to an athlete after the testing process to
help understand where they are currently,
where they need to work towards, and why
it’s important in their overall development
as a golfer.
THE OVER-POWERED
PYRAMID
This pyramid demonstrates athletes who
are overpowered. This does not mean that
Just like you’d want to build a house on
a strong foundation, we want to build our
athletic qualities on a strong foundation,
which is good movement. The pyramid
demonstrates that golf skills will thrive
better when worked on top of a sound base
of strength, power, and other capacity
qualities. And those performance qualities
will be utilized more effi ciently when on
top of a stable base of movement.
A balanced pyramid will provide the
athlete the greatest opportunity to excel
at golf.
Some common pyramid shapes that we
might fi nd, which one are you???
THE OVER-SKILLED
PYRAMID
This is common in young junior players
that specialized in golf at an early age
(<13), did not develop athletic qualities
associated with other sports, and have
had no professional training in the gym.
They may already be experiencing some
asymmetries in the body, some over-use
injuries, and feel like they’re starting to
plateau. They do not have to be an elite
golfer to be an over-skilled pyramid,
however it is the largest part of their
pyramid, creating a very unstable base.
The over-skilled golfer would benefi t
greatly from a strength and conditioning
program focusing on movement quality,
mobility, and strength training. This
is why at the IJGA we make sure our
younger players get lots of play time on
the basketball courts, tennis courts, and
soccer fi elds. Developing as an athlete
fi rst will signifi cantly improve their
ability to continue growing in their focus
sport: golf.
16
GolfPlus Junior November-December 2019
they are too strong – it only means that
their ability to generate power exceeds
their ability to move freely. The way
to rectify this problem is to improve
the athletes’ movement patterns while
maintaining their current level of power.
Often an athlete will have high marks in
the performance testing and low marks
in the functional movement screen. This
is indicating that they are functioning on
a fi ne line, predisposing them to a non-
contact injury and identifying the fact that
they are making signifi cant compensations
that will, at best, only temporarily allow
for high-level performance. These
imbalances in movement will likely lead
to micro trauma and chronic injuries
throughout the body. If this person were
to only reestablish a strong functional
movement base, their overall performance
would likely reach new heights.
effi ciency or power without negatively
affecting the movement patterns. This
pyramid represents the individual who
demonstrates a broad base and optimal
movement patterns with very poor power
production at the second level of the
pyramid, and then demonstrates optimal
or above average skill in a specifi c
movement. This individual has the
requisite movement patterns to perform
multiple tasks, activities and sports skills,
but lacks gross athleticism or the ability
to produce power in simple movement
patterns. This individual would benefi t
greatly from power training, plyometric
training, or weight training which will
also improve their effi ciency. Consider
the example of a golfer who has
extremely good mobility and stability
and has honed his swing mechanics
through video analysis and expert
instruction. This individual must use a
very high level of energy expenditure to
swing effectively. Training performance
qualities would allow the individual to
swing at the same level of effectiveness
with a higher level of effi ciency or a
lower level of energy expenditure. As
this individual improves power we
should see (under normal circumstances)
consistency, swing speed, endurance and
recovery between swings all improve.
THE UNDER-SKILLED
PYRAMID
These are good athletes who move well
and possess an adequate amount of
THE UNDER-POWERED
PYRAMID
This pyramid represents under-powered
athletes who have excellent freedom
of movement, but whose effi ciency is
poor and could stand improvement. This
individual should be involved in training
and conditioning that would improve
strength, but lack the proper skill and
performance for golf. Any athlete who
falls under this category would benefi t
from a training program geared around
golf-specifi c skills and fundamentals.
Most of the time, athletes who are
under-skilled can benefi t from training
that hammers down to the basics of a
sport, developing greater awareness of
the movement needed to perform at a
high level.