Pain Free Golf by Summer Sirmons

In the middle of my golfing career as a University of Georgia Women’s Golf Team Member, I was struck by a back injury. After months of doctors, chiropractors, and rehabilitation, I was cleared to play only to realize that my current swing no longer worked for my body. In fact, the way that I had been swinging the club for the previous eight years was actually the cause of my injury. Now the real work of rebuilding my swing in a more efficient, pain free manner began.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson: Listen to your body. If playing golf results in pain, then your body is trying to tell you that the motions you are making are not natural for you. Or worse, an incorrect repetitive motion in your golf swing can cause long term injuries. In no way am I suggesting that if your golf swing causes pain, you should put down your clubs and take up a less strenuous sport. What I am suggesting is that at some point in your swing you are making an unnatural movement that causes your body pain (and almost certainly bad shots). The good news is that usually a few small changes in your swing will alleviate pain and actually improve your golf game. Then you can play pain free golf, better golf!

I have worked with students with pains ranging from fingers, to backs, to knees. Usually, these students have an incorrect theory about the physics of the golf swing that cause unnecessary pressures on their bodies. Once the theory is identified and corrected, the changes are usually immediate. Couple your new thoughts about the golf swing with a few drills and suddenly you have a new, more effective, and pain free golf swing.


Summer Sirmons- Academy Professional- Heritage Golf Links- Tucker, GA
Summer.Sirmons@affinitigolfacademy.com Call (404) 201-0866