Surely the average club golfer doesn’t require a golf fitness program – even those with ambitions of winning their club Championship? After all…
Golfers aren’t athletes… right?
Make no mistake – golfers (at any level) ARE athletes and the golf swing DOES require a great deal of athleticism.
Strength, power, flexibility, balance, core stability, body awareness, even endurance… they’re all physical traits that every consistent golfer (even the fair-weather players) must possess.
The golf industry is littered with gadgets and gimmicks for increasing accuracy and shot distance. Yet for all their claims and guarantees most remain independently unproven. Compare that to a basic golf fitness program…
After 5 weeks of completing 5 minutes of very simple home exercises 5 times a week, golfers increased their clubhead speed by an average of 24% (1). While it could be argued that clubhead speed is only one small facet of a golfer’s overall game, it is highly correlated with a player’s handicap. In other words, the lower a player’s handicap is, the higher their clubhead speed at impact tends to be (2). In fact, a 24% increase relates to a reduction of 4 shots off a golfer’s handicap. This is just one of several studies that proves the benefits of conditioning for golf (3,4,5,6).
And the benefits of golf fitness training are not reserved for the young. Golfers aged 55-75 have also benefited from strength and flexibility training – both in terms of general health parameters and their performance on the course (3,4).
For the more serious golfers, conditioning can no longer be seen as an unnecessary add-on to their practise routine. Just as a committed amateur athlete spends time on their technique AND their fitness, so must the golfer who demands to be the best they can. There is a caveat however…
In order to improve performance in any sport, training must be specific to the demands of the game involved. Of the few golfers who do appreciate the importance of physical training, most still make the mistake of following a general fitness routine.
If you want hit every shot consistently further you need to take a different approach. Not a more complicated approach. Not a more time-consuming approach. A more golf-specific approach.
Golf Fitness Programs & Articles
A Golf Weight Training Program Guaranteed to Add Distance to Your GameHere’s a comprehensive golf weight training program – with sets, reps and full exercise descriptions. Unlike most traditional weights programs this has been specifically devised to match the demands of the game…
The Importance of Strength Training for Golf… Even for Club GolfersA golfers body is exposed to some tremendous forces. Without a solid base of strength not only will you fail to hit the all further, you’ll increase your risk of chronic injury…
Exercises to Prevent Shoulder & Elbow InjuriesGolfers often succumb to nagging shoulder injuries and ‘golfers elbow’. Why? Because the forearm muscles and rotator cuff muscles are usually negalected. Here’s a progam to prevent that…
Golf Stretching Program for Superior Golf FitnessThis golf stretching program will increase your range of motion, body awareness and power… as well as reducing your risk of injury!
Golf Stretching Exercises and Pre-Game Warm UpStretching is a crucial part of golf fitness, but did you know that certain types of golf stretching exercises can actually be detrimental to your game?
Core Strength Conditioning For AthletesThe muscles of the core region act as a link between the upper and lower body. The stronger and more able they are, the greater the synergy of movement can be. Core strength is essential for golf players…
Self Myofascial Release ExercisesGolfers are notorious for suffering aches and pains. Myofascial release exercises can help to alleviate muscle knots and trigger points that, if left unchecked, may lead to more serious pulls and tears…
Medicine Ball ExercisesMedicine balls can be used to develop exercises that closely mimic the golf swing. They also offer the added advantage of training the body to create maximum accelration and power – which translates into to greater clubhead pseed and longer shots!
References
1) Fradkin AJ, Sherman CA, Finch CF. Improving golf performance with a warm up conditioning programme. Br J Sports Med. 2004 Dec;38(6):762-5
2) Fradkin AJ, Sherman CA, Finch CF. How well does club head speed correlate with golf handicaps? J Sci Med Sport. 2004 Dec;7(4):465-72
3) Hetu FE, Christie CA, Faigenbaum AD. Effects of conditioning on physical fitness and club head speed in mature golfers. Percept Mot Skills. 1998 Jun;86(3 Pt 1):811-5
4) Thompson CJ, Osness WH. Effects of an 8-week multimodal exercise program on strength, flexibility, and golf performance in 55- to 79-year-old men. J Aging Phys Act. 2004 Apr;12(2):144-56
5) Fletcher IM, Hartwell M. Effect of an 8-week combined weights and plyometrics training program on golf drive performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2004 Feb;18(1):59-62
6) Doan BK, Newton RU, Kwon YH, Kraemer WJ. Effects of physical conditioning on intercollegiate golfer performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2006 Feb;20(1):62-72
Jacky has a degree in Sports Science and is a Certified Sports and Conditioning Coach. He has also worked with clients around the world as a personal trainer.
He has been fortunate enough to work with a wide range of people from very different ends of the fitness spectrum. Through promoting positive health changes with diet and exercise, he has helped patients recover from aging-related and other otherwise debilitating diseases.
He spends most of his time these days writing fitness-related content of some form or another. He still likes to work with people on a one-to-one basis – he just doesn’t get up at 5am to see clients anymore.