And don’t worry about the time off. Part of the reason I’m still having knee problems 10 years later is because I didn’t stay off it for 6 months like I was told. Don’t make the same mistake. Even a year off golf would be worth it if it means the next 10 can be played without pain.

It will be nice to meet you. We are also playing with one of my golf friend Stuart Smith for the first two rounds who I have known for a few years and who went down to Palm Springs to play in the Gateway Tour last year. It will be a pleasure to play with you Friday and Saturday no matter what the physical outcome is and my goal is to enjoy the tourney and, fingers crossed, finish at least the first round. I haven’t made a real full swing since the Rose City Iceberg Open, but after this much time off I am optimistic about this weekend. Going to go out and make some swings Thursday and see how it goes. No matter, I look forward to teeing it with you Friday and appreciate the comment on the blog.

See you soon,

Dan

its funny we think and are tricked by our egos and life experience to believe unless you are been LAYED OUT on a football field or ice hockey rink its impossible to get a serious injury, especially from a sport like golf.

What people done fathom is playing serious on a regular basis and doing full swings (unlike what you see weekend warriors do on weekends, once or twice a month, half hearted no commitment swings) the body goes through some serious repetitive strain,

All the pros and serious golfers go through back pain its gonna happen sooner or later, especially if u play 3 or 4 times a a week for a extended period , less than that a week u can get a way with it..

know u reliase your body is not indestructible you need to manage it accordingly especially the back, i played with a broken toe , sore shoulder, busted hand and other injuires , your back is the one spot you gott a get 100% right before you play ,

nothing worse than subconsciously accelerating a weak down swing because your afraid to strain it more. from experience i say rest it,and if u you need to play do 15 feet and in not only will it help you in the long run it will help u heal quicker i did this and noticed a big improvement in my short game, when its better start doing golf back specific weights and stretching every day to minimize it happening again,

taking time off can actually help your swing and long game , which sounds crazy i know but it does work, good luck hope it works out and keep plugging away.

land down under fan philip

I’m sorry to read about your back pain. But now it seems you’re in a state I reached 3 years ago. I suffered of massive back pain and some problems with consistency in my swing.

The back pain often is caused by the x-factor, which is an integral part of the PGA based swing style. But the spine is not built to be turned as much. And the greater the x-factor the greater the danger for the back.

But I learned there is at least one other swing style that is much more back-friendly. Your hips are allowed to turn 45 degrees in the backswing and so there is much less tension to the spine. The head stays still as the top of a pendulum-style swing instead of a mere shoulder turn.

This swing styIe is called the “Mike Austin swing” ore sometimes referred to as “the modern golf swing”. Mik Austin was a very famous player in the 50s and still holds the world record for the longest drive played in a tournament. I was luckily enough to be teached two years ago by one of his pupils, Dan Shauger.

Now my back pain is gone completely and as a side effect I have more consistent ball striking because of the nearly fixed head and I added 25 yards to my drive.

If you want to have a look at this concept there are at least three sources I know to google for:

- Very famous in the US is Mike Dunaway, who produces books and video lessons.
- Dan Shauger: Please note that he added an additional movement to the swing that he says was told to him by the late Mike Austin: A counterturn of the forearms to keep the club more square. I do find this not easy to learn and this movement is not teached by other coaches of the Mike Austin swing as far as I know. Dan produced books as well but which are not easy to read and understand, so here you will at least need to have the videos or take some lessons
-Jaacob Bowden: He is a pupil of Dan Shauger and won several long driving contests and became pro after switching to that swing. Before he had an handicap of about 14. On some of Jaacob’s websites there is a video download about the swing which I find very clear and understandable. And he also teaches which parts of the originally swing concept are a bit difficult to practice and where you can do sowe tweaks to get it more easy.

With best wishes to your recovery and to your success
Stefan