In the game of golf, there is one universal truth: player performance directly depends upon the health of their spine and, more specifically, optimal thoracic mobility. So important is the spine to achieving golf game excellence, scores of reports have addressed the matter, including one recent pga.com article with the unequivocal headline, “A consistent spine angle will lead to improved impact no matter your body type.”
Driven by a passion to help improve joint function for himself and others to make gains on the links, former NBA strength and conditioning coach and therapeutic exercise specialist Carl Horne Jr., owner of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based In2One Wellness Studio, invented and patented the TrueTurnPro device as an easy and cost-effective way to restore and maintain thoracic mobility. As the world’s first thoracic spine isolation and training system, it was designed to be used anywhere: at home, in a hotel room or on the turf. The TrueTurnPro helps increase a user’s rotation and strengthens the core, which helps the user develop the muscles to protect and strengthen the back — all collectively improving a player’s speed, power and distance.
Here, Horne himself offered some expert insights on spine health, swing position, the device itself and more.
Relative to one’s golf swing, should the club correct the body position or should the body correct the club position?
Swing flaws, back pain and undesired high scores are often connected. Whether it’s a common swing flaw such as “coming over the top,” or simply common back pain from, bending, twisting or sitting, high golf scores are the result — and they all have a common denominator: limited hip and back function. If the components of the hip and spine become tight and weak, the mechanics of the spine will eventually become compromised. Compromised movement is often the root cause for the development of common back pain. Therefore, flawed mechanics can easily be the blame for the most common swing flaws, as swing flaws don’t solely reside in golf theory.
There are various types of swing issues fit for improvement, so how would you say body motion flaws correlate?
The most common back pain is low back pain or LBP. In acute or chronic LBP, the gluteal muscles, along with other stabilizers of the hips and core, can all play a role in the dysfunction. The golf swing is dependent upon the uncompromised rotation of the hips and spine. If the hips, spine or both are compromised in function, faulty compensating movement patterns arise. These compensations are the origin of the development and root cause of the six most common swing flaws which are: loss of posture, reverse pivot, early extension, hip sway and slide, over-the-top and faulty kinematic sequence. These swing flaws can all be easily linked to mechanical flaws within the dynamic multiple joint functions within the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. We best identify the flaw by creating awareness; understanding the lower kinetic chain as it relates to the development of the golf swing.
What are many people doing wrong as they work to perfect their swing position?
An astounding 90% percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual. These visual images can actually work against the golf student because many golfers have a preconceived notion of how to make a swing based on what they have seen. Not only have students seen the perfect and desired club position at the top of the backswing, but they have also likely listened to others confirming that placing the club high and parallel is the best. So naturally, the attempt is to mimic what they have seen and heard, and do whatever it takes to place the club in a position most people aren’t physically or correctly capable of doing.
This limited approach isn’t logical and sheds light as to why solely learning from our mistakes is short sighted. Hitting buckets of balls wrong to finally hit a single shot correctly is an exhausting, inhibited, restrained and ultimately counter-productive method of learning how to swing a club effectively and efficiently.
Kinesthetic learning is accomplished with feel and touch. This leads to long-term learning of physical and body-conscious skill development. The TrueTurnPro is a unique one-of-a-kind kinesthetic learning tool designed for teaching and learning correct anatomical rotation throughout the thoracic spine and hips. The magical benefit of the device happens once you are corrected into a neutral spine, linking the upper kinetic chain to the lower connect chain. This causes you to stabilize and distribute ground force leverage throughout your body thereby coaching the exact feel students and teaching professionals have been searching for. This kind of kinesthetic learning gives powerful and tangible meaning to the familiar question, “how did that one feel?”
Speaking of the TrueTurnPro, in what ways can it transform a player’s golf game overall? There are a myriad of ways the invention improves one’s golf game overall. For one, it improves shot accuracy. Accuracy in golf is dependent on the ability to control the angle of the spine throughout the entire golf swing. The TrueTurnPro improves both strength and stability of the spine. Having swing power is only useful and safe with the stability to control the spine. It will develop the power to improve stability and help maintain spine angle. It improves golf shot accuracy.
It also enhances strength and range of motion. When exposed to consistent external stimuli, the body physiologically adapts. Regular use with it will equate to strengthening rotational torso power.
Maximized speed is another benefit. Acceleration of rotary movement in sports requires power and optimum rotation, as well as the ability to transfer energy with a stabilized spine. Limited rotation restricts maximum speed and prevents the body from reaching its full potential. A body capable of moving faster will generate faster swing speeds and therefore increase ball speed. The TrueTurnPro is the only device capable of isolating and developing rotational strength, stability and flexibility, which results in overall rotational power. One major way a golfer can lose speed is through early extension, an incorrect position of the spine during a golf swing. At this point, the club is lifted instead of rotated to the top position. The common reference is a reverse pivot or loss of posture. The TrueTurnPro is a breakthrough tool that allows the instructor to teach students what true rotation looks and feels like. With an increase in thoracic mobility the more rounds of golf an individual can play due to the less friction on the back. Greater mobility enables a golfer to place the club in a proper top position that will maximize club head speed and optimize swing path.
Another key benefit is shifting focus from club position to body position. Golf students often establish faulty movement patterns in their swings when they become solely focused on their club position. Repeating a faulty movement pattern in golf results in inconsistent ball striking. The TrueTurnPro corrects faulty movement patterns and improves ball striking.
The device also produces a greater active stretch. TrueTurnPro is designed to allow the spine to produce a greater active rotational stretch, unparalleled with any other device available. Users generate their own kinetic energy to increase and deepen the active stretch, which greatly improves mobility and flexibility.
Forbes Business Council Member Merilee Kern, MBA is regarded internationally as a brand analyst, strategist and futurist who reports on noteworthy industry change makers, movers, shakers and innovators across all B2B and B2C categories. Kern is founder, executive editor and producer of “The Luxe List” as well as host of both the “Savvy Living” lifestyle and travel and “Savvy Ventures” business TV shows. Connect with her at TheLuxeList.com and SavvyLiving.tv.
***Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided or arranged at no cost to accommodate if this is review editorial, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way.**
