Warm-Up Stretching Is Bad for Golf Swing

SportsGeezer readers are familiar with the great debate about whether stretching before a game is good for the body. Now comes a new answer for seriously competitive golfers: Who cares if it's good for the body if it's bad for the game? HealthDay reports that research conducted at Austin State University suggests that a passive, static stretching routine before taking practice golg swings results in "significant decreases in clubhead speed, distance, accuracy and consistent ball contact." Yikes, now they tell us. HealthDay reports that researchers compared two different warm-up routines in a group of nine young male competitive golfers. On one day, the golfers did an active warm-up consisting of a series of practice swings. On another day, they did a 20-minute passive, static stretching warm-up before doing the practice swings. The stretching warm-up included 12 stretches, starting with the neck and proceeding to the calves. After each warm-up routine, the golfers hit three full-swing shots with their driver and were assessed on four measures: distance, clubhead speed, accuracy and ball contact. On all four measures, the golfers performed worse after doing the passive warm-up routine — clubhead speed was 5 percent slower, distance was 7 percent shorter, and accuracy was reduced by more than 60 percent.

Read more in HealthDay.