Editor's note: Rory Sabbatini ranks third in the FedExCup standings with three events remaining in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He's playing at the Deutsche Bank Championship this week, and he has filed this blog for PGATOUR.com.
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| Rory Sabbatini in 2007 | ||||||||||||
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One thing most professional golfers fear, at least in the back of our minds, is a career-ending or career-limiting injury. With one swing in the rough you can connect with a hidden rock and break a wrist, putting you out of action for weeks or months. Or maybe an accident on a ski slope or a motorcycle, or even around the house -- a seriously damaged knee or rotator cuff can mess up your swing for a long time.
For me, the problem is not a one-time incident but more a gradual development. Back problems.
Many golfers suffer back pain. Freddie Couples is one of the best known players with recurring chronic pain, but there are dozens of others on the PGA TOUR with severe back issues. And hundreds of thousands of amateurs suffer with every swing and obviously can't enjoy the game as they would like to.
At the Nissan Open in Los Angeles earlier this year, as I was preparing to defend my title, my aches and pains had reached the point where I was considering withdrawing. And one event you never want to WD from is one you've won before.
Tim Petrovic told me about a group of physical therapists who had helped him with his injuries. They go by the name Back9 Tour Services, and they're actually based in Fort Worth, Texas, not far from where we live. So I met in L. .ith Jeff Banaszak, the company president, who is at most TOUR events throughout the year.
After an initial assessment, Jeff told me bluntly my already acute lower back problems would very likely deteriorate so much that within 3-5 years I could no longer play golf for a living. That got my attention in a hurry.
The root cause of my back pain was, very simply, lack of balance in my setup posture and swing. For 20 years I'd had a classic, pronounced "reverse C" swing, which creates a lot of extra movement and therefore a lot of unnecessary stress on the body, particularly the back. Jeff calls them "muscle imbalances," and he says they can be aggravated by other things pro golfers and business people do often such as long airplane rides or driving a car for extended stretches, even sleeping on a different hotel mattress every week. (Having an RV with a driver solves all three of those for me.)
The necessary fix is long-term, of course, but Jeff did a little therapy work on my back that first week, I was able to play at Riviera, and actually finished in the top 10. I told Jeff that by itself was worth his fee!
The major change we made was a new, more balanced stance and swing -- one that would no longer stress my lower back muscles and spine. You may have noticed I've had some pretty good tournaments this year -- second at the Masters and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, third at The Barclays, Wachovia Championship and the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, and a playoff win at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. A big reason is the new balance. Not only am I striking the ball more consistently, I no longer am fatigued at the end of a round or the last day of a tournament. (There's more "tiger in my tank," as one of the oil companies used to say.)
Jeff cautions that working through long-developed back problems and making key swing changes is an evolution. Instant results are the exception rather than the norm. So we've put together a program of physical therapy, exercise, proper nutrition, and of course ingraining the new balanced setup and swing so that over time my back issues will be minimized. And hopefully I can play at a high level on the TOUR for many more years.
With my new balance, I think my best golf is still to come.
