TPI Physical Screen - Pelvic Rotation
By Mark Pajich
A TPI golf screen is a physical assessment of how well your body moves in relation to your golf swing. There are 16 movement patterns that we check and depending on your results we may find that you have one or more of the 12 most common swing faults, each of which will have a direct effect on your game.
This series of articles will go through the TPI Physical Screen and how each movement pattern can impact your golf. Today’s article will focus on movement pattern no 3, Pelvic Rotation.
Movement Pattern No 3 : Pelvic Rotation
The objective of the pelvic rotation test is to see how well you can separate your lower body from your upper body. The better you can rotate your lower body while maintaining a stable upper body, the better you can properly sequence your downswing.
The Pelvic Rotation Test
Get yourself into your normal 5-iron setup posture with your arms across your shoulders and your feet about shoulder width apart. From there, without moving your upper body, rotate your lower body to the left and then back to the right. Continue to do this 4-5 times. Ideally you want to be able to rotate your lower body left to right in a smooth motion with no movement in the upper body.
Watch LPGA Professional Lim Siew Ai from Masters Golf Performance demonstrates the proper technique to perform Pelvic Rotation in the following video. You can check yourself in a mirror to see if you are doing it correctly.
Swing faults: TPI research shows that if you have limitations in the pelvic rotation test then you have an 55% chance of “over-the-top” or overuse of the upper body in the downswing as well as a 55% chance of early extension. 60% of golfers with this limitation will also either sway or slide.
If you find this test difficult to perform you may have a lack of mobility in the hips, spine or pelvis or you may have limited thorax stability.
Exercise: Supported Hip Twisters
Holding on to a club and without moving your upper body, try to rotate your hips right and left. Reach maximum rotation without forcing it. The whole movement should be smooth and easy to complete.
Watch Siew Ai complete the Supported Hip Twister exercise in the following video.
For more information on golf-specific fitness programs please contact us at 012-334-1511 or send us an enquiry here.