A loose chest is the best
Firstly, apologies for missing the last couple of newsletters.
Last time around, I asked you all to stand with your back against a wall and see if your head comfortably rested against the wall as well. And then I left you all guessing as to what to do.
Today, I'm going to try to get it back to golf. A stiff neck and upper back leads to your shoulders pulling forwards, and tightens the chest muscles. This means you lose a degree of upper body rotation during the backswing. You can compensate for this loss by over tilting your wrists, opening the club face and increasing your chances of a slice. Or you do the beloved "reverse pivot" and develop a weak outside to in swing path. And if either of those sound bad, the alternative is worse and you do both.
So let's get that neck stretched and that chest opened.
1. Double chin - Not the too many pies version. Reverse the postures that today's world throws at us with a quick chin tuck. Aim to keep looking forwards, not down. The head moves backwards as if it is on rails. Do a quick 10 of these.
2. Leave your tightness at the door. Stand in a doorway, forearms resting against the door frame on either side, simply lean forwards. Go on, it feels lovely. Hold that for 15 seconds.
And there you have it. 30 seconds to improve your posture, and potentially your backswing.
Is this golf's toughest Major venue?
It doesn't seem that long ago since Danny Willett was pulling on a certain Green Jacket, but here we are again, it's Major time. What lies in store? Well, it's not going to be a birdie fest, that's for sure.
Put simply, Oakmont is a brute - as you can discover for yourself below. The U.S. Open this weekend is a must-watch, especially if you like to see players work extra hard for their pars. This type of golf isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it does make a change to seeing winning totals around the -15 mark, as is often the case.
Here's a stat for you:
The entire field broke par just eight times during all four days in 2007
Want to know why? Have a scroll down and watch this fantastic video, it will give you goosebumps.
