The differences in golf swings between men and women stems from their body structure. Physical differences should be the main concern for golf instructors. This article will attempt to make more people aware of the body movements of both men and women. On average a man tends to have more upper body strength than the woman counterpart. But, it is also evident that women have a lower center of gravity than males. Later we will examine both traits for their relevancy in the golf swing.
First, let's have some fun. When people mention hula dancers what do you picture in your mind? Does the picture show a man? Probably not because hula dancers shift their hips and that is just not masculine. Now if person mentions "the twist," what picture pops into your mind? Is it a woman or is it Chubby Checker the innovator of the twist dance. Hopefully it's the latter. Men just can't move their hips like women. Lateral motion in the female's hips makes it easier to hula dance and rotation of the hips used in the twist is easier for a male. That is probably the reason why the hula hoops are more popular with girls than boys.
Why was the previous paragraph important in reference to the golf swing? The physical structure of the hips differ between men and women. A woman (generally) has wider hips than her shoulders as opposed to the man whose shoulders are wider than their hips. As a result in women, the transfer of weight from the right foot to the left foot takes a little longer, which slightly slows down the body rotation on the downswing in golf. Which could make for straighter shots but generating less club head speed for distance.
Men golfers on the other hand, because of having more upper body strength than women, feel a need to utilize it. Thus, as a consequence their natural tendency is to swing the golf club down (from the top of the back swing), with their arms and shoulders putting the club on the wrong path to the target. No matter how much strength a man thinks he has in his shoulders and arms, that strength is not utilized as much as the strength in the legs and back muscles.
Here are some of the differences between female and male body structures:
· Females have a wider hip displacement than males. Stance width for a man would be shoulder width, for a woman it should be hip width.
· The average height of women golfers is less than average male.
· Women generally have smaller hands than men.
· Female center of gravity is lower than males.
· Because of the lower center of gravity and hip width, a woman has more stability and would have a tendency to move laterally. A mans tendency would be to spin and straighten his legs coming up and out of the golf swing.
Taking into consideration the difference in body structure it makes sense that the golf swings of men and women would differ. As you may have noticed, most of the differences between men and women and their golf swings lie in the lower body below the waistline.
There are other factors in the golf swing that differ from men to women that will be discussed in detail in later articles such as: x-factor, size of the swing circle, differences in golf clubs, as well as other factors.
First, let's have some fun. When people mention hula dancers what do you picture in your mind? Does the picture show a man? Probably not because hula dancers shift their hips and that is just not masculine. Now if person mentions "the twist," what picture pops into your mind? Is it a woman or is it Chubby Checker the innovator of the twist dance. Hopefully it's the latter. Men just can't move their hips like women. Lateral motion in the female's hips makes it easier to hula dance and rotation of the hips used in the twist is easier for a male. That is probably the reason why the hula hoops are more popular with girls than boys.
Why was the previous paragraph important in reference to the golf swing? The physical structure of the hips differ between men and women. A woman (generally) has wider hips than her shoulders as opposed to the man whose shoulders are wider than their hips. As a result in women, the transfer of weight from the right foot to the left foot takes a little longer, which slightly slows down the body rotation on the downswing in golf. Which could make for straighter shots but generating less club head speed for distance.
Men golfers on the other hand, because of having more upper body strength than women, feel a need to utilize it. Thus, as a consequence their natural tendency is to swing the golf club down (from the top of the back swing), with their arms and shoulders putting the club on the wrong path to the target. No matter how much strength a man thinks he has in his shoulders and arms, that strength is not utilized as much as the strength in the legs and back muscles.
Here are some of the differences between female and male body structures:
· Females have a wider hip displacement than males. Stance width for a man would be shoulder width, for a woman it should be hip width.
· The average height of women golfers is less than average male.
· Women generally have smaller hands than men.
· Female center of gravity is lower than males.
· Because of the lower center of gravity and hip width, a woman has more stability and would have a tendency to move laterally. A mans tendency would be to spin and straighten his legs coming up and out of the golf swing.
Taking into consideration the difference in body structure it makes sense that the golf swings of men and women would differ. As you may have noticed, most of the differences between men and women and their golf swings lie in the lower body below the waistline.
There are other factors in the golf swing that differ from men to women that will be discussed in detail in later articles such as: x-factor, size of the swing circle, differences in golf clubs, as well as other factors.
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