ATHLETIC STANCE GOLF SWING - HOW IT CAME TO BE 

In July of 2015 after playing many rounds of golf, Colin Maclean's lower back began to hurt mightily and he was fed up with the stiffness and soreness that would occur after every game. Colin has a background in sports medicine and athletic training and knew there had to be a better way to swing the club that would not involve lower back and hip counter rotation. 

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THE CONCEPT

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The purpose of this new swing (which we will call the “Athletic Stance Swing”) is to alleviate the stress on the lower back and decrease the deforming forces on the ankle, knee and hips that exist within the current modern day golf swing.

Areas to observe in the new swing:

• The new foot alignment – where the right foot is brought back so that the big toe is in alignment with the left heal

• The turning out (slightly) of the right foot so as to bring in (assume the position of)  the athletic stance – aligning the ankle, knee and hip

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• With the new foot alignment there is a new pronouncement of body weight being pushed down onto or through the big toe and the ball of the right foot

• Along with this foot alignment and weighting of the right foot – the swing plane of the club is oriented much more toward a 12 –to– 6 o’clock path.  This is a much simpler swing path and is a natural (repeatable) arm swing for the anatomical design of the shoulder socket

• The new foot alignment puts the hips in a static position between 10 and 4 o’clock at the initiation phase of the swing and during the follow through allows the hips to turn more naturally as the alignment of the feet,( knee and hip) permit the rotation with greater ease and virtually no torque

• By removing the over rotation of the back that occurs in the drawing back of the club in the traditional golf swing – we eliminate nearly 100% of lower back stress

• Lastly, the alignment of the right foot allows for a more natural alignment of the left leg (knee) in that the position of the hips lessens the stress on the follow through of the traditional golf swing of today. This also has the effect of decreasing the natural rolling out of the left ankle (weighting of the outside of the foot) and eliminating the bowing of the knee which stresses the LCL (Lateral Collateral Ligament).  

How do we create Energy?

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In the "Athletic Stance Swing" the alignment of the right leg now allows the energy to be stored in the right hip.  This is achieved in the strong weighting (pushing on the big toe/ball of foot) that does not allow the body to move back (sway) or the rolling of the ankle to the outside (right foot rolling over in the traditional swing that releases energy) that many amateur golfers do.  With this new alignment the body weight of the golfer is also used naturally to move forward in the swing as the right leg now propels the user forward with the momentum of the follow-through.  In the modern day swing (as the feet are parallel) it is a natural occurrence to lose your body weight backwards (putting your weight on the back or right foot) and not to channel the energy forward through the follow-through of the stroke. With the "Athletic Stance Swing",  it is natural to move forward through the follow-through as the alignment of the right leg which is now biomechanically correct (and aligned) to the rest of the body, enables (or supplies) a very strong platform for a more powerful stroke.  

Benefits of the "Athletic Stance Swing”

• Reduced torque in the lower back (the forward snapping motion of the hips to generate power to the golf swing)

• The elimination of over rotation in the lower back due to the back swing

• A new stroke/swing  plane more aligned to a 12-to-6 o’clock plane instead of an 10-to-4 o’clock plane – which is natural to repeat as this works more biomechanically correct with the natural function of the shoulder socket (if its easier to repeat due to its natural motion, then you will get more consistency in striking the ball with correct club face contact)

• The elimination of the right knee rotation and stress accompanied with the back swing 

• The elimination of the left knee rotation and stress accompanied with the follow through

• Improved balance and a stronger platform to swing the golf club from, which will generate equivalent (and in many cases increased power) to strike the golf ball with; equaling greater distance

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