Most golfers who come in with a sore back tell me the same thing: "I think it's my swing." They are usually half right. The swing is where the pain shows up, but the reason the swing moves that way is often found in the body, not the technique.
That is what the TPI screen is for. TPI stands for the Titleist Performance Institute, and I completed my TPI Level 1 certification so I could test golfers the same way coaches and health practitioners around the world do. The screen is a set of simple movement tests. None of them involve a club, a ball or a launch monitor. They show what your hips, back, shoulders and neck can and can't do, and that tells us a lot about why your swing hurts.
Why the body matters more than the swing tip
TPI's main idea is simple: you can only swing the way your body lets you. If your hips don't rotate, you can't turn through them, no matter how many times your pro tells you to. Your body still finds a way to get the club around. It borrows movement from somewhere else, and that somewhere is often the lower back.
The lower back is built mainly for stability, not big rotation. The hips and upper back are the parts designed to turn. When one of those is stiff, the lower back takes up the slack, swing after swing, round after round. That is the pattern I see most in golfers from Rosebud Country Club and the other courses down this end of the peninsula: a stiff lead hip or a tight upper back, and a lower back that has been doing extra work for years.
Telling someone to "rotate more" doesn't help if the joint can't rotate. The screen finds the joint that can't.
The tests and what they show
The full TPI Level 1 screen has around 16 tests. Here are the ones that tell me the most about back pain.
Pelvic tilt test
You stand in your golf posture with arms crossed and try to tip your pelvis forward and back without moving your upper body. Many golfers can't separate the two. If you can't control your pelvis in your setup, you tend to start in an over-arched or slumped posture, and both put extra load on the lower back through the swing.
Pelvic rotation test
Still in golf posture, you turn your hips while keeping your shoulders quiet. If the shoulders and hips move as one block, the body has trouble separating the turn of the upper body from the lower body. Golfers who fail this often slide or sway instead of turning, and the back ends up twisting under load.
Seated trunk rotation test
You sit with knees together, a club across your shoulders, and turn as far as you can each way while the hips stay still. This isolates the upper back. A stiff upper back is one of the most common findings in golfers over 50, and it is one of the main reasons the lower back overworks.
Lower quarter rotation test
This checks how well each hip turns in and out while you stand. The lead hip (the left hip for a right-handed golfer) is the one I pay most attention to. Through impact, you need to rotate over that hip. If it is stiff, the turn has to come from somewhere else, and the lower back is right next door.
Overhead deep squat
Arms overhead, squat as low as you can. It looks basic, but it tests the ankles, knees, hips, upper back and shoulders all at once. Golfers who can't squat well often stand up out of their posture during the downswing. TPI calls this early extension, and it is one of the swing faults most linked to back pain.
Toe touch test
You bend forward and try to touch your toes. I'm not only looking at how far you get, but at how you get there. A back that bends a lot while the hips barely move tells me the lower back is used to doing the hips' job.
Bridge with leg extension
Lying on your back, you lift your hips into a bridge, then straighten one leg and hold. If the pelvis drops or starts shaking, the glutes on that side aren't holding the pelvis steady. Weak glute control often shows up as a sway or slide in the swing, and as a back that feels tired by the back nine.
Single leg balance
Eyes open, then eyes closed, on one leg. Balance is often the first thing to go as we get older, and it is easy to overlook. Poor balance makes golfers grip the ground and stiffen up, which takes away the free turn the swing needs.
Cervical rotation test
In golf posture, you turn your head as if watching the ball through the backswing. A stiff neck makes it hard to keep your eyes on the ball as your shoulders turn, so the shoulder turn often gets cut short. It is also a common source of neck pain in golfers, which I cover on our neck pain page.
Linking the tests to your swing
On their own, the tests are just numbers and observations. The value comes from matching them to what your swing actually does. TPI lists a set of common swing characteristics, such as early extension, loss of posture, sway, slide and reverse spine angle. Each one has typical physical causes.
For example, a golfer with early extension might have stiff hips, weak glutes, or poor ankle mobility. Three golfers with the same swing fault can have three different physical reasons for it. That is why generic stretches from the internet often don't help. They target the wrong link.
When I go through the screen with a golfer, I explain each finding in plain English and show how it connects to where they feel pain. Most people have an "of course" moment when they see their hip barely turning on one side and realise that is the same side their back always hurts.
What care looks like after the screen
Once we know which areas are stiff or not holding up, care is aimed at those areas.
- Chiropractic adjustments to the joints that are restricted, usually the upper back, hips and pelvis, and the lower back where it is irritated. Adjustments can help restore movement in the stiff areas so the lower back is not doing all the work. I use hands-on adjustments, the Activator instrument and a drop-piece table depending on what suits each person. You can read more on our techniques page.
- Soft tissue work for tight muscles around the hips, back and shoulders.
- Targeted exercises matched to the tests you struggled with, for example hip rotation drills if the lead hip is stiff, or glute work if the bridge test was shaky. These are short enough to do at home or before a round.
As things improve, we repeat the tests. Seeing the numbers change gives you a clear picture of progress, and it shows which areas still need work.
Who the TPI screen suits
You don't need to be a low-handicap player. Most golfers I screen are social players who want to keep playing comfortably, many of them in their 60s and 70s. The screen suits you if:
- Your back is sore during or after a round, or stiff the next morning
- You have lost distance or turn over the years and aren't sure why
- Lessons haven't changed a swing fault that keeps coming back
- You are returning to golf after a back flare-up and want to know what to work on
The screen is part of our Golf Performance Assessment, along with a full spinal and joint examination. You can read what is included on the golf chiropractor page. Wear comfortable clothes you can move in.
Book a TPI screen in Capel Sound
If your swing is hurting your back, the TPI screen is a good place to start. We are at 1639 Point Nepean Road, Capel Sound, between the Capel Sound Newsagency and Sound Bar, with free street parking out the front. You can book a Golf Performance Assessment online, call the clinic, or ask for a free phone consultation with me if you would like to talk it through first.
