With the likes of Tiger Woods taking golf fitness to new heights, the average weekend golfer can improve his/her golf game considerably while enjoying themselves more and avoiding injury.
Golf fitness is not just for the tour professional anymore.
There has been an increased awareness among Joe Average golfer of his need for improved fitness through watching fit and powerful tour professionals like Tiger Woods.
Every human who has picked up a golf club wants to and thinks he/she can play better.
The fact is that the average American male and female handicap has changed little if any over the last 15-20 years even with the advent of considerably advanced technological improvements in equipment.
However even the best clubs cannot play the game of golf for you.
New technology still requires a human body to swing it.
And no matter how high tech your equipment is it still can not give you the physical capacities you do not possess.
A lack of physical fitness can sap your full golf potential.
Most do not reach their full golf potential due to a lack of golf specific strength and conditioning.
At this point practice and high tech equipment are not enough to lower your handicap and remain injury free.
Golf specific fitness can help minimize injury and maximize golf performance.
Flexibility, Strength, and Balance All golfers need a combination of flexibility, strength/stability, and balance.
We are not getting more flexible, strong or improving our balance with each passing year.
We can however, gain or maintain each of these variables with consistent training.
As a physical therapist, I see a lot of easily avoidable injuries suffered by golfers simply due to a lack of proper off/pre- season conditioning and pre-round warm up.
Off or pre-season conditioning can be anything from utilizing consistent stretching of tight or short muscles or using weights or even body weight as resistance to movement.
Functional training is the key to increased performance.
Specificity of training for golf movements is integral to enhancing the effectiveness of a program.
Strengthening, stretching, and/or balance exercises need to be functional to integrate complex multi joint movement.
Biomechanical specificity requires that the exercises mimic as close as possible the movement patterns of the skill being learned.
The closer the exercise is to the primary activity, the greater the transfer to the actual skill.
This suggests that as many parameters as possible in the exercise should be similar to the actual skill, including, range of motion, speed, acceleration, sequence and timing.
If any of these parameters stray significantly then the exercise becomes less effective.
To affect changes to individuals' flexibility, strength and balance, specific exercises are performed.
In my golf performance program I commonly work with clients to increase their hip and trunk rotational strength and range of motion.
The internal and external ranges of motion of the hips for example, are critical to make a full powerful swing while limiting the stresses onto the lower back.
Static and manual stretching of tight or short muscles is done to improve overall flexibility.
Medicine balls, cable systems, physioballs, dumbbells, and resistive tubing are utilized to create resistance to golf specific patterns of movement.
Pre-Round Warm Up Compared to the commitment of an off/pre-season strength and conditioning program the pre-round warm up should be a "no-brainer" to help prevent injury and to properly prepare the body for 4+ hours of golf.
It is amazing to see how few golfers go through a proper pre-round warm up before playing.
The cold rubber band is the standard example of what a muscle is like prior to activity.
We need to heat the rubber band, or muscle, prior to activity.
There is a BIG difference between "warming up" and improving one's flexibility.
Warming up means heating the rubber band.
Improving one's flexibility means increasing the range of motion that the rubber band can go through.
Improving one's flexibility is NOT appropriate before a round of golf.
It should be done after the round or as part of your regular exercise program.
Before the round of golf we need to warm up by doing dynamic movements that mimic the golf swing.
In order to enjoy this game of golf a little more I believe we could all use more golf specific fitness.
It helps to have someone trained in the biomechanics of the golf swing and in strength and conditioning to guide you through a safe and successful program.
Here's to a happy and healthy year of golf.