Workout Programs For Golfers

Golf is a highly-skilled sport that requires proper body mechanics, weight-shifting, and power to play. Because it is a one-sided sport, where the body rotates in one direction, many golfers develop muscle imbalances where one side feels stiff and the other side feels weak. This causes back, hip, shoulder, and knee pain, which can lead to arthritis and uneven wear on the joints. By doing exercises that both address the muscle imbalances and golf performance, you can prevent injury and continue to enjoy and play golf.

Corrective Exercises

This type of training works on the fundamental movements of the human body to prevent injuries and improve posture and function. Corrective exercise training improves how your central nervous system communicates with other muscles to move properly. According to Anthony Carey of Function First, corrective exercises addresses pain and discomfort in the body that is not caused by injury or disease. Most of these problems are cause by poor posture and poor movement mechanics over a long period of time. Corrective exercise training involves in areas of the body far removed from the site of pain or a past injury.
For golfers, this is an important part of their initial training program, especially for those who have not been active for many months or years. Identifying weak links in the body and limitations to movement can prevent injury to your joints and muscles. You can do corrective exercise training daily twice a day to improve your athletic foundation. Working with an exercise or fitness professional with a strong background in corrective exercise can help you determine what you should do and the duration of this training phase.

Unilateral Core Training

This training emphasizes on the left and right sides of your core, which maintains your stability, balance, and posture. Because golf is a one-sided sport, one side of your core becomes stronger and have more mobility than the other side. According to Gray Cook, founder of Functional Movement Systems, training any left-right asymmetries will help you prevent injuries and improve how you move.
Two core exercises that help with balancing your core are the chop and lift. You can do these with a cable column machine or a rubber tubing attached to a hook. In the chop you hold and end of the cable or band and pull your arm diagonally across your chest from a high position to a low position; the lift is the exact opposite. You do not need to use a high resistance, and you can do it standing with your legs hip-distance apart, kneeling, or standing with one leg in front of the other.

Sports Specific Training

This phase of training works on movements that are specific to golf. Ben Shear, director of Performance at Athletic Edge in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, indicated that the golf swing is made up of different movements of the body to generate power and accuracy. In a golf swing, there are four phases, which are the set-up, transition, impact, and follow-through. Golf specific training improves any faulty movement patterns or weaknesses in any of the swing phases.
The set-up is lining your body to hit the ball with the club, and adjusting your stance. The transition is going from a backswing to a front swing. The impact is the exact position where you hit the ball. The follow-through is your position after you have hit the ball. All four phases require that you have excellent internal hip rotation, external shoulder rotation, thoracic spine mobility, proper weight shifting, and strength in the buttocks.