Beware the injured golfer...

[noclue]

Hi all, New to this forum stuff but been playing golf off and on for about 20 years with a few forced breaks through injury.
Now I know the first answer to this is go see a pro but I thought I'd go armed with some ideas.
I'm a right handed golfer and my last forced hiatus was a spinal injury that took a nick out of the spinal cord leaving my left leg with permanent loss of feeling and paralysis in places but being a stubborn s*d I've no wish to quit.
My issues have been building now for a while to the point where I'm so reluctant to transfer weight onto the left due to pain that I've simply become unable to hit the ball with any conviction, zero lag, get caught with my right elbow behind and flipping wrists to get back to the ball, of which is causing me pain in my left wrist and right shoulder, I'm 43 and otherwise fit and well but have seen my ball striking and distance almost disappear, lucky now if I get 120y with a 7i (when I'm not sh*nking the crap out of the ball with the elbow trapped behind ribs) and carry 200 with driver yet could still win my fair share of arm wrestles .
I know what is causing my issues and I know that if I do transfer to my left side I can hit that penetrating shot we all lust for, problem is my left leg issues make transfering weight a massive issue leaving me in real pain.
Does anyone know of a methodology that could avoid the need to push off onto my left side? I'm coming to the point where but for some short game skill I'd be running up a cricket score.
TIA

 

[Foxholer]

Sorry, but there does come a point where your spine tells you it's time to stop!

Other parts of the body may have workarounds, but the spine and associated nerves etc are so key to a Golf swing that there's no practical way to 'overcome'/adjust!

That said, specialist physicians may be able to help, through manipulation, drugs or even surgery. I work with a(nother) golf addict who takes large numbes of 'full' strength Tramadol, amongst other drugs, while he waits for the same Fusion op that Tiger had!

FWIW. I'm recovering my swing after a hip replacement, so 'feel your pain'. It's a long process, but, in my case, I can detect physical/fitness improvement, if not scoring! However,, while hip and knee issues are 'repairable' backs only rarely recover from 'major' issues!

Try/take up swimming?

 

[noclue]

A little background on the spine, it's is pretty good all things considered, I've three vertebrae that are compressed through two discs are all but gone so on the way to natural fusion; which is exactly where the surgeon expects it to be just this effing left leg, as for giving up- I hear you, acknowledge it, agree with it but just am not contemplating jacking in just yet.
Best of luck with the hip

 

[duncan mackie]

Be lucky you still have the other 'leg'.

In simple terms you will have to find an accomadation, possibly extreme, but given that people can play to scr with 1 leg ....

Scar tissue has damaged both nerves for me so I have your problem in both legs (possibly worse as I have little proprioreception- feeling- in either which adds balance issues) and no calf muscle function.

One warning, it's easy to end up with a situation where any compromises result in another inbalance, or strain on another area. Take care - especially at risk are knees and hips.

 

[clubchamp98]

Know where you are.
I had a left ankle ligament injury 18months ago .
And am still struggling to get properly on my left side.
My advice is try narrowing your stance and gradually widen it until your comfortable.
Try and develop a 3/4 swing punch shot.
But you must remember pain is a message that something is wrong .
So you must play within your limitations.
Good luck.

 

[noclue]

Over time I've dialed out weight shift to the point where it feels totally alien and artificial when I do and of course having to flip the wrists to get to the ball has lost any lag, going to be a long road for sure but thanks for the contributions.

 

[Doh]

Have you tried starting with your weight on the left leg and keeping it there. I am not talking stack and tilt, feet together drill might also help. Also look at Shawn Clements on youtube who does not teach positions as such.

 

[noclue]

Bit of a thread revival, I've persevered with several methods all with limited success, until a few weeks ago- thinking back to my rifle shooting days where it common place to let the bones in the arm carry the weight of the forward hand as bones are stiff, muscles are not- how I applied this to the golf swing was to stand straight legged, letting the bones carry the swing- all I can say is bingo! I've literally hit 100s of balls relatively pain free, in fact on two occasions hitting 200 balls per session. Straight legs, letting hip rotation drive the swing I'm hitting the ball really well, no longer flipping to get to the ball and my distances are an acceptable distance all things considered but my accuracy is superb but the biggest gain is being able to hit-repeat almost metronomic, the other plus has been out on the course, I only play 9 holes at a time and often walking between 8-9 my leg is normally screaming at me and I'm lucky to finish with any semblance of composure, now I'm able to play 9 and not feel like crawling into a bunker for the night.
The only negatives is that I'm finding the short irons a little short in the hands but I'm considering giving single length or 1/4 inch increments a go.

 

[bobmac]

For the short irons try moving the ball back towards your right foot then take your normal stance with your weight favouring your right side and keep it there throughout the swing