Several times in the past, I’ve mentioned that I’m recovering from a herniated disk in my lower back that kept me from playing for the better part of two years. After some excellent rehab, I’ve been able to play again this year.

However, it’s not all roses. I don’t have a tremendous amount of pain, but after a lot of play and/or practice, I get pretty sore and tight.

Up to this point, I’ve stayed on top of my exercises and they’re like a magic pill. If I want to play and practice several days in a row, then I really need to stay on course. If I falter, then I start to pay with a little more soreness and tightness.

You may remember that I’ve been talking lately about various fixes I’ve been making with my swing. One of the big ones was getting back to the basics: grip, alignment, stance, posture. I started trying to mimic textbook posture as much as I could, and it definitely felt strange, telling me that I was doing something different for a long time.

Well, because of all the swing issues I’ve been having, my workouts have lapsed for over a week. I’ve been spending all my spare time at the range.

After about a week of new posture, I have to say, it’s like night and day. I’m not “cured”, but I haven’t been doing any exercise (don’t worry, that’s changing tonight), and yet, I’ve been able to practice (and now play again), back to back to back (no pun intended) without much discomfort or tightness.

In fact, it took a week to hit me because I’ve been so intensely focused on my swing issues. One day, I realized after a really long session that I felt great and it occurred to me that I hadn’t worked out for several days. Not even my basic stretching.

I’m not an expert in fitness or physiology, so I can’t really explain what’s going on, but something is different.

I intend to fully continue all my exercises, but I have to wonder if bad posture contributed to my original problem. It first happened in winter, so it wasn’t like I took a swing and hit the dirt. But could years of improper mechanics could do it?

Early this year, after my rehab started to work for me, I read up on the issue some. I couldn’t find much online other than a lot of people saying that people with lower back problems should fix their golf posture. At the time, I thought it was fine, so I went looking for more info.

It would be nice if there was some more information out there about how bad posture leads to specific back problems. Like, what exactly about bad posture causes problems? Bending from the waist? Keeping the chin down? Maybe it’s there and I couldn’t find it.

Even if you don’t have back problems, it’s worth checking the quality of your golf posture. If anything, it may help your swing and it may even prevent future wear and tear on your back.

Here’s a great primer on proper setup, including posture, by Michael Lamanna over at About.com. There are some helpful photos there to show you the aspects of correct setup.

As I set up to the ball, I now go through my standard posture checklist:

• Bent at the hips
• Back not slouching
• Arms hanging freely, about a fist-width from my zipper for short irons, a little more for the driver
• Chin up a little to allow a free shoulder turn
• Knees flexed
• Rear sticking out just a bit, indicating a proper bend from the hips, not from the waist

Doing these things makes my swing feel a lot more free, and while I can’t prove it, I think it’s helping my back too. If you have trouble with your back related to golf or if you just suspect your posture might not be up to par (pun intended) try and focus on making it better and see if you have improvement.

If you’re not sure exactly what to look for or would feel more comfortable with someone else helping you diagnose the problem, then it’s a good idea to schedule a lesson with a local teaching professional. He or she will be well-versed on basic setup and should be able to help you immediately.

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