At its best, the golf swing incorporates a seamless blend of muscular actions involving almost every part of the body to produce a solid golf shot. The most important part of this movement is the downswing, in which you bring the club head forward to strike the ball. The primary muscles used are in your hips, back and arms, though shifting weight on your legs is also important.
Hip Muscles
The speed and power of the downswing in golf starts with the turn and movement of the hips. For a right-handed golfer, the hips have rotated back and to the right, and now it's time to bring them around and forward so the rest of the body can follow. Among the key muscles involved with this hip rotation are the gluteus maximus, glutues medius, obturator externus and internus.
Back and Core Muscles
The three main muscle groups that help pull the club down and through the ball are the external abdominal obliques, multifidus and rotatores. Muscles in the upper portion of the back will help keep you standing firm and tall, which will ease rotation throughout your swing. Strengthening your abdominals and other core muscles not only gives you power through the rotation of the swing, but helps protect and stabilize your lower back.
Muscles in the Arms
The arm, chest and shoulder muscles used to help control the arms during the downswing include the pectoralis major, posterior deltoid, teres major and the latissimus dorsi. These muscles help pull the arms down from the top of the backswing through contact with the ball and into the follow-through. At the moment of contact, your forearms should be fully extended. If you've ever seen serious golfers, they tend to have mighty forearms -- when they're extended at the bottom of the swing, they're still delivering a lot of power to contact with the ball. The two key muscles for forearm power are the triceps brachii in the upper arm and the anconeus, the large muscle on top of the forearm.
Wrist Strength
It's all in the wrists, they say, or at least much of the final muscle action in your golf swing is delivered by the wrists. Depending whether you're right- or left-handed, the key muscles for a proper downswing in each wrist will differ. For right-handed golfers, the right flexor carpi radialis, right flexor carpi ulnaris, left extensor carpi radialis and left extensor carpi ulnaris are the predominant muscles. The reverse of those muscles groups would be the most important for a left-handed golfer.
Strong Legs, Strong Swing
As you come out of your downswing you can often feel the pull on your hamstrings. If you have weak or tired hamstrings, the strain on these muscles in the back of the thighs can be uncomfortable and painful as your round goes on. Strengthening your hamstrings with leg curls and doing the same with your quadriceps and leg extensions can provide you with a stable foundation for your swing.
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