Exercise tips for improved golf swing performance.

Special Report: Stretching & Strengthening for improved swing performance.

A couple quick toe-touches before tee-off is no longersufficient to maximize optimal play performance. More and more players are expanding their practice time beyond the driving range and into the weight room. It is almost as if you're at a disadvantage by not making this transition. Additional training will enable longer drives, a more coordinated swing, increased muscular endurance, act as injury prevention and will increase recovery times so that you can play more often!

The golf swing is a very powerful, dynamic movement that placessevere stress on the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints and forces the lower back, hip, and legs to absorb a great deal of shock on impact. Over time, with continued practice and regular play, this can take its toll on the body. A lack of flexibility and muscular strength can lead to imbalances in the muscles and weakness in the joints that can severely inhibit swing mechanics.

Many golfers develop overuse injuries, such as golfers elbow (tendonitis or inflammation in the medial epicondyle or funny bone), and pain or stiffness in the lower back which can eventually lead to arthritis. Both of these unfortunate occurrences can only be treated with rest and progressive strengthening forcing you to avoid your favorite pass-time (4-6 weeks)!

My recommendation is to use exercise as a preventative measure to help avoid the potential of injury and improve your game as opposed to waiting for injury and using exercise for therapeutic measures. By including a flexibility and strengthening routine to your golf-conditioning program it is a win-win situation.

A full-body resistance program will allow you to develop more power with less effort making for a smoother swing. It is important here to emphasize the concept of full-body. When golfers attempt to expand their training beyond the driving range, they typically tend to focus only on muscles they believe to be important such as the lower back, stomach, and shoulders. In fact, the golf swing utilizes almost every muscle in the human body to develop maximum force. The legs generate most of the power of the swing, the core (lower back, and stomach) absorb the majority of the force, the chest, upper back and shoulders are responsible for the swing action and follow-thru. The arms are also involved and are used for club control.

Once you embark on a recommended flexibility and strengthening routine, not only will your total body strength improve through a regular resistance program, but you will notice a significant increase in muscle coordination and function, as well as an increase in power production, and resistance to force, all while avoiding possible painful injuries.

Why let your game suffer while you wait to recover after an injury? With the addition of a regular flexibility routine, you can expect greater joint flexibility and improved range of motion all of which make for more pain free rounds of golf!

By: Marc Laverdure, BSc., C.S.C.S.