A Malaska Golf Member has a two-part question about the golf swing and how you can get injured, especially the lower back. The second question deals with the transition of the golf swing. The member explains that for 50 years, he was told to take the club to the top, then as he came down, to take his hips and shoulders and twist and unwind as fast as possible. Mike says that the problem is when you twist like that in the downswing, it puts a lot of stress and force on your lower lumbar spine. It is not designed to handle that much rotational force. In Mike’s swing, he pushes his right hip out of the way on the backswing and then his left hip on the downswing. His pelvis rotates, but there is no twisting force in his lower lumbar spine. Your body rotates as an effect, not a cause. There is no twist. The body rotates because when Mike is set up, his right leg pushes his right hip back, which also takes his right shoulder back. This, in turn, brings his left shoulder around. On the downswing, Mike’s left leg pushes his left hip back, which pulls his right hip forward. Note that the rotation in the pelvis is caused by his legs pushing his hip sockets back and forth. There is no rotational force in his lower lumbar spine. The second part of the question is about dropping the club or dropping the club into the ‘slot.’ What drops the club is like swinging a baseball bat or a tennis racket; you change direction. On the initial backswing, you turn your hip, and your shoulders are at a 90-degree angle. As you take the club to the top, you change direction. When this happens, your upper body is slightly tilted. That tilt in the spine tilts the shoulders, and they direct your arms. Dropping of the arms comes from the change of direction in your hips and the tilt in your spine.