The Scapula Tuck, Plus a Few Teaching Tips

The Scapula Tuck, Plus a Few Teaching Tips

The Scapula Tuck, Plus a Few Teaching Tips
by Dr. T. J. Tomasi
Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research

Measurements by researchers show that during the downswing the spine tilts away from the target causing a small curve or bow in the lower torso. To start the downswing, the back-shoulder lowers without rotating out toward the ball as the pelvis – the center of which constitutes the lower swing center – migrates out from under the upper swing center, a point is about halfway down the sternum. This momentary respite from rotation allows the club to slot.  Once the club is slotted correctly, your pelvis can fire to release the clubhead to the ball (see the previous article in this series The Pelvic Pistol).

A Major Key

One of the keys to slotting is the action of your trailing scapula. The scapula, or shoulder blade, is your back’s contribution to the three-bone shoulder joint. The other two bones are the clavicle and the humerus, which is the big bone in your upper arm. The scapula is attached to the rotator cuff, a group of four muscles that operate the shoulder. The ends of these muscles join tendons that, in turn, connect to your arm bone. Basically, the scapula moves your shoulder, your arm, and by extension, your golf club. While your shoulder blades can work together, as when you hunch your shoulders forward (extension) or draw them back (retraction) to stand at Marine attention, they can also move in opposite directions as they do during your best golf swings, the ones with the maximum coil.

Once you are in position at the top, the trigger to start down occurs when your trail scapula compresses against your spine, a motion called retraction. Essentially, it moves toward the spine and down. This accomplishes several important things in concert with other members of your kinetic chain:

1. It drops your trail shoulder and the club downward into the correct delivery channel,
2. It prevents “over-the-top,” where the trail shoulder spins out toward the ball,
3. It allows the club-shaft to stay on the plane angle,
4. It positions the upper body to take advantage of the pelvic pistol,
5. It pre-stretches the power muscles, and
6. It takes advantage of the rotational action of the spine’s vertebrae that provide trunk rotation leading to coil.

As you can see, a lot of good is done by a relatively small move at just the right time. Remember, you have only about a half second from the top to impact, so redemption is minimal if the scapula tuck is absent or mistimed.

Here are a couple of teaching tips:

• Good players do not (and should not) be thinking technical thoughts while hunting targets. On the other hand, good teachers must harbor this kind of information to be able to diagnose the roots of their students’ swing problems.
• Aging is just one reason why good teachers fit the swing type to the students’ body type. Note that a move that is magic for one student can be tragic for another with a different body type.

Try this shoulder blade exercise.

The key muscles here are the rhomboids, which pull your shoulder blades together, and you can exercise them without weights.

• Simply squeeze your shoulder blades together and feel as though they are going to touch.
• At the same time, make sure they move downward as well as back.
• Repeat three sets of ten and hold each rep in full contraction for ten seconds.

My scapulae (shoulder blade) are retracted in a military pose, held for 10 seconds, then extended as far as possible in the opposite direction.

Note: There is another set of muscles, the Latissimus dorsi (one on each side), that play a key role in slotting the club.

If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.