Ever since I started this journey, I’ve learned a lot about myself. Most of it is not good. That’s not negativity. That’s reality.

Recently, I happened upon the website for the Titleist Performance Institute (I added it to my sidebar links). Golf fitness is a huge part of my goals. I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can. The TPI website is a top-notch resource for all things golf fitness. For anyone that watches Golf Fitness Academy on the Golf Channel, you’ll be familiar with the TPI and it’s co-founders Dr. Greg Rose and Dave Phillips.

As I explored the site (you have to sign up to get all the content, but it’s free), I discovered tons of exercises to help every part of your body, and also exercises geared toward specific faults and deficiencies. They even have a tool where you can view your own swing and draw lines for analysis. I highly recommend checking out the site.

Now that my unpaid endorsement is out of the way, the reason I brought up the TPI is that they have lots of tests you can perform to check the flexibility of various parts of your body. I was totally intrigued so I tried out several of the flexibility tests. I was somewhat surprised to learn that I’m marginally more flexible than a statue. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m fat and out of shape. I’m working on that and seeing slow, steady improvement. But I’m amazed at how little flexibility I have where it counts for the golf swing.

I can’t link to the exercises directly (you have to sign up), but if you check out the site, try out the 90/90 test, the open book test, and the hip windshield wiper test (under The Swing -> Swing Faults each fault has a section titled “physical causes”). I failed these tests miserably.

I can’t help but wonder: did I lose a lot of flexibility due to my back trouble, or could the back trouble have been brought on because of my terrible flexibility (among other things)? Maybe both for all I know. My swing feels mostly the same as it did before I got hurt as far as length and power and all that. One issue I’ve always had is a shortened follow-through. I think this contributes to my chicken-wing problem because my upper body is slowing down a little too soon after impact. I most certainly have trouble attaining the finish positions that you might see on TV each week.

Whatever the causes or when the decline started, the fact remains: I need to address this issue starting right away. Weight loss is my top priority, but flexibility is going to be a close second. As I try out various techniques, I’ll share the ones that I like and find the most helpful to me.

If you’ve never concerned yourself with flexibility, I recommend checking out the TPI website and trying out some of these tests. Maybe you’ll find that with a little work on increasing your own flexibility, you’ll feel better, shoot better scores, and lessen your chance for injury.

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