What is “Slide” in the golf swing?

Sliding is a common swing characteristic identified by golf professionals while working with golfers trying to improve their game. This characteristic is identified and corrected in elite, amateur, and new golfers alike. So, what is sliding, why is it so common, and when and how do we fix it?

Assessing Slide

First, it is important to recognize that sliding can occur to different degrees, some golfers demonstrating egregious slide, some golfer demonstrating only a slight instance of slide. But what is sliding really?

Sliding is the loss of the lateral (side to side) position of our body. As we start in our set up position, we draw a line straight up from the lead ankle. We expect the space between our lead side hip and that line to increase slightly, if at all, in the backswing. On the downswing, we expect our lead side hip and our body will take that space back all the way to the line, but not slide past it. If we do go past it, then we are translating too much in the downswing and “sliding” too far towards the target. This can lead to swing inefficiencies, loss of power, and increased pain and injury potential.

Fixing Slide in the Golf Swing

-Mobility

First, we want to make sure we have access to full mobility in the hips, low back, spine, and foot and ankle. Having full mobility in these regions for rotation will give us the ability, first and foremost, to move through the backswing and downswing without having to create compensations (including slide). Often, when we have limited access to hip range of motion in the transverse plane (rotation) we will slide instead of rotating. The golf swing is violent, and we put a great deal of force into that lead side hip to accept and de-accelerate the forces in an instant. Again, first we need mobility to make sure we are not maxing out our range of motion early in this downswing, giving us less time to slow down before injuring the joint.

We also encourage the use of other joints to take up the slack and the forces in the swing when the lead side hip is limited in its availability. This leads to loss of posture, tilting, and sliding as we mentioned before. Potential for injury is also increased at the surrounding joint that are being relied upon more now to create and absorb the forces of the swing. Here is a video describing a mobility test of the lower extremity and hip for internal and external rotation.

-Strength and stability

Equally important, and often missed, is the role of strength and stability for improving swing mechanics such as slide and sway. We cannot stop at mobility to make these improvements. We also need to be able to improve our control at the hip in full range of motion while starting to sequence and encourage ourselves to use the hip mobility in the swing. We have to work hard in these stages to fight previous compensation patterns and encourage new motor patterns. We do this by working on hip specific strength first. Movements often focus on getting precise muscles that surround the hip to improve their coordination of hip rotation. It is these muscles that need to be brought back into their role as hip stabilizers first, then we can strengthen them and the larger muscles surrounding them. Here are a few examples of movements we use to re-integrate the small muscles of the hip, then strengthen around them..

Conclusion

Improving slide requires we improve our mobility and stability around the hip joint. We need to be able to turn into that hip fully and control the full force of the swing and the forces around the hip. When a plan of care addresses these components and we integrate it into the swing, it is then left to the swing coach to sequence these abilities fully and the trainer to help maintain and continue to improve total power output. Beyond the hip, the low back, thoracic spine, knee, and ankle are all required to be doing their job so that extra load is not taken up by the surrounding joints. A full evaluation is vital to make sure we are not just making improvements at the hip, but everywhere along the kinetic chain that needs it.

-Dr. Nick DC, MS, TPI, CSCS

If you would like to learn more about your body, pain, and performance, send Dr. Nick an email at contact@integratedrpc.com or call at (585)478-4379, or schedule a FREE discovery visit at Contact.

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