💥 Why Muscle Tension Kills Speed in Your Golf Swing (And How to Fix It)

If you’re chasing more clubhead speed and better accuracy, you’ve probably been told to “use the ground” or “sequence better.” But if your body isn’t prepped to receive and transfer that ground force through the kinetic chain, you’ll always fall short — no matter how hard you swing.

Let’s break down how muscle tension restricts joint movement, how that interferes with ground force transfer, and how NASM’s Phase I Stabilization Endurance Training can help fix the problem at its root.

🔧 How Muscle Tension Limits Joint Movement

Muscles are designed to move and stabilize joints. But when a muscle is

chronically tense — either from stress, poor movement habits, or compensation — it acts like a parking brake on the joint.

It restricts mobility, preventing proper loading and rotation.

It absorbs force instead of transmitting it up the chain.

It breaks sequencing, leading to early extension, casting, or overuse of the arms.

In a golf swing, where force has to move quickly and smoothly from the ground through your body, even one restricted joint can throw everything off.

🧬 Your Body’s Force Transfer System: The 5 Kinetic Chain Checkpoints

To swing efficiently, force must pass through these checkpoints:

1. Feet & Ankles
2. Knees
3. Hips & Pelvis
4. Thorax & Shoulders
5. Arms, Hands, and Club

Each checkpoint must play its role — some stabilize, some move — but they all must stay “open” so energy can flow through. Muscle tension creates blockages. Think of it like a kink in a garden hose: pressure builds up, but nothing comes out the other end with power.

💣 Example: The Trail Hip

Let’s say your trail glute is too tight:

Your hip can’t rotate inward properly during the backswing.

• You fail to load pressure into the trail foot.
• You either slide, sway, or over-rotate your spine.
• Result: No real coil, poor transition, and a compensation-based downswing.
• That’s not a power swing — that’s a workaround.

🧠 How NASM’s Phase I Stabilization Endurance Training Fixes This

The Stabilization Endurance Phase of NASM’s OPT Model trains your muscles to work in the right order, with the right timing. It does this by improving all three types of muscle actions:

1.

Eccentric Control

🔹 Muscles lengthen to control motion.
🟢 Example: Controlling your backswing load.

2.

Isometric Strength

🔹 Muscles stabilize without movement.
🟢 Example: Holding posture at the top of the swing or resisting sway.

3.

Concentric Power

🔹 Muscles shorten to produce motion.
🟢 Example: Firing into impact from the ground up.

✅ Why This Matters for Golf

When you notice a golfer looks "stiff" it's becasue these 3 muscle functions aren't working together properly. Fluid swing occurs when all muscles involved are able to perform these functions seamlessly throughout the swing.

When your body can coordinate eccentric, isometric, and concentric actions, you create:

• ✔️ Stable joints that don’t leak energy
• ✔️ Free-moving segments that transfer force efficiently
• ✔️ A swing that feels smooth, powerful, and accurate

Stabilization training gives your body the tools to control movement, not just create it. That’s the secret behind real speed and repeatable ball striking.

🎯 Final Takeaway

If you're fighting tension, losing speed, or struggling with consistency, don’t just train harder — train smarter. NASM’s Phase I approach helps unlock your joints, reprogram your muscle timing, and prep your body

to actually use the ground force you’re creating.

Speed isn’t just how fast you move — it’s how well you move through each part of the chain.

🔗 Book Your Golf Fitness Screening Here