the club in your hands, extend your arms to shoulder height and take a deep breathe. Draw your navel towards your spine and elongate your waist.
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Inhale and rotate the trunk to the right. (Note: lead the twist with your base of your spine and rotate up to your thoracic spine). Twist to the left and repeat this rotation ten times over the right legs, switch legs and twist over the left leg.
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Crescent lunge pose with club crossed over the chest:
Begin in the crescent lunge position again. The objective in this pose is to stabilize the hips and rotate the trunk and shoulders. Inhale deeply as you draw the navel towards the spine, lift the ribcage off the waist and focus on stabilizing the lower body.
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On your exhalation twist to the right and left ten times and switch sides.
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Chris Welsh's Bio-Mechanical Drills:
Core Drills One & Two
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 Core drills are designed to emphasize lower body stability while at the same time coordination between the pelvis and the upper torso.
Drill One
Step A: Stand in an athletic posture, arms crossed across the chest with a medium swiss ball between the knees and inner thighs. The ball should be the appropriate size and partially deflated such that the legs can squeeze the ball creating a feel of stability and engaging stabilizing muscles without effecting comfortable athletic posture.
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 Step B: Holding the lower body stationary, turn the shoulders segment clockwise in a back swing direction feeling a stretch of the core musculature from shoulder complex and latissimus dorsi all the way to the abdominals/obliques. Only turn as far as comfortable. Do not force rotation past your normal range of motion. The amount of rotation and separation is not important. Stabilizing the lower body and creating a feel of stretch between segments is key to effectively performing the exercise.
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Step C: Holding the lower body stationary. Engage the core musculature to turn the shoulders back to start or neutral position.
The exercise should be down slowly and deliberately.
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 Drill Two
Once the drill is perfected using a swiss ball to engage and feel lower body stability, the next step is to perform the drill without the swiss ball and engaging or creating stability on your own.
Step A: Stand in an athletic posture, arms crossed across the chest.
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Step B: Holding the lower body stationary, turn the shoulders segment clockwise in a back swing direction feeling a stretch of the core musculature from shoulder complex and latissimus dorsi all the way to the abdominals/obliques. Only turn as far as comfortable. Do not force rotation past your normal range of motion. The amount of rotation and separation is not important. Stabilizing the lower body and creating a feel of stretch between segments is key to effectively performing the exercise.
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Step C: Holding the lower body stationary. Engage the core musculature to turn the shoulders back to start or neutral position.
The exercise should be down slowly and deliberately.
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Yoga for Golfers News and Events
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November 2nd- 4th : Executive Women’s Golf Association’s Annual Conference - in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Katherine will present "Yoga for Golfers : Golf Fitness Made Simple" and also emcee the Gala Awards Dinner !
November 12th - you can see Katherine at Golf Fest, presented by Golf Week Magazine, in Scottsdale, AZ
Katherine will be teaching golf fitness with Hank Haney at the Hank Haney Signature Golf School presented by ESPN and Lexus, November 10-11, at the TPC of Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Join the Yoga for Golfers Team! Become a certified trainer in the most innovative, fast-growing fitness program in golf today. Next Teacher Training Event will be in February in Scottsdale, AZ
Learn from Katherine Roberts, the originator of Yoga for Golfers: This 3 ½ day workshop is designed for PGA professionals, yoga instructors, physical therapists, fitness professionals, and golfers with sincere intent to enhance their golf performance through biomechanical knowledge and fitness.
Call to Register: 888-313-YOGA (9642)
Read more at www.yogaforgolfers.com
If you have any questions, email: katherine@yogaforgolfers.com
See you there!
Katherine Roberts
Founder, Yoga for Golfers
Phone: 888-313-9642
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