After many months of home-dwelling, golfers across the nation are now returning to the greens!

If like many, you have spent more time sat on the sofa than usual, you may have developed an increased slumped posture through your shoulders and upper back,an extended neck posture from looking up at the TV, shortened the hip flexor and hamstring muscles and maybe not helped your low back and pelvis either as let’s face it, we rarely sit perfectly.

All in all, you may be facing a challenge to your flexibility, your feel for swinging the clubs, your rhythm and possibly your regular fitness levels and potentially gained a little weight too.

A lack of walking your usual distances may lead to earlier fatigue than usual on returning to play.

A lack of swinging may lead to losses in rhythm and flexibility and feel (certainly in respect to putting and short game).

So,whilst you’re waiting for your next tee time, what else can you do?

1. Go swing your clubs in the back garden
Don’t hit balls, unless you’re lucky enough to have a suitable net (we’ve heard the duvet over the washing line have been used ingeniously by some!). Have a warm-up, go through the shorter clubs first, build up tempo and speed…allow your back and leg muscles to warm up, as well as wrists. Don’t swing as hard as you can, think about doing a similar warm up to one you might do before playing usually. Maybe even try to visualise and play through the first few holes of your course.

2. Use the time to stay motivated and to improve
If you have never filmed your swing, now could be the time! It can be a great way to look at your movement in a whole new way and find opportunities for improvements.

You could even ask your club pro to take a look and see if they can offer any instructional thoughts and tips!

3. Stretch and mobilise
Regularly getting out and swinging in the garden will obviously help maintain some flexibility, but to help reduce any muscular shortening that may have happened,stretching and learning specific exercises at our specialised rehabilitation workshops could keep you at the fore-front of your return!

Here’s what J. Covey, Presidentof the Sussex County Ladies Golf Association had to say about her experience of our workshops:

“The virtual lockdown classes twice a week, alongside the specialised rehabilitation workshops have been enormously productive and positively rewarding for me.

I have become stronger and more stable in my core and I have so much more rotation when hitting the golf ball off the tee. I really can’t believe how much more rotation I now have! I have been amazed how well I have struck the ball and so has my husband. Game on now!.

Thank you Bridgeham, I couldn’t have done this without your Pilates classes”

4. And finally, adjust your expectations
Performance levels are likely to have dropped a bit, so don’t get over-excited!7 rounds in the first week back is likely to catch up with you in terms of overload, and that’s often where injury lies in wait.

If you do feel like your body isn’t up to par we’re here to help! Not only are we offering our incredible rehab workshops via Zoom, adhering to our strict hygiene protocols and pre-screening checks, our osteopaths are now able to treat the following patients in the clinic:

· those in acute pain

· those over 70

· those that were booked for follow-up treatments pre lockdown and that are now overdue with symptoms plateauing or worsening

For further information about either our rehab workshops or osteopathy appointments please call reception on 01293 542245 Monday-Friday 08.30-6.00pm.