TPI Physical Screen - Torso 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 5, Torso Rotation.
Movement Pattern No 5 : Torso Rotation
The objective of the torso rotation test is to see how well you can separate your upper body from your lower body. The better you can rotate your upper body while maintaining a stable lower body, the better you can properly sequence your backswing and generate a good coil.
TPI Test : The Torso 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 pelvic region, rotate your upper body to the right and then back to the left. Continue to do this 4-5 times. Ideally you want to be able to rotate your upper body left to right in a smooth motion with no movement in the lower body.
Watch Adam demonstrate the proper technique on executing this test in the videow below. 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 torso rotation test then you have a chance of losing posture during the golf swing, having an early extension at impact, and/or swaying/sliding while swinging.
If you find this test difficult to perform you may have a lack of mobility in the thoracic spine, cervical spine, or you may have limited pelvic stability.
Exercise: Half-Kneeling Turns
Holding on to a club and with one knee on the ground, try to rotate your hips right and left without moving the pelvis. Reach maximum rotation without forcing it. The whole movement should be smooth and easy to complete.
You can watch Adam complete the Supported Hip Twister exercise in the video below:
For more information on golf-specific fitness programs please contact us at 012-334-1511 or send us an enquiry here.