Golfers Elbow, Tendonitis and How to Stop Swinging So Hard

[Elmer]

Was not sure if this belonged in the health and fitness or swing forums.
Some quick background, Sept 2019 tore my left bicep tendon clean off the bone.
Surgery, rehab and a year off and it is not the same, but I can play. being right hand dominant led to tendonitis in the right arm which flares up from time to time. My first couple rounds back I swung too hard, my timing was off and I had a death grip on the club. This caused a flare up.

Anyway I went and did a fitting at the local golf place, as I was looking for new clubs. Unfortunately a fitting is the pro measuring my hand and then standing behind me and telling me everything wrong with my swing. 

This of course frustrated me and caused me to try and swing harder to make better contact. Which I know is not how golf works. Combine this with being in a semi heated room and the mask riding up into my eyes, it was one bad swing after another. My bad swings usually cause me to grip the club way too hard,  and over swing which brings on the golfer elbow.

Now I am wearing a golf elbow brace, taking some NSAIDs. I have a month before the golf league starts.
I plan to swing lightly in the garage to work on form and posture and weigh distribution.

But how can I work on a consistent smooth, easy swing, especially when you start to get tired.
 I know I don't have swing as hard as I do, I just cant seem to stop (I have too much of that dumb meathead jock mentality in me),especially when it is a long distance. 

Any advice for all my issues?

[dennyjones]

1 hour ago, Elmer said:

Now I am wearing a golf elbow brace, taking some NSAIDs. I have a month before the golf league starts.

Add to that ...  rest it

[Elmer]

1 minute ago, dennyjones said:

Add to that ...  rest it

I will avoid swinging for a few days. However rest is difficult when spend most my day as a keyboard warrior, and the rest of the time trying to be active.

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, Elmer said:

But how can I work on a consistent smooth, easy swing, especially when you start to get tired.
 I know I don't have swing as hard as I do, I just cant seem to stop (I have too much of that dumb meathead jock mentality in me),especially when it is a long distance. 

Any advice for all my issues?

Injuries happen. Besides RICE (rest ice compression elevation), I find longer, easier warmups and easy swinging can help rehab. If you have a mirror or film your swing, you can do slower swings and still get yourself ready. We can’t really make changes at full speed. We need to slow things down to make changes. Try to swing at 80%. If that feels ok, go to 60%. Once you can dial this in, practice becomes more effective. 

During a session, I usually only do few full speed swings when working on a piece.

[Elmer]

On 3/10/2021 at 4:08 PM, boogielicious said:

Injuries happen. Besides RICE (rest ice compression elevation), I find longer, easier warmups and easy swinging can help rehab. If you have a mirror or film your swing, you can do slower swings and still get yourself ready. We can’t really make changes at full speed. We need to slow things down to make changes. Try to swing at 80%. If that feels ok, go to 60%. Once you can dial this in, practice becomes more effective. 

During a session, I usually only do few full speed swings when working on a piece.

Excellent advice.
My soreness usually goes away in a day. I put on a golf elbow brace and did some light swings at probably 40%. Now I am at 60%. Hitting some of those foam golf balls into a tarp hanging in the garage.
Trying to focus on making contact and not killing a ball in order to drill it further than it needs to go.

[boogielicious]

58 minutes ago, Elmer said:

Excellent advice.
My soreness usually goes away in a day. I put on a golf elbow brace and did some light swings at probably 40%. Now I am at 60%. Hitting some of those foam golf balls into a tarp hanging in the garage.
Trying to focus on making contact and not killing a ball in order to drill it further than it needs to go.

Ice it after you swing whether it hurts or not. It will have some inflammation.

[Billy Z]

Pain is usually enough to get most people to stop swinging so hard. A good tempo is more effective then swinging hard as far as distance and accuracy are concerned, as the ball goes just far or farther than when I make a quality swing.

[ncates00]

25 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

A good tempo is more effective then swinging hard as far as distance and accuracy are concerned

This simply isn’t true.

Assuming a solid strike, “good tempo” only gives you that—good tempo. The ball doesn’t care what your tempo is. “Good” is also very relative; could be fast or slow, but tempo isn’t the main factor to distance or accuracy. However, I will agree that “good” tempo may lead to doing things in your swing that result in distance and accuracy. 

Assuming a solid strike, swinging faster yields more distance. Swinging faster equals more ball speed. More ball speed equals more distance.

30 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

the ball goes just far or farther than when I make a quality swing

The problem here with your statement is you are conflating “good” tempo and “quality.” You can have “good” tempo and still be a terrible golfer, e.g., you can miss-strike the ball, have terrible face to path, poor speed, etc. You have fallen victim to the feeling of having better quality because you feel like when you swing slower, you can do things better. Well, in some cases, yes, going slower can make things easier. It doesn’t make it “better” though. The same is true for a musician learning a song, lick, etc. for the first time; they take the part slowly to begin with because it is easier to execute. However, that is not to be done when they perform. The same is true for golf, unless the shot calls for a slower swing. 

On 3/10/2021 at 12:43 PM, Elmer said:

Was not sure if this belonged in the health and fitness or swing forums.
Some quick background, Sept 2019 tore my left bicep tendon clean off the bone.
Surgery, rehab and a year off and it is not the same, but I can play. being right hand dominant led to tendonitis in the right arm which flares up from time to time. My first couple rounds back I swung too hard, my timing was off and I had a death grip on the club. This caused a flare up.

Anyway I went and did a fitting at the local golf place, as I was looking for new clubs. Unfortunately a fitting is the pro measuring my hand and then standing behind me and telling me everything wrong with my swing. 

This of course frustrated me and caused me to try and swing harder to make better contact. Which I know is not how golf works. Combine this with being in a semi heated room and the mask riding up into my eyes, it was one bad swing after another. My bad swings usually cause me to grip the club way too hard,  and over swing which brings on the golfer elbow.

Now I am wearing a golf elbow brace, taking some NSAIDs. I have a month before the golf league starts.
I plan to swing lightly in the garage to work on form and posture and weigh distribution.

But how can I work on a consistent smooth, easy swing, especially when you start to get tired.
 I know I don't have swing as hard as I do, I just cant seem to stop (I have too much of that dumb meathead jock mentality in me),especially when it is a long distance. 

Any advice for all my issues?

Take time off to heal. Seriously. I like to hit balls as much as the next guy, but I found that when I had left elbow issues (my particular problem in the past), it’s best to take time off until you’re 100%. You’ll only prolong the time playing badly and having pain. In the meantime, you can work on wedges or putting to make good use of the time.  
 

Also I recommend, if you’re not already, lifting. I found that when I began powerlifting years ago, I strengthened all the little joints and tendons. I don’t have pain anymore from golf (knock on wood), other than usual soreness/stiffness. 

[Billy Z]

13 minutes ago, ncates00 said:

This simply isn’t true.

Assuming a solid strike, “good tempo” only gives you that—good tempo. The ball doesn’t care what your tempo is. “Good” is also very relative; could be fast or slow, but tempo isn’t the main factor to distance or accuracy. However, I will agree that “good” tempo may lead to doing things in your swing that result in distance and accuracy. 

Assuming a solid strike, swinging faster yields more distance. Swinging faster equals more ball speed. More ball speed equals more distance.

 

Absolutely, faster SS will give more distance, basic physics.  I also like the statement I highlighted. I guess what I was trying to say is that when golfers try to swing 'hard', often times their swing deteriorates. SS is good when you can control it, but when you can't it usually puts you into the woods further. It always amazes me how relaxed PGA golfers look when the swing, almost effortless, because of the quality of their swing.

[ncates00]

10 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

look

This is the operative word here. The pros swing very fast, and they’re not holding back much, unless the shot calls for it. 

 

13 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

because of the quality

Yes, but be sure not to conflate this with tempo. Tempo and quality aren’t the same. Tempo may be one component of quality, but tempo alone is not quality. Other components, such as, speed, face to path, angle of attack, strike location, etc. are also components of quality. How something “looks” isn’t necessarily indicative of quality either, not to mention how something “looks” is very subjective to the viewer as well. 

16 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

I guess what I was trying to say is that when golfers try to swing 'hard', often times their swing deteriorates.

Not necessarily. Sometimes things can be easier done at speed due to timing. Familiarity is the key point I would argue. If you’re not used to swinging fast, then when one attempts it, you can struggle.  After all, swinging well at high speed is a huge skill. 

[colin007]

Fighting right elbow tendinitis here also, right on the tip of the elbow. Not golf related, I think it was from working out and doing trillions of reps of pandemic bodyweight exercises

[Billy Z]

23 hours ago, ncates00 said:

This is the operative word here. The pros swing very fast, and they’re not holding back much, unless the shot calls for it. 

 

Yes, but be sure not to conflate this with tempo. Tempo and quality aren’t the same. Tempo may be one component of quality, but tempo alone is not quality. Other components, such as, speed, face to path, angle of attack, strike location, etc. are also components of quality. How something “looks” isn’t necessarily indicative of quality either, not to mention how something “looks” is very subjective to the viewer as well. 

Not necessarily. Sometimes things can be easier done at speed due to timing. Familiarity is the key point I would argue. If you’re not used to swinging fast, then when one attempts it, you can struggle.  After all, swinging well at high speed is a huge skill. 

MORE DISTANCE WITH THE DRIVER

Probably the biggest difference between the Tour player and amateur with the driver is tempo. The driver is the only club that you want to hit as far as possible, so the tendency is to swing it hard and fast, which actually kills accuracy and distance. The key to a consistent swing is coordination of upper and lower body, and if your tempo is too fast, it’s hard to get it right. Tempo is arguably the most overlooked fundamental (alignment is a close second).

The Key To More Accuracy and Distance With The Driver

---

Need more accuracy and distance with the driver? Try this simple technique for an extra 20-30 yards and more fairways hit each round.

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by Billy Z

[ncates00]

4 hours ago, Billy Z said:

MORE DISTANCE WITH THE DRIVER

Probably the biggest difference between the Tour player and amateur with the driver is tempo. The driver is the only club that you want to hit as far as possible, so the tendency is to swing it hard and fast, which actually kills accuracy and distance. The key to a consistent swing is coordination of upper and lower body, and if your tempo is too fast, it’s hard to get it right. Tempo is arguably the most overlooked fundamental (alignment is a close second).

The Key To More Accuracy and Distance With The Driver

---

Need more accuracy and distance with the driver? Try this simple technique for an extra 20-30 yards and more fairways hit each round.

 

Great. You found some article that supports your assertion. lol  

Tempo isn’t the key. It’s an excuse for poor execution akin to “I lifted my head” or “I got quick.” I’m not saying tempo isn’t relevant because I agree it can help; I’m saying it isn’t the holy grail to your best golf nor is it what gives you more distance, and it certainly isn't the biggest difference between the pros and the joes. 

You can point to articles all day, but the science just doesn’t support your point. Either way, we’re getting off topic here, so I’m finished. 

[colin007]

I'm sorry, I stopped reading after "Probably the biggest difference between the Tour player and amateur with the driver is tempo."

🤣

[Billy Z]

33 minutes ago, ncates00 said:

Great. You found some article that supports your assertion. lol  

Tempo isn’t the key. It’s an excuse for poor execution akin to “I lifted my head” or “I got quick.” I’m not saying tempo isn’t relevant because I agree it can help; I’m saying it isn’t the holy grail to your best golf nor is it what gives you more distance, and it certainly isn't the biggest difference between the pros and the joes. 

You can point to articles all day, but the science just doesn’t support your point. Either way, we’re getting off topic here, so I’m finished. 

That's fine. I think the article supports my original thoughts quite well. Swinging hard is really sort of a caveman's approach to gain distance. Swinging fast with the right tempo, is the key to gaining distance. Thanks, I'm done with this too.

1 minute ago, colin007 said:

I'm sorry, I stopped reading after "Probably the biggest difference between the Tour player and amateur with the driver is tempo."

🤣

Well, my thought may have been a bit brief, as many other things apply. Just the same, one of the biggest differences between a pro's swing and 10 hc is tempo. Now a lot of this create a good tempo, and support a good tempo. If you stopped reading my post I don't know how you could honestly post about it? I give ncates00 credit for at least reading through my posts, thanks.

[Beastie]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/golf.com/instruction/how-fast-swing-driver-based-handicap/amp/

[Billy Z]

2 minutes ago, Beastie said:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/golf.com/instruction/how-fast-swing-driver-based-handicap/amp/

Interesting post!

[dennyjones]

While I'm sure that the OP finds this tempo conversation interesting, that's not helping his tendonitis.   This diversion would be better served in it's own thread.