Junior Golf Swing Requirements

Junior Golf Swing Requirements

Junior golf swing requirements are quite similar to any adult swing in that they both gain momentum from the ground up by using the chain reaction of legs, hips, shoulders and arms through strength, flexibility and balance. Both adult and juniors create coil by getting the upper body wound against the resistance of the lower body through arm swing. But since juniors can be very flexible the focus for them should shift from achieving some degree turn to capturing some degree of coil . This does not mean that they don’t get turned but rather what they need to prioritize in their swing is coil.

This is achieved but first squaring the feet and then having the youngster do nothing as they swing the club back. They will still get turned but now they have the ability to create coil. In all golf swings it is all about achieving a balance, that is why one either facilitates or offsets what the body can or cannot do. This means that with many juniors we are balancing out the ability to turn with the inability to easily capture coil. That is why we can even go beyond the point of doing nothing with the body and tell them to keep their body completely where it is as they swing back.

Below is a perfect example of a junior keeping his body where it is and then simply swinging back. Notice there is an abundance of turn but now there is also a differential between the upper body and the lower body: coil.

Because of this tremendous differential between the upper and lower body many juniors can play with an open stance that way the shoulders will be able to face the ball at impact. Otherwise the shoulders will be closed resulting in a path that is too much from in to out.

All golfers share in the need to get the club light as one can swing it easier and with more control. A good idea here is to take the “Y” formed by the arms and club and turn it into an”L”. This of course means that one does not turn the “Y” back but rather it can be swung back into a light condition, other wise the straight right arm will shove the right shoulder up and out of position. This is especially important for juniors due to a strengh factor.

One more interesting observation with juniors is that they many times they JUMP through the ball. Let them do this. They are capturing vertical ground forces, as all golfers due, but many of them don’t weigh enough to stay on the ground! Mat Every just won the Bay Hill Classic in Orlando doing this partly because he has very slow hips. Many times both his toes were off the ground at impact! Its allowed. If you take it away from the junior you also take away his or her power. Below is an example of a very talented junior jumping.