As the seasons rotate from summer to fall, it’s a good time to focus on your physical rotation. Trunk rotation is essential to the golf swing; it enables you to separate your shoulders from your pelvis. Some literature will refer to this separation as the “X factor.” A greater degree of separation between your shoulder blades and your pelvis/ hips allows players to apply force over a greater distance. When executed with speed this creates power.

Maximizing the player’s trunk rotation while maintaining the alignment of the shoulder blades parallel to the pelvis is crucial to maintaining a consistent golf swing.

Here are three exercises to improve your swing by increasing your thoracic spine’s ability to rotate.

MOBILITY

Lay on a foam roller with the roller perpendicular to your spine. Spend two minutes rolling up and down your spine to loosen any tight muscles. Keeping the roller still, with your hands supporting your neck, arch over the roller. Extend 3-5 times, move the roller two inches up or down your spine; repeat. Finally, lay on the roller with it running parallel to your spine, from your head to your tailbone. Keep as much of your spine on the roller, then slowly extend your arms above your head. Repeat six times.

FLEXIBILITY

Restricted latissimus dorsi muscles limit the trunk from rotating freely. Here is a stretch to help improve the flexibility of these large trunk muscles, getting as much range as physically possible. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.

Stand tall with an elastic band looped around your wrists and your arms straight overhead and pulled slightly apart to create tension in the band. While keeping your trunk extended, maintain the tension in the band as you exhale and side bend at the pelvis. Hold this side bent position for three deep breaths before you return to the starting position. Repeat on both sides 2-3 times.

ON COURSE EXERCISE

Maintaining the mobility and flexibility you achieve at home prior to heading to the course is important since we all tend to tighten up after striking so many balls. Here is a practical exercise to use on the range, and at the sixth and the 12th holes.

Use a longer iron and slowly search the muscle tissue along the sides and back of your trunk, looking for tight knots or bands. Once you find one, gradually use the longer iron to massage out the knot. This could take 2-3 minutes before the muscle releases. Complete five passes up and down your back looking for these tighter bands or knots.

Petro-Canada has named Team Canada’s Étienne Papineau and Robert Ratcliffe among the 2015 recipients of the Fuelling Athletes and Coaches (FACE) program. The pair is one of 50 sets of athletes and coaches to receive funding in pursuit of continued excellence in their sports.

The 2015 FACE recipients from across Canada represent both summer and winter sports, with each athlete and coach pairing receiving $10,000. Since 1988, Petro-Canada has contributed almost $9.4 million to over 2,700 athlete-coach pairings.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this generous offering from the Fuelling Athletes and Coaches program,” said Ratcliffe, Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad Coach. “This program credits the importance of athlete-coach relationships while understanding the costs associated with advanced training. This will go a long way for myself and Étienne as we continue to excel and improve.”

Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is coming off his second season representing Canada. The 19-year-old claimed victories at the Alexander of Tunis, the Québec Men’s Amateur Championship and the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational.

Ratcliffe, a native of Comox, B.C., is entering his tenth season at the helm of the Development Squad. He is a class “A” member with the PGA of Canada.

Developed by Petro-Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), and facilitated by their National Sport partners, the FACE program provides developing, pre-carded Canadian athlete and coach pairings with funding to help fuel their dreams. Coaches are selected along with the athletes they directly coach as they often incur additional costs on the road to developing the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic stars of tomorrow.

Click here for the full list of 2015 FACE recipients.

Although Team Canada’s Tristan Mullally can recite every line of Caddyshack, his busy days on the course are very far from Journey songs and chasing gophers.

Rather, he relates more to giving the game everything you have, and in turn it will give it back to you—a philosophy he passes on to the women of Team Canada’s National Squad.

Mullally, a native of Straffan, County Kildare, took over the reigns as Team Canada Women’s Head Coach in 2011. Since that time, the PGA of Canada Class ‘A’ member has imparted his work ethic to five different National Squads (with a sixth to be announced in late September).

Among the athletes, Mullally has shared many successes that helped pave the way for Canada’s next generation of elite golfers. Most notably, Mullally is recognized for helping Canadian teen sensation Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., in her journey to the LPGA—something he doesn’t take lightly.

“Brooke is a special player; we knew that ever since she joined our program in 2011. It’s been a privilege to coach her, along with all the other girls on our National Squads, who have racked up many impressive results of their own.”

In the 2014/15 season alone, Team Canada notched two victories on the Symetra Tour from Young Pro Squad member Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., and National Squad graduate Augusta James of Bath, Ont. Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Richmond Hill, Ont.—also on the Young Pro Squad—followed suit with her first professional win on the Canadian Women’s Tour in June.

Mullally’s role expanded to accommodate the newly introduced Young Pro Squad—which includes Henderson in addition to Kim and Lee-Bentham.

“The program extends the support of the National Team staff to our elite young amateurs as they make the difficult transition to the professional ranks,” said the 2014 Petro Canada Coaching Excellence Award winner. “Sure, my schedule got busier, but I am behind the initiative one-hundred percent—it is a big part of the goal of placing our athletes amongst the world’s best.”

On top of Team Canada’s professional success, Mullally’s strategy continues to focus on developing the National Amateur Squad—which also garnered impressive results this year, including wins at the Ontario and Alberta Amateur Championships, as well as on the Cactus Tour.

As anticipated, both Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., and Jennifer Ha of Calgary turned professional in late August—following the upward trend outlined for Team Canada’s athletes. It also signifies a transition period for the team, with the selection process underway for 2016/17.

“It’s always an exciting time of year for the coaches, as we get to reflect on the success of the athletes and look forward to welcoming new players, new personalities and new challenges into our program,” said Mullally.

Details on next year’s Team Canada are expected to be announced in early October. Selection criteria can be viewed here.

17-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson dreamed of winning on the LPGA Tour for as long as she can remember. Last week at the Cambia Portland Classic, that dream became a reality, along with earning a coveted LPGA Tour card following her petition to overrule the under-18 membership stipulation.

With the win, all eyes were on Henderson—and rightfully so. The Young Pro Squad member was already a story to follow this season, and the win in Portland has her well on the way to becoming a Canadian household name.

On Tuesday morning, Henderson caught up with CTV’s morning television show, Canada AM, to talk about realizing her dreams in one special weekend. Watch the clip here.

A day earlier on Canada AM, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer, Jeff Thompson, shared some insight into Brooke’s journey with Team Canada and her dedication to becoming one of the world’s elite golfers. Click here to watch the interview.

National Amateur Squad members Austin Connelly – a dual-citizen of Canada and the U.S. – and Blair Hamilton of Burlington, Ont., take some time to share their excitement after sharing Gary Cowan medals (low amateur honours) following their first RBC Canadian Open experience at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in late July.

Team Canada Men’s Head Coach, Derek Ingram, also chimed in on another memorable experience at Canada’s national open:

Click here to learn more about Team Canada.

In just its second year, Team Canada’s Young Pro program is showing strong signs of progress in supporting Canada’s bright young professionals in their long journey to success in the professional golf ranks.

Brooke Henderson and Sue Kim both notched Symetra Tour victories in 2015, Adam Svensson won three of his first four professional events, Albin Choi won on the Mackenzie Tour in 2015—to name a few.

Launched in 2014, the Young Pro program was added to Golf Canada’s high performance program to fill the gap of support available for amateurs transitioning to professional golf. In just its second year, the program expanded from five to eight athletes to accommodate for the growing pool of elite Canadian talent.

Three of Canada’s Young Pro Squad men (Svensson, Pendrith, Conners) will look to make their mark on the PGA TOUR in the upcoming RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., from July 20–26.

Click here to learn more about the athletes and Team Canada

Click here to donate to the program through the Golf Canada Foundation

Balance and the connection between your foot and the ground is an important part of your golf swing.  This is how you will have the ability to develop power and consistency on the course.  The key parts are ankle mobility and having a strong, stable foot in a properly fitting golf shoe.

Since Fred Couples started using comfort golf shoes it seems there has been an explosion in the number of golfers moving from the more traditional ridged shoes.  These comfort shoes are great for walking the 8 km course, however, they don’t offer as much stability during the golf swing as traditional rigid shoes.  Finding the right balance in comfort and lateral stability are keys for your game’s success.

Having a properly fitted golf shoe is also crucial to enhancing the connection of your foot to the ground.  Here are some tips for choosing the right shoe:

• Look at the shape of your foot. This will decide which type of last (the shape of the shoe) in a golf shoe to choose.  If you have a larger foot, then a wider/fuller last would be best whilst a narrow foot needs a sleeker last.
• When you tie the shoelaces of the golf shoe, if the lace eyelets touch, then the shoe is too wide for your foot; if the eyelets are more than 5/8-inch apart then the shoe is too narrow.
• Walk around the golf shop and make sure there is no bunching of the leather in the forefoot or that the shoe slips in the heel. A golf shoe that is snug, but not tight, is ideal, especially since most feet will swell during your round.

The foot works incredibly hard during your four hours on the course.  Some common injuries we often see as golf physiotherapists include:

• Morton’s neuroma where there is a thickening of the nerve between the toes. This causes a shooting/burning type sensation between the toes.
• Osteoarthritis, which causes stiffness and pain in the joint at the base of your big toe.
• Plantar fasciitis, which causes an achy heel pain.
• Metatarsalgia where there is pain in the ball of your foot and more often found in the golfers trail foot.
• These injuries affect your ability to shift your weight to the back leg during the backswing and to transfer through to the lead foot on the downswing.

EXERCISES

Here are three exercises to improve the mobility of your ankle, your standing balance and the co-ordination of the muscles in your foot.

MOBILITY

Sit or kneel down with your calf as relaxed as possible.  Hold a golf club so that the middle of the shaft is in contact with your calf.  Pull the club up and down your calf looking for trigger points (which are sensitive spots in the muscle).  Then, gently, using the shaft, massage out the trigger points for 20 seconds.  This improves your calf flexibility.

STANDING BALANCE

Stand with your hands on your hips.  Balance on one leg with your opposite leg bent to 90 degrees.  Keeping your big toe on the ground, balance as long as possible without stepping the opposite foot down. Work on completing two 20-second sets per leg.

MUSCULAR CO-ORDINATION

With your ankle relaxed, lift your big toe off the ground while keeping the rest of the toes on the ground.  Set the big toe back down and lift the rest of the toes whilst pushing the big toe firmly to the ground.  Alternate back and forth in a smooth coordinated way for 20 seconds; repeat three times.  You can progress this exercise from sitting, to standing, to standing on one leg.

Imagine arriving at Augusta National for your Masters debut at 6:45 a.m. and getting ready to warm up.  Preparing for the day is a bit overwhelming if you have never done a similar warm up or you don’t have a set routine.  That is exactly what Corey Conners of Canada’s National Golf Team faced recently, but he was ready.

Warming up for your round is just that — it’s a tune-up for your mind and your body so you’re ready to play right from the opening tee shot.  For a competitive player, a typical warm up can last anywhere between 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes; Adapt the routine to the circumstances and to the facilities available.

Before you start, do a series of dynamic exercises to activate the body, get it ready to perform your best, and reduce the likelihood of injury.  Players on our National Team have an individualized series of movements that get them ready to compete that can start first thing in the morning before they get to the golf course, while others can do theirs on the range prior to hitting balls.

I like to have our players start the warm up by doing a few short range putting drills and getting a feel for the speed of the greens for about 10 minutes.  Then, they will go to the driving range to warm up the body and begin their long game warm up.

Start with your wedges to get loose. Hit a few light ½ and ¾ shots.  Then, work your way down your golf bag hitting two or three shots with the odd-numbered clubs: 9, 7, 5, 3-iron, 3-wood and a few more driver shots.  Then, work your way back up by hitting two or three shots with the even clubs starting with the hybrid, 4, 6, 8 and wedges.  Be sure to have a target for each shot and to occasionally change targets.  Finish off each club with a good shot prior to moving on to the next club.  Remind yourself if you are not hitting it exactly the way you want, that it’s just a warm up and you are preparing the body to play.  It’s a little like stretching prior to going for a run.  If your stretch doesn’t go well, does that mean you are not going to enjoy your run?

While moving through the bag, do your entire pre-shot routine on every third shot trying to simulate a shot on the course. I like to have the players on the National Team finish by playing the first two holes and the last two holes of the course they are about to play on the range – again – with a full pre-shot routine.  I want them to visualize being out on the course, picking the target they will be aiming at given the current wind conditions, and hitting their best shot.  Then, they’ll play their second shot from where the tee shot would have ended, again with complete pre-shot routine until the ball is on the green.  It is really important to warm up your mind and your body; playing a few holes on the range will get you ready.  After you have simulated playing the first couple holes and the last couple holes, hit a final first tee shot once more with your full routine.  Be sure to finish on an acceptable shot then move on to the short game area.  The long game warm up should take around 25 minutes.

Once in the short game area, hit a few pitch, chip and sand shots to get your contact solid and feeling ready.  Try to vary the lie and the hole you are hitting to so they are not exactly the same for each shot.  I love it when Corey [Connors] hits more random shots as opposed to hitting the same shot repeatedly.  Next, simulate a few greenside shots you could face on the course.  Do your full routine with one ball and mark and putt in out.  Do three or four up and downs so you are used to the routine of hitting the shot and putting out. You should get a decent feel for your short game in about 10 minutes.

Now head to the putting green to finish off your pre-round warm up; plan for another 10 minutes.  Take time to do a few short putting drills inside seven feet.  Corey uses a string and two spikes to practice starting the ball on line inside of eight feet on a straight putt.  Then, he will move to a left to right putt to practice starting the ball on his line and making some short breaking putts; he will also do the same on right to left putts.  After finishing up with a few more straight putts, he is really confident on those short need-to-make putts.

After the short putts, hit a few mid-length putts in the 10- to 20-foot range.  I like to have our players use only one ball, do a full read and their pre-putt routine to simulate what will happen during the round.  Then, similarly they can putt a few lag putts, and use their full routine and putt them out.  Last, it’s a good idea to finish with a couple more short putts and your full routine before heading to the tee.

Keep loose prior to hitting your first shot; it may be 20 or more minutes since you last hit a ball.  Take several deep breaths to keep relaxed—trying to inhale and exhale at the same rate.  Knowing you have prepared the best you can for the round, it’s now time to smile and just enjoy the competition.

The hips are one of the most important body parts in the golf swing.  They need to operate through a large range of motion to enable you to get the desired body rotation to create swing speed.  For this rotation, the player needs to have both mobility in the hip joint surface and flexibility in the muscles that surround the joint.  The hip muscles also need to be strong to enable the hip to be stable and generate force over a short period of time, providing the power to create an optimal swing speed.  Limitations in the hips often lead to swing deficits such as sliding or coming out of posture.

Here are three great exercises to improve mobility, flexibility and hip strength.

Strengthening                                                        

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart with a resistance band wrapped just above your knees.  You should maintain an optimal 6-iron golf posture throughout the exercise, with knees slightly bent, back straight, sternum up, abdominal muscles lightly engaged. Begin by turning the knees inwards until there is no tension in the resistance band then turn the knees outwards against the resistance until your have achieved full range of motion in your hips or you have met the full resistance of the band.  Hold for two seconds and repeat.  Complete three sets of as many repetitions until failure as you can with 20 seconds rest between sets.

Mobility – roller to the hip muscles

Lie on your side with the back and side of your hip on a foam roller.  Your arms and legs support most of your weight.  Inhale and exhale as you use your arms and legs to slowly roll the back and side of your hip against the foam roller.  Complete three sets of 30 seconds.  As you improve add more pressure against the foam roller by reducing the support of your arms and legs.

Flexibility – hip flexor stretch

Roll onto your back and pull the foam roller under your pelvis without arching your lower back.  Lift both legs up to 90 degrees hip and knee flexion.  Slowly lower one of the legs down until it is straight while keeping the other leg in the flexed position.  Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Collegiately speaking, 2015 is an odd year for Team Canada.

Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), teammates at Kent State and 2014 Co-Mid-American Player of the Year award winners, graduated and began their professional careers as members of Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad.

Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) turned professional mid-way through his junior season at Barry University, chalking up eight NCAA titles during his collegiate tenure. He also joined the Young Pro Squad mid-season along with Conners (who turned professional following the Masters).

Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ont.) entered her fifth year studying chemical engineering at N.C. State, becoming ineligible to continue competing for the Wolfpack.

17-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson elected to turn professional and join the Young Pro Squad, foregoing her scholarship to the University of Florida after becoming the world’s No. 1 ranked female amateur.

Dual-citizen Austin Connelly entered his first year with Team Canada’s Amateur Squad, boasting a World Amateur Ranking inside the top-10 as an 18-year-old high school student.

That leaves just five athletes currently playing with NCAA programs—four on the Amateur Squad and one on the Development Squad (Tyler Saunders). All five athletes earned honours as first-team selections for their respective conference. See how they got there:

With Ha and Tong graduating, and Hamilton entering his senior year, Team Canada’s veterans are primed to pass the torch down to the younger group, many of whom are committed to start their collegiate careers in 2016:

Tony Gil (Vaughan, Ont.) – University of Houston

Trevor Ranton (Waterloo, Ont.) – Indiana University

AJ Armstrong (St. Albert, Alta.) – Washington State University

Patrick Murphy (Crossfield, Alta.) – UCLA

Jaclyn Lee (Calgary) – Ohio State University

Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.) – N.C. State University

Austin Connelly (Dual-citizen) – University of Arkansas

This is an exciting transitional period for Team Canada—one that follows the intended pathway of the program, with athletes graduating up the ranks as they work towards becoming Canada’s elite golfers.