Your clubs are cleaned. Your handicap is still haunting you from last fall. And you’re itching to get back on the course.
Most golf mobility exercises fail for one reason: golfers guess at what is tight instead of testing it. Screen first, then train the restriction you actually have.
But before you play your first round, there’s one thing most recreational golfers skip entirely: checking whether their body can actually do what their swing is about to ask of it.
The TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) movement screen is a 16-point assessment that connects the dots between how your body moves and how your golf swing looks. It’s the tool TPI-certified physical therapists use to find the physical limitations behind swing faults — things like early extension, loss of posture, or a flat backswing.
We’re not going to walk you through all 16 today. But here are 5 of the most important screens you can try yourself, what they reveal about your swing, and what it means if you struggle with them.
Note: These are simplified self-tests. A full TPI assessment with a certified DPT gives you the complete picture, including hands-on evaluation of quality of movement, not just range of motion.
1. The Overhead Deep Squat
How to do it: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forward. Hold a golf club overhead with arms straight. Squat as deep as you can while keeping your heels on the ground and the club directly overhead.
What we’re looking for: At the bottom of the squat, your torso should be roughly parallel with your shins, your femurs below horizontal, knees tracking over your feet, and the club staying aligned over your feet.
What it means for your swing: This single test screens your hips, knees, ankles, thoracic spine, and shoulders all at once. TPI research shows that golfers who can’t perform a full deep squat with heels on the ground almost always struggle to maintain posture during the downswing — their lower body thrusts toward the ball and their torso rises up early. You’ve probably heard this called “early extension.”
Can’t do it with the club overhead? Try it with arms crossed over your chest. If you can squat deeper that way, the limiting factor is likely your thoracic spine or shoulder mobility, not your hips or ankles.
2. The Torso Rotation Test
How to do it: Sit on the edge of a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest. Rotate your torso as far as you can in each direction without moving your hips or lower body.
What we’re looking for: You want to see roughly 45° or more of rotation in each direction, moving independently of the pelvis.
What it means for your swing: Torso rotation independent of the lower body is essential for creating the X-factor — the separation between your hips and shoulders that generates power. If your thoracic spine is restricted, your lumbar spine (lower back) compensates by rotating more than it should. That’s a fast track to back pain and inconsistent ball striking.
Limited torso rotation is one of the most common findings in amateur golfers, and one of the most directly connected to a flat backswing and loss of distance.
3. The Pelvic Rotation Test
How to do it: Stand in your golf posture (slight hip hinge, athletic stance). Place your hands on your hips. Try to rotate your pelvis toward and away from your target while keeping your upper body as still as possible.
What we’re looking for: Clean, independent rotation of the lower body without the upper body dragging along with it.
What it means for your swing: This is the hip-shoulder separation test in action. The ability to move your pelvis independently of your torso is the foundation of proper downswing sequencing. When you can’t do this, your hips and shoulders tend to rotate together, reducing power and putting extra load on your lower back and knees.
If you’ve ever been told to “start the downswing with your hips,” this is the physical skill that makes that possible.
4. The Single Leg Balance Test
How to do it: Stand on one foot with eyes open. Hold for 10 seconds. Then try it with eyes closed. Repeat on the other side.
What we’re looking for: Steady balance with minimal trunk sway. Eyes open should be easy. Eyes closed is where it gets interesting.
What it means for your swing: At impact, your weight is transferring to your lead leg. If you don’t have good single-leg stability, you’ll compensate — often by hanging back on your trail leg, flipping with the hands, or losing posture through impact.
Significant difference between sides is also worth paying attention to. Asymmetry in balance often points to hip weakness or mobility restriction on one side, which shows up as inconsistent ball striking from round to round.
5. The Seated Trunk Rotation Test
How to do it: Sit with your back straight and cross your arms over your chest. Rotate fully in each direction and notice how far you can turn.
What we’re looking for: Equal rotation to each side. Note any significant difference between your backswing and follow-through directions.
What it means for your swing: Golf is an asymmetrical sport. Swing after swing, round after round, you’re loading your body in the same rotational direction. Over time, most golfers develop restriction in one direction that they compensate for without realizing it.
A meaningful difference between sides — say, 60° on one side and 40° on the other — is a signal that your body is already compensating in your swing, even if you haven’t felt it yet.
This is not just clinic opinion. A review in Sports Medicine and Health Science found that golfers with chronic low back pain show limited lead hip internal rotation compared to golfers without it. A 2024 study of championship golfers in Portugal found the lumbar spine was the most commonly injured area, at 27 percent of all injuries.
Which Golf Mobility Exercises Fix What You Failed?
These five tests give you a snapshot. But a snapshot isn’t a diagnosis.
Knowing you can’t squat deep is useful. Knowing whether the limiting factor is your ankle mobility, hip mobility, thoracic extension, or shoulder flexibility is what actually lets you fix it. That’s what the full 16-point TPI screen with a certified physical therapist provides.
At Continuous Motion Physical Therapy, a TPI Golf Assessment includes:
- The complete 16-point physical movement screen
- Video swing analysis connecting your physical findings to your swing faults
- A personalized plan addressing your specific limitations — not a generic golf fitness program
- Clear guidance on what you can keep training and what needs to change
- Direct access to your DPT between sessions
You don’t have to wait until something hurts to get assessed. Most of our golfers come in because they want to play better and protect their bodies for the long game.
Want the full 16-point TPI screen before your season starts?
→ Book a TPI Golf Assessment at Continuous Motion PT
Continuous Motion Physical Therapy serves golfers in Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Avondale, Surprise, and the West Valley of Phoenix, AZ.
