I will tell you all right now, that any golf coach, instructor or analyst who says what the post title says, has no business being anywhere near a golf course, driving range or launch monitor facility.

Before I continue this… well, let’s call it a rant, you all might have heard that Tiger Woods has undergone yet another back surgery, this one his 7th since he hooked up with Sean Foley back in 2010.  Just saying…

Anyway, I would love to ask you all to think of the first great or famous professional golfer you know of or have heard of who had back issues from swinging a golf club.

Not back issues that had nothing to do with golf – Bobby Jones famously retired from playing golf after a superlative amateur career (he was a lawyer by trade, so a good decision back then not to turn pro, as the money was piddling) due to a degenerative back issue that eventually landed him in a wheelchair before his passing.

Not Bobby Jones

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It wasn’t from playing golf, but it got bad enough that he finally couldn’t walk, let alone play golf.

So, Bobby Jones isn’t the first one you would think of.

I think of all of the great golfers in history, and none of them from the Classic Golf Swing era had back issues.

It’s not Lee Trevino, either – he has had back surgeries in his later years, but his back injury was caused by… you’ll never believe it… being struck by lightning while playing golf many years back.  It zapped his neck and back and there began his painful odyssey.

He’s also had spinal issues related to getting old.

Not Lee Trevino

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I’ll give you my answer – the earliest known golfer I can think of who injured his back swinging a golf club is Fred Couples, who was warming up on the range during the 1994 Doral-Ryder Open, made a swing and collapsed with a scream of agony.

We all know that rest of that story.

Fred Couples is also probably the most earliest “famous” or “great” golfer who swung… in the Modern Golf Swing manner, and I’ve detailed why the way he swung was a back-breaker:

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I know that there are likely many golfers who, in the Classic Golf Swing era, may have injured themselves swinging a golf club, but that would have been due to faulty technique – it’s like saying that running is dangerous because someone fell into an open manhole while out jogging.

To have been able to play professional golf in the Classic Golf Swing era, one would have needed a certain level of swing proficiency, and I can’t for the life of me think of one single great player from that era who injured themselves swinging a golf club.

Can You?

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If you can, let me know in the comments, by all means – I am not being facetious, I really can’t think of one and perhaps I’ve missed something.

But here is the kicker – even if you could come up with one or two (call them the exception proving the rule) – can you think of a great golfer today who hasn’t had a back injury, or a knee injury?

Go search up any great golfer, and I mean one who’s won at least a couple of majors or a bunch of regular Tour events, and search them with the word “injury” and see what you come up with.

Not only that, think of all of the journeymen in pro golf who, even if they aren’t “great,” have been de-railed by back injuries or harm to some other body part that is linked to them swinging a golf club.

It’s an epidemic, has been since the 90’s, and the only reason one could honestly say that golf is bad for your back is because you were born in or began watching or playing golf in the Modern Golf Swing era.

Before that, the only way you could really strain your back was by swinging and finishing in the Reverse-C position:

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… which is not a fault of the Classic Golf Swing, but due to a failure to release the trailing foot when the stance width was wider than optimal.

Back to my opening declaration – if someone is saying that playing golf means that you’re going to hurt your back, then they don’t even know that there is a mechanically-correct way to swing a golf club, and that makes them a hazard to their students, clients or audience.

If a famous chef declared that “if you’re going to be a chef, you’re going to lose some fingers,” no one would believe they were serious.

Or, “if you’re going to be a chef, you’re going to kill someone with food poisoning sooner or later…”

If they say that you’re going to suffer burns at one point or another, then sure – anyone who has done even a little cooking has burnt themselves touching something hot.

Here is the correct statement – if you’re going to play golf, you’re going to risk injuring your back or knee if you don’t swing properly.

That’s it.