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BASI PILATES FOR THE RECREATIONAL YOUNGER GOLFER:
FOCUSSING ON KEY MUSCLES TO IMPROVE YOUR SWING
INKE VICTOR
COURSE YEAR: 2018
DATE: OCTOBER 2018
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
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ABSTRACT
Golf is a precision club-and-ball sport. A round of Golf takes about four hours
to play (based on 18 holes to complete). The Golf swing is a multipart
movement of the whole body. It requires that both the upper and lower body
should be used in a rhythmic and coordinated motion. By focusing on four main
areas of the body, and applying the Basi Pilates Principles, one can improve
your swing. The areas of focus include strengthening the gluteal and abdominal
oblique muscles, and improving shoulder mobility and strength.
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CONTENT PAGE
1. ABSTRACT
2. ANATOMY: KEY MUSCLES USED IN THE GOLF SWING
2.1. THE MAIN HIP ROLE PLAYERS
2.2. LATERAL ROTATORS OF THE SPINE
2.3. PRIMARY MOVERS OF THE ARMS
2.4. FOREARM EXTENSORS
3. CASE STUDY
3.1. INTRODUCTION TO THE BASICS OF PLAYING GOLF
3.2. THE GOLF SWING
3.3. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN BASI PILATES AND GOLF PRINCIPLES
3.4. CASE STUDY DESCRIPTION
3.5. PILATES PROGRAM GOALS
4. BASI SYSTEM CONDITIONING PROGRAMME
5. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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2. ANATOMY: KEY MUSCLES USED IN THE GOLF SWING
2.1 THE MAIN HIP ROLE PLAYERS
• Gluteal Group
There are 3 muscles that
make up your gluteal group:
• The gluteus maximus
• The gluteus medius
• The gluteus minimus
The gluteal muscle group are the biggest muscles of the hips. These muscles
help us to squat, rotate and help maintain (stabilize) our posture as we move.
During the golf swing the gluteal group help provide support and balance to
the lower body and stance as the body rotates.
2.2 LATERAL ROTATORS OF THE SPINE
• External Abdominal Oblique
• Multifidus
• Rotatores
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According to Dr. Larry Van Such of Secrets of Speed and Quickness Training at
Athletic Quickness, the three major muscles worked in the spine, during the golf
swing, are the rotatores, the external abdominal obliques and the multifidus.
The external abdominal oblique covers the side of the ribs down to the hip.
This muscle helps flex the trunk, laterally flexes the pelvis and trunk, as well as
rotates the torso.
The rotatores help rotate the spine and assists in extending the spine. It also
helps to maintain the posture during movement.
The multifidus is a long spinal muscle with many points of origin and insertion
and helps with rotation and lateral flexion of the spine. As with the rotatores
and other deep back muscles, it assists in maintaining posture and spinal
stability.
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2.3 PRIMARY MOVERS OF THE ARMS
• Pectoralis Major
• Posterior Deltoid
• Teres Major
• Latissimus Dorsi
The pectoralis major, is a large muscle in the chest. This muscle is largely used
to control the movement of the arm, helping it flex, adduct and rotate, and also
plays a role in deep inhalation.
The posterior deltoid helps abduct and extend the arm.
The teres major help to adduct and internally rotates the arm, and assists
the latissimus dorsi when the shoulder extends and flexes.
The latissimus dorsi is one of the biggest back muscles and works in conjunction
with the pectoralis major to move the arm. Its primary function is to adduct the
arm. Other functions include extension and rotation of the arm. All movements
which is necessary to perform a golf swing.
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2.4 EXTENSORS OF THE FOREARMS AND MAJOR GOLF GRIP MUSCLE
• Triceps brachii
• Anconeus
The primary function of the
triceps brachii is to extend the
forearm.
The anconeus muscle is a small triangular elbow muscle connecting the medial
side of the ulna to the lateral side of the humerus. The main function of the
anconeus is to is to extend and rotate the forearm and is used when the arm
holds on to something or needs to carry something.
Together these two muscles help keep a supported straight forearm during the
golf swing.
3. CASE STUDY
3.1 INTRODUCTION TO GOLF
Golf is a precision club-and-ball sport. A round of Golf takes about four hours
to play (based on 18 holes) to complete. A lot of people think that golf isn’t a
lot of exercise and an easy game, but Golf does require a certain level of fitness,
flexibility, strength and concentration.
On average the golfer walks 8.5 – 9.5 km distance during a game of golf (18
holes plus off-course measurements). The golfer is allowed up to 14 clubs per
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round and aims to hit the ball into each hole on the course with the fewest
numbers of strokes possible.
3.2 THE GOLF SWING
The Golf swing is a multipart movement of the whole body and moves through
all three planes. It requires that both the upper and lower body should be used
in a rhythmic and coordinated motion. With each swing, the Golfer wants to
achieve the greatest accurate distance with control and consistency.
The execution of the swing can be divided into four phases for muscle analysis;
a. The Set-up of the Swing
It is important to note that the set-up and stance of the
golf swing is one of the most important factors of the
swing. This is the one thing that the player has full
control off and plays a huge roll in optimally hitting the
ball during the swing. Precision and balance is key.
b. The Back Swing Phase
This can be described as the part going back,
stretching the muscles, winding them up and readies
them for the release on the down and forward swing.
The golfer starts the back swing by leading the club
head with his/her hands and shoulders, rotating up and
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back. During this motion, the weight shifts to the rear
foot and rotation of the hips will follow.
c. The Down or Forward Swing Phase
The muscles that built up releases, swings forward and
through. This happens by leading with the rotation of
the hip, then the trunk, followed by the shoulders,
steady arms and club down towards the ball.
d. Follow-Through Phase
Maximum tension is released as the club hits the ball.
The golfer finishes the swing by completing the
rotation of his/her hips forward to the direction aimed,
followed by the right arm rotating over the left and
swinging upwards. The head which should be held
completely still during the whole swing finally lifts up
and forward as the trunk rotates with momentum
completing the swing.
It is important to complete the follow-through phase
on acceleration as this will increase the accuracy of
your swing, and reduce the changes of injuring yourself
through the impact.
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3.3 SIMILARITIES BETWEEN BASI PILATES AND GOLF PRINCIPLES
Eight of the ten BASI Pilates principles are can be applied in the game of Golf.
AWARENESS Both require spatial and body awareness.
BALANCE Balance in the muscles, body posture is key to an accurate
swing.
BREATH
As with Pilates, coordinating one’s breath with movement
helps recruit the correct muscles and helps with a better
execution.
CONCENTRATION
Concentrating on the body and its movement is just as
important in Golf as Pilates. Loosing focus could lead to poor
execution and/or muscle recruitment.
CENTER Staying centered, calm and keeping control is very important
in Golf.
CONTROL Being in control of your muscle movements means you have
more control over your swing and in return of your execution.
EFFICIENCY
Recruiting the correct muscles, with the correct set-up and
posture will in affect lead to less energy being used and
greater accuracy.
PRECISION Golf is all about precision. Hitting the ball where you want to,
requires precision in alignment and movement.
HARMONY The Golf swing is a multipart coordinated movement of both
the mind and body.
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3.4 CASE STUDY DESCRIPTION
I am a 28-year-old female who has been playing golf recreationally for more
than three years. I have always loved sports and being active.
When I was younger I played various sports, most of them only required a
certain level of skill and focus, these sports or activities normally never lasted
longer than 30 min. After a couple of years playing Golf only on holidays I
started to love the game and over the past three years, I started playing more
often. Playing more regularly I wanted to improve my game, especially after I
realized I have stagnated at a certain level.
I started going to the driving range more and played more games hoping this
will help me improve. This did improve my game and swing to a certain level
but not as much as I wanted. I soon realized that after the first nine holes (two
hours of playing) my muscles started to fatigue, taking all my energy and
resulting in lack of concentration. Being younger and generally more mobile
and active this was very confusing and frustrating as I thought my overall
strength and flexibility was good.
During this time, I also started with my Pilates Comprehensive Course which
helped me gain a greater understanding of the human body, and in return my
own bodyl. Through learning more about how the body works and gaining
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more self-awareness of one’s own body, I found key muscle weaknesses in my
body, which is critical to the general golf swing.
In general, I used to have weak glutes and my shoulder stability wasn’t great. I
also struggled with a lot of the rotational exercises learnt on course, showing a
weakness in my abdominal obliques
3.5 PILATES PROGRAMME GOALS:
Using the BASI exercises/ repertoire, my objectives was to gain strength,
mobility and balance on the following listed muscles in order to improve my
golf swing;
1. Strengthening the glutes to help stabilize the pelvis through the rotation.
2. Strengthening and mobilizing the shoulder and arms
3. Improving the core and trunk rotators strength.
4.BASI SYSTEM CONDITIONING PROGRAM
BASI BLOCK REPORTOIRE PROGRAMME
EQUIPMENT EXERCISE REASON WARM-UP
Mat
Roll-down, Pelvic Curl, Spine Twist
Supine, Chest Lift, Chest Lift with
Rotation
The fundamental warm-up places the most focus on spinal mobility.
FOOTWORK
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Wunda Chair
Parallel Heels, Parallel Toes, V-Toes, Open V-Heels, Open V-
Toes, Calf Raises, Single Leg Heel, Single Leg Toes
The series places a lot of focus on the stability in the pelvis with a lot
of focus on the upper body posture.
ABDOMINALS
Wunda Chair
Standing Pike Reverse
The added extension (co-contraction of the abdominals and
back extensors) in the flexion position is very functional to the
golf swing.
Wunda Chair Pike Sitting
This exercise places a lot of focus on the lattisimus dorsi and
activates the deep transverse abdominus in a flexion position.
HIP WORK
Reformer Frog, Circles
Down, Circles Up, Openings
Having back in a supported position helps increase the focus
on pelvic lumbar stabilization. SPINAL ARTICULATION
Reformer: Bottom Lift and Bottom Lift with
Extension
Hamstring strength and Hip Flexor control benefits through this spinal
articulation exercise, both important to balance in the swing.
STRETCHES
Ladder Barrel
Shoulder Stretch 1 & 2
Both stretches the shoulders. Stretch 1 has the added benefit of
stretching the lattisimus dorsi, while stretch 2 opens up the chest even more adding a good pectorial
stretch. FULL BODY INTERGRATION
Cadillac Side Reach
This exercise is very functional to the golf swing, the body is in
flexion while focus is placed on the rotation through the obliques.
Cadillac Cat Kneeling Stretch
Both abdominal and shoulder control are challenged in this
exercise. ARMS
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Cadillac
Arms Standing Series: Chest
Extension, Hug-a-Tree, Circles Up,
Circles Down, Punching, Biceps
This challenges the whole body through balance. This series
challenges all muscles in the arms necessary for the golf swing.
FULL BODY INTERGRATION
Cadillac Saw
The saw challenges the body to go into flexion and extension whilst
being in rotation, similar movements are required from the
body in the golf swing. LEGS
Cadillac Squats
The squad challenges stability and balance, strengthening the quads
and glutes, necessary for good balance in the golf swing, plus the
added movement through the arms and had grip.
Leg Weights
Side Lying Gluteal Series: Side Leg
Lift, Forward & Lift, Forward with
Drops
This series places a lot of focus on strengthening the glutes while maintaining a stable trunk and
pelvis.
LATERAL/ ROTATION
Cadillac Butterfly
Standing and rotating against resistance, this helps encourage
flexibility and strength of the lattisimus and obliques at the same time and challenges pelvis stability
while in rotation.
Reformer Mermaid The mermaid stretches and
rotation the sides of the body, a movement valuable for golf.
BACK EXTENSION
Reformer Pulling Straps 1 This exercise focuses both on the back and arm extension against
resistance. Reformer Pulling Straps 2
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5.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
As with most sports, physical fitness is key. Strengthening, stretching and
conditioning muscles specific to a sport will always help to improve the body’s
capabilities and potential, as well as reduce the chances of injury.
Doing the above focused repertoire for three to four months there was a
definite increase in my shoulder strength and mobility, as well as an increase in
abdominal obliques and gluteal muscles strength. I started feeling less tired
throughout the game. The first thing I noticed was that the game started to feel
a lot shorter and I didn’t feel exhausted by the end of it.
I can definitely feel that my swing is more consistent and accurate in general
and the number of poor shots is a lot less than it used to be.
I started seeing my Handicap going down during this time as well, which meant
my general game was starting to improve again. Since I started focusing on
strengthening the key golf swing muscles my Handicap has gone down with
three strokes.
Through the Pilates Comprehensive Course and conditioning program, I re-
learnt the importance of attention to detail and precision. Focusing on the set-
up first, staying calm, find the balance, breathing correctly and keeping focus
in order to achieve a precise, controlled and efficient movement.
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6.BIBLIOGRAPHY
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do-you-really-walk-during-18-holes/
Pedersen. M, http://www.mikepedersengolf.com/improve-golf-
swing/muscles-used-in-a-golf-swing/
Huey.J, 14 July 2017, https://par4success.com/articles/hip-mechanics\
Stern, D. 2017. November 2018. https://www.livestrong.com/article/434321-
muscles-used-in-softball/
Lawson, A. http://www.balancemotion.com/6-steps-to-correcting-hip-flexor-
pain/
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top-5-ranking-golf-clubs-for-women/
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https://www.custompilatesandyoga.com/multifidus-learn-your-muscles/
Muscoling, J. 27 May 2017. https://learnmuscles.com/glossary/external-
abdominal-oblique/
Healthline’s Medical Network. 28 October 2014.
https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/anconeus-muscle
Healthline’s Medical Network. 18 March 2015.
https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/pectoralis-major-muscle
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Chertoff, J. 1 November 2017. https://www.healthline.com/health/latissimus-
dorsi-pain
Taylor, T. © InnerBody.com 1999.
http://www.innerbody.com/image_musc10/musc36.html
November 2018. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Teres_Major
Davies, C. Golf Anatomy. Human Kinetics. 2010
McHardy, A. Pollard, H. Muscle activity during the golf swing. 6 June 2005.
www.bjsportmed.com
Maddalozzo, GFJ. An anatomical and biomechanical analysis of the full golf
swing. NSCA Journal, Volume 9. 4 November 1987
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