I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve written about a particular golf pro’s swing mechanics, expressed concern for a move or position that might be an injury risk… only to have said player come down with an injury not too long afterward.

This week’s winner of the DJ Watts Analysis Curse Sweepstakes seems to be one Rory McIlroy, who is still going to try to play this week despite having incurred a lower back injury earlier in the week.

From the PGA Tour online, we have the following news:

You’ll recall the post about his swing, “Rory McIlroy Bombs It…” back in March?  While I was very impressed by his setup (it would seem to support my hypothesis on the optimal setup), I was concerned about one thing concerning his swing.

I said then:

Now, Rory also does things in his swing that I don’t recommend, such as the hyper-twist in his lower back to get a more than 90 degree shoulder turn:

… which I hope won’t end badly for him, but McIlroy seems to have a good deal more flexibility than the average swinger, so fingers crossed for his back – I like him out there rather than on the DL.

Now, it could very well be that he injured his lower back mowing the lawn or playing footy with the kids, but there is no mention or suggestion that it’s not a swing-related injury.

The lower back is where the danger is, folks, with the Modern Golf Swing – you get shoulder turn from the hips & legs, and if you try for extra shoulder turn than what the hip turn provides by twisting the lower back (see Rory in the picture above), you’re headed for trouble.

He’s been able to get away with it for years, but he’s now 34 and we lose flexibility as we get older.

My unsolicited advice would be, if this injury occurred during a swing, to consult with someone versed in the Classic Golf Swing pivot action, of whom I know there are at least a couple still at it in the professional coaching world, and fix that issue poste-haste.

I’ve shown that, even in one’s late 40’s (47 for yours truly in the below Gif.), you can swing a Momentus Heavy Driver and produce ball speeds just below the Tour average of 166 mph at the time, without any risk of lower back injury:

That is because I swing the club with my hips & legs, and the way I swing a heavy driver is the same way I swing a regular one – below is my Momentus swing, video speed adjusted to match my regular driver swing, beside that regular swing with a TaylorMade RBZ:

In fact, here’s a swing of mine below just a couple of days after I hurt my own lower back (with scoliosis, it happens all the time and this particular incident was my simply leaning forward while seated, to pick up a pint while watching telly), which hurt so much I couldn’t bend down to tie my shoes.

I spent the next day on a plane to the Phoenix area (that was a fun hours-long flight with a screaming lower back) to host a WAXGolf Summit with some WAX Nation members in March of 2016, and yet I was able to still demonstrate my swing (and a 300-plus yard drive that nearly hit some people on the clubhouse tee deck from the back range) the day after my flight, even though I could barely bend over:

Because I don’t swing with my lower back.

And neither should anyone, from the hackiest amateur to Rory McIlroy.