Text size:

Protecting your back keeps your golf game upright

Mark Herrmann

June 19, 2008

The old phrase "Watch your back" takes on a whole different meaning when it comes to golf. It is not nearly as ominous as you might think, witnessed by Rocco Mediate's remarkable performance at the U.S. Open.

Mediate carried encouragement to a lot of average amateur golfers when he took Tiger Woods to the 19th hole of a playoff Monday. That he is able to carry anything is testimony to his recovery from back surgery in 1994 and chronic pain that has been so bad that, four years ago, his back locked up when he was home alone and forced him to cling to a trophy case for three hours until he felt well enough to climb to bed.

Woods' injured left knee was the No. 1 injury story line, but Mediate's back was the ache that hit home at every course.

"I was rooting for him like he was my brother out there, and the show he put on was phenomenal," said John Ondrush, who knows Mediate a little and knows a lot about backs. As proprietor of the Golf Fitness Academy in Syosset, Ondrush treats many local pros - he was at the Open at Torrey Pines, working with Piping Rock pro Mike Gilmore, who played in it - and weekend players.

Mark Herrmann Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

Ondrush, other golf fitness professionals and club pros all tell recreational golfers to take precautions to protect their backs, but adds that a bad back doesn't mean the end of a golf career. That was the message of Mediate, who had said after falling steeply from the lead on the final day of the 2006 Masters, "My back went psycho."

His back didn't bark at Torrey Pines. "He was awesome," said Shinnecock Hills head pro Jack Druga, a friend of Mediate from western Pennsylvania and fellow disc surgery veteran. "He was really getting through the ball. He was doing things he couldn't do when his back was hurting."

Don Beatty, head pro at Garden City Country Club, admitted having been told by specialists at the Hospital for Special Surgeries that he should stop playing golf because of his back. But the lesson-giver has taken training from Ondrush and has been able to keep swinging.

Beatty tells his members that warming up before a round is an absolute must. "People like to go to the first tee and give it that first-tee swing, which usually means they swing as hard as they can," he said.

Golf has become a much more athletic game, he said, with amateurs trying to imitate the powerful, torque-driven swings of Woods and other stars. In Jack Nicklaus' day, the ideal was to make a 90-degree shoulder turn. Now golfers shoot for a 120-degree turn.

Trying to do that right out of the parking lot is a recipe for pain. Karen Eckhardt of Body Balance for Performance in Bay Shore prescribes "a more active stretch" before a round. "You should do something at least slightly cardio, even walking, to get a little more blood flow," she said.

Ondrush said that a healthy back for golf begins long before the golfer gets to the course. It starts with doing exercises to strengthen core muscles in the abdomen and lower back and extends to flexibility training. He suggests that everybody is different and has to find the right exercises for his or her body and swing type. On his Web site (www.golffitacademy.com) and on his DVD, "Ten Steps to Golf Fitness," he gives advice on stretching and warming up for golf. "It's not a good idea to go right to the range," he said.

The real goal, all of the fitness and golf pros agree, is to keep golfers playing. Eckardt acknowledged that a golfer who has had back problems will always have to do exercises. "It's like taking medicine," she said, indicating there is hope.

"People are definitely afraid to get treated for lower back pain because they think they're going to be told they shouldn't play," she said. "The last thing we want to do is tell them to stop doing something they love."

Today's tip

"If you are experiencing short game difficulties, try practicing with your right hand only. Take three balls, go to a flat area on the putting green, put them within one foot of the hole, and make all three putts. Continue to move one foot farther from the hole, and repeat the exercise. If you miss one of the three, go back to the beginning and start over.

"On a proper grip with your putter, your right palm should be parallel with the clubface and pointing at the target. This drill will help teach you to maintain that relationship between right palm and putter through impact. This will also help you to learn how to maintain a smooth tempo during the back swing and follow through. This is also a great practice drill for your chipping."

Vincent Pauroso

PGA head professional

Rockaway Hunting Club

Aces