Golf Fitness
Even though the game of golf is not as cardiovascular as some of the other sports, a level of fitness is needed to play the game at a high level. No, golfers don’t do sprinting. But during a 9 hole round of golf, you walk close to 3 miles on hilly terrain carrying a golf bag over 20 pounds. By the time you get to some of your shots, your heart rate has elevated considerably. You now have to pull off the shot. Fatigue, especially in the legs, plays a dramatic role in being able to hit quality golf shots, especially late in the round. And the role that fatigue plays in the mental side of the game is important. When you are tired, you don’t make as good of decisions or you don’t stay as mentally engaged in each and every shot.
Therefore, fitness levels need to be addressed and worked on to be able to PLAY YOUR BEST.
In this section, you will find links to videos that will allow you to both assess your fitness level and also some videos explaining some exercises to strengthen and enhance your golf fitness.
The following tests can be used to assess your overall golf fitness and to identify weak areas that need to be addressed to allow for you to play at a high level Click on the title to access the video description of the test Pelvic Tilt Test is a great test for overall mobility of the hips and lumbar spine and your ability to control the position of the pelvic posture. The ability to move and control the position of the pelvis is critical for optimal power transfer from the lower body to the upper body during the golf swing. Pelvic Rotation Test checks your ability to rotate the lower body independently from the upper body. This is an important skill for properly sequencing the downswing and to generate a good separation between the upper and lower body. This movement requires good mobility of the spine, hips and pelvis, along with simultaneous stability of the thorax (upper body). Overhead Deep Squat test is used to assess bilateral, symmetrical mobility of the hips, knees, and ankles. This test also assesses bilateral, symmetrical mobility of the shoulders as well as the thoracic spine when you combine the dowel held overhead. If you are unable to perform a full deep squat with your heels on the ground, it is almost impossible to maintain posture during the downswing. We usually see these golfers thrust their lower bodies towards the golf ball and raise their torso up during the downswing (early extension). This is usually due to either tightness in your calf muscles and/or lack of pelvic stability due to weakness in your core. Toe Touch test is a great test for overall mobility in the lower back and hamstrings, plus it can help identify a hip problem versus a lower back/core limitation. 90/90 test is designed to highlight any limitations in mobility of the shoulder joint and/or stability of the scapula-thoracic junction. More specifically, the 90/90 Test measures your range of external rotation in the shoulder and your ability to maintain scapular control in a golf posture. Limited motion in the shoulder can lead to swing compensations or lead to shoulder injuries. Single Leg Balance test measures your overall balance. It highlights any ankle mobility or proprioceptive imbalances from left to right as well as overall stability in the core. Lower Quarter Rotation Test is a good way to measure the rotational mobility of the lower quarter. Hip and Tibial internal/external rotation and foot inversion/eversion are essential for a proper golf swing. The hip, tibia and foot coil load on the trail leg during the backswing and rotate and post in the lead leg during the downswing. There is potential for excessive lateral motion in the golf swing (sway and slide) anytime a golfer finds restrictions in the lower quarter. These are key components for a stable and powerful golf swing. Cervical Rotation test evaluates the amount of available cervical spine rotation and lateral flexion. It is a combination pattern that incorporates side-bending and rotation. Seated Trunk Rotation test is designed to identify how much rotational mobility is present in the thoraco-lumbar spine. Good separation between the upper and lower body is important to help generate speed and maintain a stable posture during the golf swing. Many golfers lack true thoracic spine rotation. The lack of rotation may cause them to create excessive lumbar spine rotational forces or over use the shoulder joint to compensate for limited thoracic spine mobility. Bridge w/Leg Extension test is a great test for stability in the pelvis/lumbar spine/core, especially the gluteal muscles. Glutes are the kings when it comes to stability and generating power from the ground up. This test will highlight any inhibition or weakness in the glute max due to over-recruitment of synergistic muscles, such as hamstrings and lower back. used with permission from the Titleist Performance Institute website – http://www.mytpi.co |
The following exercises are designed to address specific areas. There is a lot here. But even incorporating a few of these that target areas you have identified as a weakness will bring dramatic results and therefore, an improvement in your golf swing and game.
Here is some more information (drills/exercises) about the following swing faults
Warm up material:
There is enough here that you may even think that this is the workout in itself. Early in your training, this may be all you will be able to handle in one workout.
- Tom House Shoulder/Wrist Exercises is a great way to activate all of the muscles in the shoulder girdle, in other words, a great way to get more stability in the shoulder. Grip strength in amateurs is about half as strong as the average tour player, these wrist exercises are a great place to start. Do these at least every other day.
- Coach Glass Dynamic Warm up is a great way to warm up those stabilizers before a workout or a round
- Before a workout you want to warm up the spine and pelvis, in fact these drills may feel like part of the work out.
- Foam rolling! Always, always, always! This is THE best way to warm up muscles while getting a slight stretch and breaking up some adhesive tissue around the muscles (IE getting them to move better). Feel free to do your own research on this and concentrate on areas that I talked about above (glutes, hamstrings, and upper to lower traps (la crosse ball)).
- Bird Dog Level 1
- Supine Pelvic Tilts Level 1
- Mini-band Circuit (around the thigh above the knees or around your feet may work better)
- Hip Twister Supported Level 1
- Stork Turns
- Clam Shells
- Hip Drops
- Side Step Ups
- Torso Turns
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFfX9CKMtpE *
- -This last one you can add in periodically throughout the week. A lot of good movements here!
Workouts:
The kettle bells will help you get more range of motion, stability work, anti-rotation (fancy word for stability/core) movements, and limited stress on those faulty movement patterns. If at any time you feel pain in a joint or any Cramping, STOP doing that exercise. If you do feel any cramping you have found an area that you need to put more focus into with the foam rolling (you may even want to roll a lacrosse ball into the muscle see Foam Rolling hyperlink above).
- Kettle Bell Swing
- Kettle Bell squat arms straight out in front
- Kettle Bell Shelf
- Kettle Bell Power to the People
- Kettle Bell Row
- Kettle Bell Goblet squat
- Kettle Bell Swing
Work from 1-7 then back up 7-1 (yes hit the swing 2 times in a row). Do 10-15 each with 30 seconds between each, this means you may need to do less weight than you want to. Do this at least 3 times a week, but not on consecutive days. Watch your form! This means you may have to do some research on how to do them properly.
Ab Work:
Increasing and maintaining flexibility is a key to a healthy golf swing. Below is a stretching routine that can be utilized in the morning to get your day started. Once you get the routine, it takes about 10 minutes to complete to get your day started on a good note while increasing and maintaining flexibility.
As you go through the various stretches, you will notice that one side may be less flexible or tighter than the other. It is important to try and maintain a balance. You may have to spend a little more time on the tighter side to get the range of motion somewhat equal to the other side.
Morning Stretching Routine
- Plank (1 minute) – Support yourself on your elbows and toes keeping your body in as straight a line as possible.
- Back Arch (30 seconds) – Putting your hands on the floor under your shoulders, push yourself up while keeping your hips on the floor
- Shoulder Stretch (30 seconds) – While on your knees, extend your arms in front of you on the floor. While keeping your arms straight, lower your head between your arms feeling the stretch through your shoulders.
- Hip Stretch (30 seconds each leg, twice each leg) – laying on your back, bring one leg up bending the knee at a 90 degree angle until your upper leg is perpendicular to the ground. While keeping the shoulders as flat to the floor as you can, with the opposite arm, pull the bent leg across trying to get it as parallel to the floor as you can. Hold for 30 seconds. Release then to the other leg.
- Shoulder Stretch (30 seconds each arm, twice each arm) – laying on your back, take one arm across your torso keeping it as straight as you can. Using the other arm to pull down on your straight arm right above the elbow to stretch the shoulder as much as possible. Repeat for the other arm. Do this twice for each arm.
- Upright stretch (30 seconds) – laying on your back, extend your arms above your head making your self as long as possible in both directions. Hold for 30 seconds.
- Butterfly (30 seconds) – Sitting upright on the floor, put the bottoms of your feet together. Pull your heals back towards you and much as you can and hold for 30 seconds.
- Hamstrings (30 seconds each leg, twice each leg) – laying on your back, raise one leg up and grab behind the knee with both hands, gently pulling the leg towards you while keeping your leg as straight as possible. Hold for 30 seconds then do the same for the other leg. Repeat for both legs.
- Piriformis Stretch (30 seconds each leg, twice each leg) – Lie on your back. Cross your left leg over your right so that your left ankle rests on your right knee. Use your hands to grab hold of your left knee and pull it gently toward the opposite shoulder. Hold for 30 seconds. Relax, and then repeat with the other leg.
- Butterfly (30 seconds) – finish with another one.
