Welcome to the Third Edition of Blue Collar Mondays.
Every Monday, Troy Anderson of The Blue Collar Golfer, will add his insight to the Better Golf with Fitness Blog. His articles have appeared on GolfFitnessProducts.net as well as magazines all over the Southwest, and he has been a part of all of The Virtual Roundtables. Troy has a different approach than most golf fitness experts, one he is very successful with training golfers in Arizona.
Old School Lessons: So You Think You Are Too Good To Sling Horse Poop?
If you have read either of my last two installments of the Blue Collar Monday, you probably caught on, that my coaching style is a little bit different than most of golf fitness programs.
I try to keep things simple, straight forward, to the point… Blue Collar. So as I was searching for a topic for this week’s installment I ran across an interview with golf legend Jackie Burke Jr. Now this guy is my type of guy: old school, straight shooter, and no sugar coating.
In one of the questions he was discussing the economics of the game and how things were back in the day. When they used to teach lessons for $5 a pop and then have go throw fertilizer (aka horse poop) off a mule pulled cart.
That is when the light bulb flashed on.
These old school players didn’t need fancy rubber coated, neon bouncy balls. They actually went out and WORKED! This work served Mr. Burke quite well as a 17 time PGA tour winner.
Now I am a realist and I don’t expect anyone to go order a ton of manure to pile in the backyard; for a couple reasons:
1) Your neighbors probably wouldn’t appreciate it
2) There is a good chance that you might not be prepared for the physical demands of
this type of work.
However, there are ways to mimic this type of work. In the picture and description I am demonstrating a drill I call shucking. In the pictures I am using a sandbag (it's a little hard to see), but a medicine ball would be a more implacable implement for most golfers to use.
****CAUTION shucking is an advanced drill and should NOT be performed by those who are just beginning a golf conditioning program. Only golfers who have been utilizing a consistent golf conditioning program should consider performing this drill. *****
How to Sling Horse Poop aka How to Shuck
The shuck drill can be done alone or, preferably, with a partner. Begin the drill by standing with the bag at the feet. Squat down and grasp the bag by its ends. While standing up with the bag, step toward a target with one foot, forcefully rotate the hips, and shuck (release) the bag. Perform the drill on both sides of the body.
(Note: if you use a medicine ball make sure you have thought out the method by which it will be stopped, other than smashing in the wall at your gym or home)
So there you have it! An excellent golf conditioning drill taken from the work of an old school champion. Who would have thought that barn yard waste could be so valuable to a golf conditioning program?
Troy M Anderson
troy@bluecollarathlete.com
bluecollargolfer.com
Troy Anderson is a golf conditioning expert, located in Tempe, AZ. To download your FREE copy of his special report "8 MUST-KNOW Tips for Starting a Successful Golf Conditioning Program”, go to www.bluecollargolfer.com
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