Wonderful news. Will Zalatoris is back with a good back! He has had his L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs replaced with fake ones (total disc replacement) and is now good to go. However, for anyone returning from injury, a kinesiological analysis is a must.
At the top, his spine is slightly extended and leaning towards the target. From there, his motor control system, using gravity to aid the muscle action required, drops his chest forward (towards the target line) and down (towards the ground). However, it cannot simply stop the descent at a specific point and thus keeps going.
As a result of the torso drop-down seen in many swings, not just his, the hands’ path is very narrow close to impact. The hands are already at mid-thigh with a lot of wrist straightening still remaining to deliver the club to the ball.
Many pros naturally roll over the trail forearm as a solution. Zalatoris, however, keeps his trail forearm under and his arms extending along the target line. This will probably help him avoid a two-sided miss, but how his body solves for the issue of his club going from facing considerably down pre-impact to considerably up post-impact is concerning, because now he has to lift his lead side and drop his trail side even further.
Will says that post-surgery, he has eliminated his hyperextension and now has more lateral motion. However, hyperextension is typically implicated in a lumbar vertebra slipping forward or even fracturing (spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis) and not disc injury.
He also still has the massive pelvic rotation he has historically had. A perfect cocktail for low back injury is side-bend, pelvic rotation, and the speed of the movement, and he still retains all three! While the fake discs will serve him well, adjacent disc disease can still occur (although less likely than after a spinal fusion), making his L3-L4 vulnerable.
Golf coaches should insist that all students take a complete kinesiological analysis before suggesting swing changes, so fewer pro golfers might run less risk for injury from extreme movements. Get in touch to learn more.
@WillZalatoris @PGATour
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