Body-Swing Connection
It’s one of the most common physical limitations—but there’s a way to swing with it
The cliché “swing your swing” might get tiring, but it’s based on the sound belief that everyone's unique physiology is going to lead them to swing slightly differently. That unique physiology often means physical limitations, especially for older golfers who can still play but struggle to make the moves they once did.
We’ve explored how golfers with bad backs can adjust their swings, but one Golf Digest+ member reached out looking for ways to swing with another common ailment: arthritis. Stiff shoulder and hip joints, for example, can limit some traditional swing movements, but the good news is there are a few adjustments you can make to still be an efficient ball-striker.
(Editor’s Note: This story is part of the new Golf Digest Community section, where we engage with Golf Digest+ members. We encourage all members to submit swing videos, great stories, questions or feedback on recent stories here for a chance to be included in a future edition.)
Harry Daley, a 76-year-old from Gillespie, Ill., who has a 16-handicap, asks:
I’m an older golfer with arthritis. I have a stiff left shoulder and right hip. My right hip tends to sway instead of turn in the backswing. Do you have any suggestions?
Harry notes two swing issues caused by his arthritis. First, he struggles to get his left arm in a good position at the top of the swing because the shoulder joint has limited mobility. More frustrating, it seems, is that Harry sways off the ball in the backswing since his right hip is too stiff to turn while staying centered.
To help Harry find a better backswing with his physical limitations, we asked Golf Digest’s No. 1-ranked teacher in America Mark Blackburn for advice on swinging with stiff joints. Blackburn is a mainstay on PGA Tour driving ranges, working with top players including Max Homa and Justin Rose.
Put some turn in your sway
“Swaying is not bad,” Blackburn says. “There's plenty of golfers that do it. It's just that you're likely not swaying and turning—you're just swaying.”
For amateur golfers, especially those with stiff joints, Blackburn recommends turning your upper body away from the target (right) instead of tilting (left).
Blackburn emphasizes that moving off the ball in the backswing becomes a problem when you don’t allow your shoulders to turn as well. “If you’re just swaying, you’ll get tilted,” he says, which can cause a steep downswing that produces pulls and slices.
Coincidentally, this is something that Golf Digest Digital Editorial Director Sam Weinman is working on in his swing as well. Like Harry, Sam has a tendency to sway his right hip in the backswing without getting enough turn. Take a look below.
Notice how the right hip is bumping into the line as he goes back. The issue, though, as Blackburn describes, is that because Sam doesn’t get enough turn, his upper body is tilted too much toward the target at the top of the swing. This is what Blackburn means by getting “tilted,” which makes it very tough to hit the ball from the inside.
Instead of obsessing over limiting hip sway, Blackburn recommends focusing on getting as much shoulder turn as your body allows. “You can’t just take the hip in isolation. If you sway and turn, you at least get some depth, and then you have a chance,” he says. To help you get more turn in your hips as well, in this Golf Digest video series, Blackburn recommends flaring the toes of your trail foot out. This will free up the range of motion in the trail hip and allow you to get more turn with your lower half.
Swing around your body
Back to Harry’s initial question, where he also noted a stiff left shoulder. “If you’ve got a bum shoulder, you’re going to be flat,” Blackburn says. Instead of a traditional-looking swing, where the left arm is up above the right shoulder at the top of the swing, Harry’s might be more across his chest. That’s OK, Blackburn says.
The flatter backswing, combined with more shoulder turn, will get the club working more around your body and set you up to approach the ball from the inside.
With these two changes, Blackburn says to expect a big right-to-left ball flight. Embrace hitting big draws and even “sling hooks,” he says. “That would be the pattern.”