Career-best start yields two-shot lead The PGA Tour’s optimistic view of life without Tiger Woods is that it gives unheralded players a chance in the spotlight. Bo Van Pelt is trying to take advantage. Van Pelt shot a 6-under 66 Friday at the Buick

Woods hits stride and makes his move - Miami Herald
Even with a sore knee, Tiger Woods hit his stride Friday at the U.S. Open. It started with his feet on a concrete cart path and a shot that went under a tree and over a bunker to 18 feet for birdie. What followed was flawless golf and a 30 on the

Golf still searching for Mr. Big Shot - Detroit Free Press
GRAND BLANC — The PGA Tour continues to adjust to tournament life without Tiger Woods. Players are repeatedly asked about the effects on the tour of his season-ending reconstructive knee surgery. And they’re increasingly agitated over the fixation

Van Pelt shoots a 66 for second-round lead - Philadelphia Inquirer
GRAND BLANC, Mich. - The PGA Tour’s view of life without Tiger Woods is that it gives unheralded players a chance in the spotlight. Bo Van Pelt, the son of 1967 Eagles draft pick Bob Van Pelt, is trying to take advantage. “My dad’s line is that Brad

With Tiger Woods out, Jim Furyk is the one to beat - Los Angeles Times
Shortly after Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open, he announced that he was done for the season because of reconstructive surgery on his left knee. That was bad news for gamblers who had consistently bet on Woods’ domination over the PGA Tour. No more sure

Woods remains leading man - Detroit News
The PGA Tour has seen the last of Tiger Woods for this year — until it comes time to hand out the awards. That’s when Woods is likely to add more trophies to his collection. Woods’ dominance is so great that he could win a number of awards, even

Van Pelt gets chance to shine at Buick - Boston Globe
The PGA Tour’s optimistic view of life without Tiger Woods is that it gives unheralded players a chance in the spotlight. Bo Van Pelt is trying to take advantage. Van Pelt shot a 6-under-par 66 yesterday at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich

SportsBiz: The cost of a wounded Tiger - MSNBC
At the Internet home of the 137th British Open, found at www.opengolf.com, a picture of a beloved golfer waving to fans graces the top of the home page. Problem is, that player Tiger Woods won’t be swinging his clubs at Royal Birkdale three

Some of us may have an idea about what core training entails. Swing coaches and trainers talk about it in relation to the swing, but what actually is the core?

When the question is asked, What is the core? The most common answer is, Your abdominals. The core can be defined as the region of the body that incorporates the hips, abdominals, obliques, and lower back.

The definition of the core indicates that it is an anatomical region of the body. The top of your chest to your hips is the easiest way to think about the core region. This part of the body includes numerous muscles in each of these defined regions. Think about all those little back muscles that your doctor speaks about when you are injured. Those muscles are part of the core. When you see those infomercials for the latest and greatest abdominal machine, those machines are supposedly going to give you that six pack. The muscles of the six pack are part of your core. These two regions of the body are the easy parts of the core to understand, but what about the other parts?

The general definition of the core indicates that it encompasses ALL the muscles between your chest and lower body. Keeping this definition in mind, what other muscles would be incorporated in the core region? Probably the easiest way to do this is to create a mental image of the body and then look at what muscles are in this region of the body.

The hips are part of the core, and all the muscles in this region of the body are part of the core. The muscles within the hips contain the hip flexors, hip extensors, adductor complex, abductor complex, gluteus maximus, gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, origin of the hamstrings, and origin of the quads. Quite a few muscles, wouldn t you say?

Currently, we have the muscles of the hips, low back, and the six pack, but there are more. We can essentially factor two more muscle groups into the core region. Probably the most under recognized muscles in the core region are termed the deep stabilizing muscles of the spine.

The easiest way to think of these muscles is the following: Think about peeling away the top layer of your abdominals (the six pack ) and the top layer of your lower back muscles. Underneath these muscles would be another group of muscles that function to stabilize the spine. The number of muscles in this region of the body is numerous. The names of a few are: transverse abdominus, erector spinae, and spinaleus. Again, these are just a few of the muscles in this region. If we were to name all of them, it could easily fill this whole page.

We have one final group of muscles that comprise the core region, and they are on the sides of the body (the place where we quite often develop those love handles ). You now know where these muscles are, and we anatomically describe these muscles as your obliques. The two major muscles in this region are the external and internal obliques. In addition, you will find other muscles within this region such as the serratus.

At this point you should have a good understanding of the core region, the muscles groups of the core, and the specific muscles contained within this region. Now we move on to the functioning of the core in regards to golf.

First question, why are these muscles so important to golf? Before we answer that question, let s look at this region of the body in a little more detail.

A vast number of muscles comprise this region of the body as we know at this point in time. Some of you probably have some first hand experience with the muscles of the core. If you have ever had a lower back injury, you know what I am talking about.

What we need to understand at this point, before entertaining the question of the core s involvement in the golf swing, is the following:

Realize that all of the core muscles function as a unit, meaning they work together to essentially stabilize and move the body. The movements that this region of the body is involved in are vast. Any movement other than probably lying on your back utilizes the core the cores in some way, shape, or form. Let me explain this thought. We know that the core region is involved in stabilizing the spine, right? Well with that thought in mind, your spine needs to be stabilized in any upright posture you place your body. For example, as I am writing this article, I am sitting at my computer. For my body to maintain this seated, upright position my spine must be stabilized. The muscles of the core region perform this activity.

When we begin to talk about the body moving is where we can really see the core becoming active. Just think of some simple activities like walking, bending over to pick up a newspaper, etc. All of these activities are utilizing the core to stabilize the spine, bend, turn, rotate the body, and transfer energy from your feet to the upper body. (Don t worry too much about this thought; it is for another article.) The core is integrated as a unit and involved in almost every movement that you perform in your daily lives. I hope by this time you can see the importance of the core when it comes to human movement. Now let us move on to a topic of more interest to all of us, and that is the golf swing.

Looking at the golf swing, the core region of the body is considered the engine of the body. It is responsible for the balance, stability, and rotation required to swing a golf club. From address to follow through, this section of the body plays a large part in the execution of the swing.

If you have an understanding of what muscles comprise the core region and their importance when it comes to human movement, then you will undoubtedly see the importance of the core as it pertains to the golf swing. This little discussion has probably provided you with the understanding that there is more than meets the eye when discussing the core region.

About the Author

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2005 PGA & 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques available to amateur golfers on the website http://www.bioforcegolf.com To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com.

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Golfing is a joy to be savored for sure and what better way to do this than on a golf vacation? There are no phone calls to worry about, no business meetings, just you and the golf green and your fantastic new golf clubs. Life just doesn t et much better than that. A golf vacation is the way to go if you love to spend your time golfing. A golf vacation is wonderful because it can be taken along, with a significant other or even with friends. If you are in need of a vacation sometime soon then you need to look into a golf vacation.

Finding the right golf vacation does not have to be hard. There are so many golfing destinations to choose from that finding a good one is anything but a struggle. All over the world there are hundreds of different places that you could go for a fabulous golf vacation. You will be able to find a golf vacation that will offer you sun and beach as well as golf or you could go with a golf vacation in a more temperate or moderate climate, the choice is yours. The only trouble you are going to have with your golf vacation is the choosing of it. How to pick the destination when there are just so many great ones out there?

Golf magazines are a great way to track down a really nice golf vacation. The golfing magazines are full of ideas on where to go on your golf vacation. Many golf magazines even rate these destinations so look for articles like that because they can make choosing the right golf vacation much easier. You will be able to shop for a destination according to what you like in a golf vacation.

It never hurts to talk to a travel agent about your golf vacation either. Travel agents are experts, they know it all and since golf vacations are getting so popular you should even be able to find an agent who specializes in them. You see, finding a nice place to go on your golf vacation is not hard, you just need to know where to look.

There are many a golf vacation package out there so look into these as well as they can save you hundreds of dollars on the cost of your golf vacation. Golfing plus vacation equals magic, so go for it and have a ball.

Jason Powers, a devoted golf fan, offers more golf tips on his personal website ===>http://www.golfsites.info

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