On occasion, senior golfers will have limitations as to what they can accomplish with their swing.  These limitations include: obesity, arthritis, back problems, and hip and knee replacements.  All of these limitations can cause lack of flexibility and a reduced range of motion in their golf swing.

A common complaint of senior golfers is their loss of distance due to their inhibited golf swing. Lack of motion in senior golfers, due to their physical limitations, leads to an attempt to muscle the ball or hit at the ball through tighter grip pressure and a dominating upper body swing. 

These problems have occurred due to poor fundamentals in the pre-swing.  Senior golfers generally set up with too much weight on their left side, which puts their head more over the ball, not allowing for the proper weight transfer and turn behind the ball. You can begin to solve this problem by working on their pre-swing thoughts—good set-up position through the stance and posture. Some key aspects of the proper address position are:

Posture

1.        A good bend from the waist allows for the arms to hang naturally and vertically from the shoulders, to create a relaxed golf swing.

2.        Have them place their head behind the ball and inside the right leg. This will encourage a good weight transfer.

3.        The legs should have a little flex to create balance and help get their weight on the balls of their feet.

4.        A light grip pressure should be used to help senior golfers cock their wrist during the golf swing.

Stance

1.        Their feet should be a shoulder-width apart from the inside of the left foot to the inside of the right foot.

2.        Their weight should favor more to the right foot (60/40 percent or 70/30 percent) and on the inside of their right foot, which will also encourage a proper weight transfer.

3.        Their right toe should be pointed outward to allow for a better turn and weight transfer behind the ball.

Through these set-up positions we are trying to create more tension in the lower body and less in the upper body. By doing this, you're creating a good stable base in the lower body to support the stretching and turning of the upper torso.

Once the senior golfer has improved his basic fundamentals through a good set-up, we are then ready to try and give him one good swing thought to create the motion away from the ball.

A turn-away from the ball stars with the upper body.  Some of the key swing thoughts that can help start the motion of the upper body are:

1.        Move their sternum behind the ball.

2.        Turn their back horizontally toward the target.

3.        Turn their chest away from the target.

By being in the proper position at address, couples with a good turn behind the ball, the senior student will be able to eliminate most of the problems that might occur during the golf swing once the motion has started.

The senior student needs to then allow the club to swing though the ball to the target, allowing their legs and lower body to start the downswing.  This will assure a good weight transfer through the ball to the left side.

To help senior golfers or any golfer, we need to communicate in simple terms.  Always be a good listener, and always ask for good feedback.  And finally, make sure not to over-teach—keep it basic and simple.