You had a great time at the driving range yesterday, but this morning you woke up and you can barely tie your shoes. Your lower back is screaming in pain.

Is golf supposed to hurt this much? Did I injure a disc? Should I go to a doctor?

First, take a deep breath. Unless you experienced a sudden, sharp, tearing pain while swinging, you likely do not have a serious medical injury. What you are experiencing is incredibly common.

Almost every single beginner experiences intense lower back soreness after their first few range sessions. Here is exactly why it happens, and how to stop it from happening again.

Why Your Back Hurts

The modern golf swing is a very unnatural, violent, twisting motion. It places a massive amount of stress on the lumbar spine (your lower back).

However, beginners experience significantly more pain than professional golfers for two specific reasons:

Reason 1: The “Reverse C” Spine Angle

When beginners swing a golf club, they naturally want to “help” the ball get up into the air. To do this, they lean their upper body backward, away from the target, right at the moment of impact.

This creates a sharp curve in your spine known as the “Reverse C.” Instead of rotating your body, you are violently compressing the vertebrae in your lower right back.

Reason 2: Swinging with Only Your Arms

Professionals generate power using their legs, their hips, and their core. Their arms just come along for the ride.

Beginners do the exact opposite. They lock their hips in place and try to swing the club entirely with the muscles in their arms and back. Because your hips aren’t rotating to absorb the force of the swing, 100% of the rotational torque is absorbed directly by your lower back muscles.

How to Prevent Golf Back Pain

The good news is that you don’t need to quit golf. You just need to change how you prepare and how you swing.

1. Warm Up properly: Never take a golf club out of your trunk and immediately swing it as hard as you can. Spend 5 minutes stretching your hamstrings, your shoulders, and twisting your torso before you hit a single ball.

2. Turn Your Belt Buckle: To fix the “arms only” swing, focus on your belt buckle. When you finish your swing, your belt buckle should be pointing directly at your target. If your belt buckle is still pointing at the golf ball, you didn’t rotate your hips, and you just destroyed your lower back.

3. Swing at 70% Speed: Beginners try to hit the ball as hard as humanly possible. This is the fastest way to get hurt. Dial your effort back to 70%. Focus on making smooth, balanced contact with the ball. A smooth swing that hits the middle of the clubface will go much further than a violent swing that hits the dirt.

(Disclaimer: We are golf experts, not doctors. If your pain lasts longer than a week, or if you feel numbness or tingling shooting down your legs, please consult a medical professional immediately).