Improve Your Golf Game: Hit the Gym

With all the technological advances to the game of golf, more specifically to golf equipment, why is it that we still find ourselves plowing through a round with so much frustration, too many sore muscles and way too many bogeys to count? Why can’t we hit the ball longer and straighter just like the golf pros touting their products tell us? Honestly, its not that simple. Yes, fundamentally the golf swing is quite simple, but if we really want to feel better, improve our game, and swing successfully, we must work at strengthening some key muscles. The introduction of golf specific exercises to your workout will increase strength, improve flexibility, help reduce injuries and allow for better balance and weight transfer. To take your game to the next level, the gym must be part of the solution. In other words, hitting the gym results in hitting the ball!

As I said, the golf swing is fundamentally quite simple…it involves a stance position, backswing, downswing and follow through. There is no jumping involved, no need for excessive speed, and bulging biceps are optional and certainly not a prerequisite. Seems quite simple, but one forgets that the golf swing is NOT a natural motion. It involves rotation of the upper and lower body and the transfer of body weight from back to front all the while trying to maintain focus on hitting a metal club head square on a 1.68-inch ball at roughly 90 miles an hour. Simple…I say not!

The “Power muscles”, which make up the posterior chain, include the latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius. These muscles are essential in golf as they help in agility, balance, core strength and the stabilization of the spine, hips, and knees. The following are some posterior chain exercises which will help improve your game and reduce your chances of injury. Adding these to your gym routine will improve your swing mechanics, strengthen muscle weakness, add flexibility, and create balance not only to your golf swing but hopefully to your score card as well.

Introduction and Glute Exercises