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By Sean Cochran
Special to PGATOUR.com

Last week we began the process of assessing your golf game. We discussed how to dissect the different aspects of your game and golf swing as well as the connection to your body. At this point you should have a good idea about what aspects of your game require attention, where in the golf swing are compensations occurring and how to begin improvement in these areas during the upcoming off-season.

GET TO KNOW SEAN COCHRAN

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA TOUR regularly and works with TOUR professionals, most notably Masters and PGA Champion Phil Mickelson.   He has been involved in the production of numerous golf fitness videos and books including Core Golf Fitness. He has authored numerous articles with publication credits in Golf Digest, Sports Illustrated, and Golf Magazine.   In addition to working with Mickelson, Cochran has worked with LPGA Champion Hee Won Han, U.S. Open Champion Corey Pavin, world-renowned golf instructor Rick Smith and short game expert Dave Pelz.   Cochran continues to speak at seminars and clinics around the country on golf fitness. In his free time he enjoys golf and surfing. He resides in Del Mar, Calif.   To learn more about Sean and his golf fitness programs,  click here • Training tips archive,  click here • Off-season workout,  click here • Set-up exercises,  Click here • Tightness?  Here's your help

In addition to introducing how to create an assessment of your golf game, we started this process for your body. It is understood a connection exists between your body and the golf swing. It is the body executing the phases of the golf swing, and it requires certain levels of flexibility, balance, coordination, strength, endurance, and power in order to perform the swing efficiently. Lacking in any one of these physical components means the swing may be compromised, which then can lead to a chain-like reaction to the other components of your game. Eventually this results in poor execution on the golf course.

The assessment process of your body begins with flexibility. As we discussed last week the golf swing requires you to draw the club through a long range of motion and this requires a certain level of flexibility from the muscles involved in the golf swing.

Last week we utilized the Mirror Drill to assess your flexibility levels relative to the shoulder turn. If you were unable to complete a full shoulder turn without compensation in this assessment, this may indicate a lack of flexibility in the lower back, hips, and/or hamstrings. If this is the case we will want to address each of these body parts in your off-season golf fitness program.

An exercise I often utilize in my golf fitness program to assist in flexibility for the lower back, hips, and hamstrings is one we have discussed previously. It is the Rotational Hamstring Stretch. This is an ideal exercise to incorporate into your off-season golf fitness program if these are "problem" areas of your body.

Our second golf fitness assessment is again geared towards flexibility. We are actually going to look at posture since the golf swing requires you to rotate around a fixed spine angle. Maintaining a fixed spine angle during every phase of the swing hinges upon posture and a number of physical components comprise proper posture. One of these physical components is flexibility. If certain muscles in your body are "tight" this will hamper your ability to maintain proper posture in the golf swing and consequently a fixed spine angle.

The assessment we will be using to look at your posture is the Plumb Line drill. To perform this assessment you will need a full-length mirror and a piece of masking tape. Take the piece of masking tape and dissect the mirror into two halves vertically from top to bottom.

Once complete, stand comfortably in front of the mirror at a distance where you can view your entire body. Align your body in the center of the mirror in an address position with the arms hanging down in front of the torso. Allow the line on the mirror to dissect your shoulder from a side view.

Begin the posture assessment by first asking yourself: is this comfortable? If there are certain parts of the body that are uncomfortable, such as the lower back, take note of this feeling. Perform this inventory for every part of the body.

Once you are finished with this portion of the assessment observe the position of your feet, knees, hips, shoulders, and head relative to the line on the mirror. Proper posture in the address position entails the line on the mirror bisecting the side of your shoulder and forward part of the foot. During this visual observation the shoulders should not be rounded forward, the lower back should be flat, the knees bent slightly, and arms hanging in front of your torso. If you find this not to be the case take note of which body part(s) are out of sync.

Remember proper posture sets up the ability to maintain a fixed spine angle in the golf swing. If problems exist in your posture as a result of a lack of flexibility, this can directly affect the execution of an efficient swing.