WEEKLY LESSON: GETTING INTO GOLF CONDITION.

Byline: Michael Pauldine Special to the Daily News

The weather is perfect and the courses are in great shape, but what kind of golf condition are you in?

Does your back ache after playing? Maybe it's a sore shoulder or a little tendinitis in the elbow or wrist? Do you lack distance or consistency or get tired on the back nine? Whatever your weakness, you can improve performance and reduce risk of injury with a golf-specific conditioning program.

It's called trunk or core stabilization/strength training, and the top pros are doing it.

Leading sports conditioning specialist Paul Chek states, ``Stabilization occurs first at the transverse abdominus and internal oblique. Once the core is stabilized, the pelvic and shoulder girdles are capable of being stabilized - which is essential to stabilization of the extremities. If joint and associated soft-tissue health are to be maintained, force generation must be preceded by stabilization.''

Force generation during a golf swing is initiated from the ground up and is expressed through the upper extremities, hands and club. First, we create a coil with rotation of the trunk against the hips. Then, kinetic energy from leg drive into the ground is transferred back up through the body and out the hands. A core that functions properly will connect the leg drive to torso rotation and arm swing. The result will be longer and more consistent shots.

That's why Chek developed The Golf Biomechanics Manual (800-552-8789), which teaches players how to stabilize from the core outward. Unlike traditional strength-training programs that focus on isolating muscles, Chek asserts ``golfers must train using programs scientifically designed to improve integration and synchronization of the whole body. The brain recruits groups of muscles in uniquely programmed sequences.''

Inherent in Chek's Whole in One golf-conditioning program is a methodology to address an individual's flexibility needs. Neuromuscular isolation and integration exercises are utilized to improve both static and dynamic posture against the forces from all three planes of motion. Strength is built using functional rotary movement patterns that readily transfer to the game.

The final stage is developing power that the golfer can transfer from his or her body through the club to the ball while continuing to improve your timing by conditioning the nervous system.