Golf fitness seems to be an exploding topic on tour. You cannot turn on the TV without hearing a commentator talking about a certain players workout routine and how it’s helped their game.
With the rising popularity comes a lot of people claiming to be golf fitness professionals. While there are certification such as TPI, there are many “gym trainers” who don’t have a clue about the needs of a golfer.
This is something to be very aware of when you interview a personal trainer in your area, or when you’re researching it online. There are a lot of credible strength and conditioning experts out there, but one issue I have is their belief in power lifting type exercises. In my opinion, this is not good for the golfer, especially the older one.
Power lifting like squats, cleans, bench presses, and other exercises put an extreme amount of pressure on your joints. You are moving a FIXED bar, that does not allow you a natural range of motion. This can put the joints in a very vulnerable position, creating overuse injuries such as rotator cuff tears.
I also don’t see the application of these types of exercises to the golfer, as the golf swing is a very unique, dynamic movement that requires your body to be highly flexible and strong, specific to the golf swing movements.
Golf Fitness Tips
Golf is played on your feet. Try to do as many exercises as you can in a standing position, preferably in your golf posture. This will strengthen your golf muscles specific to golf.
Focus on your core. The core (or abdominals) are the engine to your golf swing. This is where all your torque comes from. If your core is weak and tight, you will not be able to generate enough torque to hit the ball adequate distances.
Flexibility is key to making a full backswing. Doing specific backswing stretches for your lats, upper back, and rear shoulders will greatly enhance your ability to make a full shoulder turn, creating a ton of power in your golf swing.
Golf-specific exercises for power. I will be showing you very golf-specific exercises via videos and pictures on this blog, so come back often, and make sure to sign up for our email updates, where you’ll get not only updates, but FREE ebooks, online videos and more, all to help you hit longer drives.
Golf Fitness Equipment
All you need is a golf exercise ball; a pair of handweights (dumbbells); fitness tubing; and maybe a medicine ball, and you’ve got your very own at home golf fitness gym for under $100.
In closing, if you come across a personal trainer who starts saying phrases like squates, cleans and bench presses…run! Golf fitness is a specific type of training, that requires the trainer to have a full understanding of golf swing biomechanics.
