As the TPI has perhaps the world’s creme de la creme of experts on it’s Advisory Boards, in subjects including medicine, biomechanics and fitness, let’s look at their ‘must have’ requirements first.
A quick summary of
TPI’s ‘physical causes’ shows that the MAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR the GOLF SWING which can give desirable ball flight are (all are body-position requirements except ‘over-the-top’, which checks shaft-position):
Weight shift with good pelvis upon hip rotation
Maintenance of the spine angle of address; good telegram number list thorax-upon-pelvis separation (X-factor); great body (core) stability; and the setting and maintenance of a good wrist angle.
TPI links the ability for a golfer to do all of the above
With their having specific fitness levels. However, unless research shows that, for example, “all golfers who have poor lower body strength will ‘early extend’ and all early extenders have poor core”, fitness cannot be considere the curative factor for swing faults. Surely the world has millions of golfers who cannot do a ‘deep overhead squat’ but still make a good downswing move? Or vice versa.
Why must we have weight shift in the golf swing?
It is the requirement for weight shift itself that is responsible for the sway and slide movements – the golfer not knowing how much weight to shift laterally before rotating! No weight shift require = no slide or sway! What if we could place the body’s weight exactly where it is require to be at impact, during the set-up phase itself?
Maintaining the spinal
Angle of address (along with its accompanying gilbert explore the many unpredictable problems of loss of posture and flat shoulder plane), is practically an impossibility given that the require ‘thoracic rotation’ comes with a great deal of left/lead-side lateral flexion. If the left side drops and the right trunk must then recover and drop down during the downswing how is ‘early extension’ avoide? Why not permanently have the right trunk (and arm) lower than the left, as it is at address and at impact for the whole world?
Thorax-upon-pelvis rotation
Separation/x-factor is also a difficult movement. When the spine is upright, the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spines plus the pelvis are all able to rotate similar amounts on a fairly horizontal (transverse) plane, with many big muscles aiding both spinal line data and pelvis/hip rotation. When this has to be done in golf posture, many of the spine and hip rotation muscles get involve as stabilizers and cannot aid in rotation as much. Also, in golf ‘posture’ the hip can still rotate but the tilte-forward thoracic spine, when trying to rotate, acquires a lot of lateral flexion – totally inappropriate for the golf swing.