Preparing for the long swing

As Golf vies to be an Olympic sport for the 2016, for most, it does not take being a perfect athlete to play. But as with any game, a decent level of fitness can help improve your golf game and help you finish strong every round.

The world’s top golfers have personal trainers that help them maintain top physical shape. In the pro circuit the fitness of the Golfer can be very demanding considering not only the stressful conditions but also they will be walking 5-6 miles a day, and putting their all into every swing and putt 4 days in a row. And when games can come down to just a couple yards in difference and millions of dollars at stake, fatigue is just not an option on that 4^th day and 18^th hole.

Experts say for golfers looking to get fit, and looking to add those extra yards to their games, Exercising 3-5 times per week for duration of 20-60 minutes at 60-90% of your maximum heart rate is best.

How do I determine my target heart rate?

The general formula for the average person is starting with the number 220 (the maximum heart rate) subtract your age and take 60 to 90 percent of that. For example, a 35 year old would calculate his target zone using the above formula: 220-35=185. 185x.60=111 and 185x.90=166. This individual would try to keep his heart rate between 111 (low end) and 166 (high end) beats per minute.

What type of exercising should I do?

Personally I find that Exercises that mimic or closely resemble the game you are training for will get you the best results. Considering the fact that most humans require a mix of aerobic and anaerobic activity, I would rank the popular activities as follows:

Excellent:
• Circuit training (a series of exercises back to back that keep your heart rate elevated)
• Hiking outdoors (Hills are great)
• Alternate walk/jog (with brief walk intervals)
• Alternate jog/run

Good:
• Jumping rope (great at keeping your heart rate elevated)
• Calisthenics (provides great core strength)
• Aerobics classes (great for motivation)
• Swimming (good because your body is surrounded by a resistive, reactive substance)

Fair:

• Elliptical trainer
• Biking outdoors (creates muscle imbalances)
• Treadmill walking or jogging(although It’s considered the same as walking outside, It does not provide the same resistance and balance required as outside)

Poor:
• Stairmaster (Although a good exercise it does not mimic reality for most average people)
• Stationary bike (abs and glutes are inactive)

The key is to choose an activity that closely resembles the golfing experience, at least in terms of the specific muscles used and the energy system required. Most golfers will find that, with the improvement of their cardiovascular fitness, they will play better and longer. A "bogey, bogey, par, double bogey" finish will look more like "par, par, par, bogey".

Stretching Before Your First Swing - Part 4

Preparing and training your upper body to move independently from your lower body is a key focus to a better swing. The following are exercises to help improve flexibility in your torso for a better swing.

The Core

Getting into the 5 iron stance cross your arms in front of your chest and slowly start to through the motion of a swing moving your body back and forth. At first giving it about 20% power then slowly ramping up when you start to feel loose to about 80%.

Make sure your keeping your lower half still, knees slightly bent and feet firmly planted and using a toe pivot as you swing to one side.

These are just some great stretches that can prevent injury, help your muscles loosen up and you can start hitting your best right at the first hole instead of your fourth hole saving 2 maybe even 3 strokes along the way.

Stretching Before Your First Swing - Part 3

Upper Body Stretches

Return to standing position, hands still gripped on the club wider than shoulder width apart. Bring the club to your chest and pull the club horizontally towards the right. Feel the stretch on the opposite shoulder. Return to the center and pull the club horizontally towards the left. Repeat several times.

Return to the same starting position and bring the club overhead. Lean your body sideways, bringing the club over to your right side (far enough to feel your side muscles stretching) and hold for 5 seconds then come back to the middle. Then lean over to the left side as far as you can and hold for 5 seconds, return to the middle. Repeat this about 10 to 15 times.

Return to the same starting position and bring the club over head. This time, slowly take the club over your head, behind your back as far as you can without experiencing pain. You should feel your chest muscles stretching. Hold the stretch for a few seconds then return to starting position and repeat several times.

Return to same starting position and properly hold club with right hand. Bring the club over and behind you, bring your left arm behind you, firmly grip club and pull down with your left arm. You should feel your right shoulder-upper back stretching. Stretch only as far as you can without experiencing any pain. Return to starting position and switch club to left hand. Repeat same motions, and alternate a few times.

As you probably have noticed, all the stretches we have gone over require the club to aid in our stretching, and purposefully we’ve listed them in that fashion so that you can perform these stretches as a circuit stretch routine that can be easy to remember.

Stretching Before your First Swing – Part 1

We’ve now warmed up and our bodies are ready to stretch. Stretching increases our flexibility and helps prevent tight, stiff, muscles that can restrict our golfing ability and add to our chances of injury. Stretching is a simple and effective activity that helps us enhance our performance, decreases the likelihood of injury, and minimizes muscle soreness.

Experts suggest that anybody over 35 should pay extra attention to stretching and flexibility in their exercise routine. As we age, our joints tend to get stiffer and tighter; this is simply part of the aging process, but stretching can maintain our flexibility even as we grow older. Establishing a regular stretching routine before hitting the course increases the length of our muscles and tendons.  As a result, muscle tension is reduced and our range of movement is increased allowing an increase in muscle power and athletic ability. And we know what this means, an automatic increase in our game—and we still haven’t taken our first swing!

As with most activities, stretching can be harmful if done incorrectly. For both, safety and to maximize the benefits of stretching, it’s vitally important that certain rules be adhered to:

Stretch before and after.

Stretching before exercise or round of golf lengthens muscles and tendons and helps prevent injury. After exercise/round, stretching aids in repair and recovery of muscles and tendons, and helps prevent muscle soreness.

Stretch gently and slowly (and only to the point of tension).

Slow and gentle stretches help to relax our muscles and make stretching more pleasurable and beneficial. Be sure to stretch only to the point where tension is felt and avoid pain at all costs. Pain will trigger the body’s pain reflex, which contracts muscles and tendons and prevents them from being stretched, therefore reversing all the benefits we’re trying to achieve.

Breathe slowly and easily (do not hold your breath).

Holding our breath is counterproductive to our stretching; it creates tension in our muscles and makes stretching difficult. Breathing slowly and easily helps us relax and increases the blood flow and delivery of oxygen and nutrients to our muscles making our stretching easier and more beneficial.

Aside from these rules, we must also keep in mind that all muscles are linked together from head to toe, and although you may want to focus on stretching only one set of muscles before your round there are other muscles supporting the movement of that particular muscle you are stretching, therefore it is equally important to stretch all other muscles so that they may all work in unison when you’re ready to swing.  For example, a rounded shoulder is an indication of a tight hip. A tight hip will cause a slight lean forward, and until the individual stretches out the hips and all the posterior muscle chains (ham strings, calf, etc.) they will not be able to improve a rounded shoulder. There is an order to stretching the muscles you want to stretch, in this case we learn that in order to stretch the shoulder we must first stretch the supporting muscles, leading us to work our stretches from the bottom up.

Warming Up prior to Stretching

The following warm-ups can be used as a guideline for your warm up routine prior to stretching:

Walking and Marching

• Walk forward – heel, ball of foot, and toe

• Walk backward – use toe, ball of foot, and heel
• Marching – Use high steps with bended knee, use exaggerated arm swings
• Wooden Soldier – March forward and backward by lifting straight leg and arm swings

Neck and Head - (should be performed slowly)

• Turtle neck - Move head down and up
• Side neck bending – Neck rolls ear to shoulder both right and left
• Look over shoulder – Look over right shoulder and back to center, look over left shoulder and back to center.

Hands and Wrists

• Hand and Wrist Wave – Relax hand and fingers, bend wrist up and down
• Hand circles from wrist – Move in small circles in both directions
• Cat claws – Form a claw with your fingers and close/open and close, do this on both hands
• Piano fingers – Play piano using all fingers from both hands – bend each finger at the middle joint
• Cheerio’s – Thumb to each finger on both hands

Ankles

• Point/Flex Toes – Slightly raise one leg in front of body, point toes up toward the knee and then away from the knee.
• Ankle Circles – Slightly raise one leg in front of body, make circles inward and outward, rotating at the ankle. Switch legs.

Arms and Shoulders

• Arm circles from shoulder – Do forward circles and backward circles.
• Shoulder shrugs – Bring shoulders straight up to your ears.
• Shoulder circles – Go forward and then backward.
• Overhead reach – Arms to the side, raise the right arm as high as possible, bring it down slowly. Do the left arm next. Repeat with each arm.
• Scissors – Cross arms in front of body, move arms to sides then repeat and alternate arms, left on top, then right on top.

Legs, Hips, and Knees

• Foot Ballet - Lift right foot and point toe to floor and then to the ceiling. Do repetitions on right foot and then change to left foot.
• Leg/Knee Circles – Pick up leg and make small circles from the knee. Make circles to the left and then to the right. Do this with both knees.
• Side Bend – Hands on hips, bend slowly to each side.
• Forward Kick – Stand shoulder width apart. Kick leg forward as high as you can, then move leg behind the body. Alternate legs, motion should come from the hip.
• Hamstring curl – Hold on to a stationary object, bend the knee and move foot toward your buttocks. Hold for a brief moment, then switch legs.
• Trunk Rotation – Arms should be up at shoulder height and thumbs up. Turn trunk to one side, return to center, turn trunk to other side and return to center. Eyes should follow the movement.

Stretching Before your First Swing - Part 2

The following stretches can be used as a guideline for your stretching routine before taking your first swing to help improve your flexibility, stamina, give you full range of motion throughout the course, and help reduce the likelihood of injury.

Raised Arm Squats

This is a great exercise to start the blood flowing and moving around the joints that you will be using in the game. Hold a club out in front of you horizontally with hands gripped wider than shoulder with apart, widen out your stance to the same distance.

Squat and simultaneously bring the club over your head. Come back to your starting position and remember to breathe allowing blood flow and oxygen to reach your muscles and relaxing them. Repeat the process about 10-15 times.

Twist Club Lunges

Hold your club in the vertical position with your right hand, with firm grip on the handle. From a regular standing position, bring your right foot in front of you as if taking a big step. Using your club as support, bend your knees and bring your left knee close to the ground (not touching) creating a 90 degree angle with your right knee. To avoid injury, be sure your right knee does NOT go past your right foot (maintain a 90 degree angle and you should be safe). Once in the lunge position, twist your torso to the right and grip the club with your left hand (both hands are now on the club). Return to standing position, and switch the club to the left hand. Bring your left foot in front of you and repeat the same set of motions to the left side. Alternate sides and repeat a few times to increase flexibility in the hip flexor of your back leg and the glute of the front leg, as well as increasing range of motion and flexibility of your torso.

Loosening up the back

Starting in the same stance as the raised arm squats with the club out in front of you, bend forward at the waist stretching down as far as you can go. Flex your glutes and lower back as you come up and bring your chest out once you come to full standing position.  Hold for a few seconds, and then repeat several times.

What’s Your Secret?

Is it taboo? Is it courtesy? Is it a well kept secret they use as part of their “unknown” golf technique arsenal? Seldom do you hear a Pro golfer talk about how they endure their great performance. I don’t mean form, because as we all have the same muscles, and based on form we can address a particular area a golfer may excel in or lack in and make a well educated guess on what exercise routines they may be practicing on a daily basis. I am talking about the one thing we all do very differently off the course. The way we eat. Yes, believe it or not, your diet will directly affect your performance on the course.  So it is very important to remember to protect all the hard work you put in towards your fitness by respecting your body and being aware of what you put into it.

You may notice that some of the top players in the world reach into their bags for some goodies during tournaments. They’re always eating food, going into their bag, while visualizing and trying to stay focused. And then they take a sip of that unmarked drink container. What magic potion are they drinking, we wonder? It’s not a mystery that many pro athletes fill their bottles with Pedialyte, a great electrolyte replacement. Why? As strange as it may sound, it is a great way to stay hydrated during the round and a great form of energy. There are many drinks on the market that claim to replace electrolytes and give you energy; however, many have high levels of sugar that are counterproductive when it comes to golf so it is important to read nutritional labels and get your facts straight.

And what do we see the Pro’s eat? After all, they’re always grazing, every 2-3 holes we see them munching on something. What is it? Protein, protein, protein. Why? Protein provides a sustained amount of energy (which should come as no surprise that when paired with the stamina built with their exercise regimen it becomes clear as to why they are called “Pro’s”). Pro athletes eat protein so that they maintain the same level of energy throughout the game and to avoid those energy spikes some energy bars generate. You should be advised that these “protein” bars you see on the course are nothing more than candy bars, filled with sugar, that will guarantee an energy spike that will only make you tired at the end of your round. What we are looking for is sustained energy that gives us the power we need throughout the round so we can get those 20-30 extra yards of distance that we’re looking for. That is the real definition of stamina. Can you still perform at your best at the end of the round? If the answer is no, you may want to consider reviewing your eating habits and catering your diet to fit your needs on the course.

Tube Resistance Bands

Tube resistance bands are a great golf companion to aid in your stretching routines.  Off the course a tube resistance band can be used to strengthen your abdominal and lower back muscles. On the course it serves as a great warm up before your round. It’s always a good habit to keep a tube resistance band handy. They are lightweight, portable, and space efficient.  With the proper resistance bands your muscles get a gentle stretch and at the same time the stress on your joints and spine is almost eliminated to zero. They are usually color-coded according to the resistance levels they offer – extra-heavy, heavy, medium, light, or extra-light. For the average golfer, a medium (red) or low (yellow) tube resistance band is recommended. We are more concerned in building muscle stamina than mass, therefore light resistance  along with repetitions are your best pick to improve your golf fitness.

Golf Specific Tube Resistance Band Exercise

You can isolate any phase of your golf swing and use resistance like tubing/bands to strengthen and stretch that specific part of your golf swing. This is very effective at improving golf swing mechanics, power and distance. Tube rotations are an excellent way to improve both core strength and flexibility and a stronger more flexible core.

Tube Rotations

For this exercise you will need to fasten your tube resistance band to a post, doorknob, or to the handle of the golf cart.

Hold the loose end of the band with both hands as if you were swinging a club. Get in a comfortable position a few feet away from the post (far enough to feel some resistance on your “swing”) with your lead shoulder away from the post. You want to make sure the post, resistance band, and your shoulders are all aligned creating an imaginary through line. Begin your swing motion, and be sure to keep your hands on the handle as close as you can to your body. Rotate about your torso, do not bend your elbows,  and most importantly keep your core drawn in during the duration of this motion to get the most benefit of the exercise.  Perform two or three sets of 12-15 repetitions in a slow, controlled motion, keeping your core drawn in (imagine touching your spine with your belly button), and breathing in during the toughest part of the exercise. To increase difficulty, you can scoot both feet closer together. Repeat for the other side of the body (remember, what you do to one side of the body you must do for the other to balance your muscles properly).

Repeat this exercise as often as you can, and see the difference on the course. Be sure to stretch after every workout session to maintain your increased flexibility.

Supplement Your Swing with Supplements

Today our world is infested with over processed and preservative added food, which can affect our diet and create deficiencies in many important vitamins and minerals necessary for our health. There are however different ways to take supplements and minerals to help us achieve the results we desire in a specific sport or activity.

As far as the body goes, nutrients such as proteins and minerals are essential building blocks for strong muscle tissue, injury repair, flexibility and strength. Stamina and the ability to focus depend on the right balance of blood sugar and fluid levels. When your blood sugar and electrolytes drop, so does your ability to concentrate, so no matter how good your technique and form, you will begin to make errors that will be costly to your final score.

There are great supplements available to help increase strength, prolong endurance, improve mental focus and reduce inflammation in joints and supporting tissue. You can make your own supplement concoctions based on your specific needs. To improve your health and performance here are some supplements that can help you perform at a high performance level on and off the golf course:

Strength Supplements

Amino Acids:

Amino acids build protein, which is the essential building material for muscle tissue. Tyrosine is an amino acid that can be used to effectively maintain communication between your brain and muscles during heavy resistance activity. This is best when taken right before your workout. Another good amino acid that can be used as a supplement is L-carnitine, which helps convert fatty acids into energy. Carnitine was first discovered in meat (latin: carnus) thus this is where the name derives from. Meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products are the richest sources of L-carnitine.  Special Note: Vegetarians may want to supplement this nutrient since fruits, vegetables, and grains relatively little L-carnitine.

Protein:

Whey protein is an easily digestible protein. It has a higher insulin level than other proteins, which means it helps raise your energy level. Whey protein is best to take after a round of golf to replenish reserves used during the round.

Casein (a milk derived protein) and egg protein are good during the round to maintain a good balance of insulin. Note: For lactose sensitive/intolerant individuals, egg protein is recommended as it the easiest to digest and the most bio-available for our body.

Protein needs are calculated on an individual basis. What works for your partner might not work for you. Weight and level of physical activity are the determining factors. Endurance exercise increases protein and carbohydrate requirements. Building muscle takes added protein, too. Extra protein is recommended for those who want to increase muscle mass (usually accompanied by a rigorous workout routine).

The following table breaks down protein needs per day, so if you want to know the right daily intake of protein for you, multiply your body weight times the grams of protein recommended based on your activity level. You will notice that there is no specific recommendation for maintaining muscle, nor a recommendation for protein higher than 1 gram per pound of body weight because there is no proven benefit that higher levels enhance muscle building — despite what you may have heard from experts.

Endurance

Complex carbohydrates are the forms of endurance nutrition. These carbs take longer to digest, so the slow absorption of sugars (fuel for our bodies) provides us with a steady supply of energy and limits the amount of sugar stored that is converted into fat. So these carbs will help your body absorb energy as it needs it during a round versus with simple carbohydrates that will give you those energy spikes, which work momentarily, however, if you eat too many of these simple carbs the energy (or fuel) your body doesn’t use will be stored into fat. So remember, for a long hardy round you want the ‘complex’ route. ‘Simple’ will only give you dimples.

Mental Focus

Keep your glucose, insulin, and fluid levels balanced and your focus should be on point during the round. Your brain works with the glucose and insulin levels (proteins & carbs) you consume during the round and delivers the right amounts of glucose to the brain for focus fuel.  Some long term supplements you can add to your diet that studies have proven increase focus are Ginko Biloba and Fish oils. Fish oils, Omega-3 fatty acids particularly, are the best brain fuel because they are the building blocks of the brain itself, and they can only be found in any significant quantities in oily fish foods and fish oil supplement capsules. And, although your swing is not guaranteed to improve with these fatty acids, studies show Omega 3’s do improve mood swings.

Inflammation

For bruising and soreness that may occur after a round of golf or a heavy workout you will want to take a supplement to help with inflammation. Fish oils are great for inflammation and will consume the debris left over from trauma to tissue and will improve the rate of recovery.  Proteases or proteolytic enzymes are a supplement that will not only help reduce inflammation, but studies have shown exponential benefits that include: cleansing the blood of debris and reducing the risk of clots, improved immune system; fighting against bacteria, viruses, molds and fungi; reducing allergies and helping with sinusitis and asthma; dissolving of scar tissue; aid in cleansing of the lungs and in detoxing. With these incredible promising health benefits, finding a properly designed supplemental proteolytic enzyme formula should be done with care and research as some formulas in the market can cause intestinal distress.

Topical creams and gels also aid with bruising and soreness, and those containing arnica are good choices.

If fruits had an inflamation fighting super hero of their own it'd have to be Acai Berry. Acai berry is known as the ‘ultimate super fruit’. One fruit contains the most highly concentrated forms of anthocyanins known today (significantly more than the amount present in a glass of red wine).  Anthocyanins are antioxidants that neutralize enzymes that destroy connective tissue, prevent oxidants from damaging connective tissue, and repair damaged proteins in the blood-vessel walls. Although a glass of acai berry and cheese might be a tough sell at the next party, the benefits of adding acai berry to your diet will make you want to keep it your little secret. These berries have very low sugar content for a fruit, and aid in the prevention of wrinkles, heart disease, and cancer. They also contain almost as much calcium as milk and have an amino acid profile similar to eggs. By consuming acai berry regularly, you can count on improved levels of anti-oxidants, dietary fiber, essential amino acids, trace minerals, plant sterols (shown to help control cholesterol), and fatty acid ratios that resemble olive oil (shown to help combat heart disease). Here comes the best part. Acai berry will not only improve your stamina, mental focus, digestion, and sleep, but will also improve sexual function. Do you have a new super hero now?

Final Word on Supplements

Supplements alone cannot provide the complex requirements of the human body. Optimum nutrition can only be achieved by combining a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy products with supplements taken according to their recommended dosages. In essence, as the driver of your own vehicle (your body), you need to fuel your body with the proper grade fuel (supplements and food), and your internal GPS takes care of guiding the fuel down the right path to the right destination, and if you do your research well you will know exactly where you are headed before you arrive at your destination.

Got Yoga?

Contrary to popular belief, yoga is not just practiced by females, and the men who practice yoga do not necessarily train in spandex. With those myths debunked, you may want to look into joining a yoga class, or finding the perfect yoga instructor.  There are many yoga instructors that cater strictly to the needs of athletes. Some even guarantee they can increase a golfer’s distance, flexibility, and strength by up to a whopping 40 percent!

Yoga is a holistic approach to fitness, where mind and body find the perfect balance to achieve greater results.  As a golfer, you would agree that a sound mind contributes equally as much as a sound body would to how well you do on the course. It’s a good assumption to think that our overall fitness contributes to a fit mind; however, for a game like golf the mind is an intricate and powerful tool that oft times we neglect to train specifically to strengthen our golfing ability.  Wouldn’t it be great to train your mind to deal more effectively with the pressure, and use it to control your body rather than letting your body control your mind under pressure? Yoga can take care of that and more.

The key aspects that yoga will predominantly work on when it comes to your game, are muscle control and balance; this includes your brain muscle as well, of course, since yoga requires you to isolate different muscles simultaneously and make them work in unison to create one position, you are training your brain to work with your body to achieve this at one time. Sound familiar? You do this already with your swing!

By doing a little research about yoga and learning all its benefits, finding a location near you or even an instructional DVD you will be making a very rewarding addition to your golfing process. By taking care of the process of improving your golfing skills the results will take care of themselves.  When you set your fitness goals, or any goal for that matter, you don’t set them just for the challenge, you set specific goals because of the ‘knowingness’ that you will come closer to the fulfillment you desire in your life. What are your desires and how will you approach your goals to fulfill your desires? The choice is entirely up to you, because what works for your fellow golfer may not necessarily be what will work for you.

Exercises that Improve Your Game

In terms of exercising to increase your game, you will want to make strengthening your core, shoulders, and upper back your main focus in order to reach the level of expertise you desire.  The following are simple exercises that if implemented as a daily routine should guarantee an increase in your golfing stamina and guarantee excellent results that will keep your opponents guessing. Some of these exercises require either a medicine ball, dumbbells, or stability ball to add resistance.

One note before moving on to the exercises: As with any exercise, in order to receive the full benefits of the exercise make sure you are breathing at a steady pace. Do not hold your breath as it defeats the whole purpose of working out your muscles to the fullest benefit of the exercise. A good rule of thumb to remember is to breathe in during the toughest part of the exercise.

Side-to-Side Figure 8 – (works the core muscles, shoulders, and upper back muscles)

You will need a dumbbell or medicine ball for this exercise. (I recommend a 10-12 lb weight for men, and 5-8 lb for women to add challenging but not strenuous resistance).  Stand with legs a bit wider than shoulder-width apart. Have your arms extended in front of you while holding your dumbbell/medicine ball and start making a figure eight pattern (∞).  Make sure to keep your core tight with feet flat on floor (no rocking). Follow the side to side figure 8 patter for about 45 seconds straight.

Russian Twist

Sit on floor with your knees flexed at a 90 degree angle and take your upper body slightly back. Tighten your core so that your belly button comes closer to your spine (be sure to keep the core nice and tight throughout the whole exercise).  Hold your dumbbell or medicine ball in front of your core and begin rotating your torso side to side, keeping your back straight. Perform this exercise for about 45 seconds.

Stretching your trunk/torso - Increase flexibility in your trunk

Lie down with arms out for stabilization. Lift your right leg and just lean it towards the opposite side letting gravity pull on it while keeping your right shoulder up against the floor. Take several deep breaths and hold for about 30 secs and repeat with other side (remember to keep the opposite shoulder against floor). You will notice an increased flexibility in your trunk, the more you stretch.

Kneeling Shoulder Stretch with Core Rotation (increase flexibility in your back swing and follow through)

For this stretch you will need a stability ball. Start by kneeling with the exercise ball directly in front of you. Extend your arms forward and bring your palms together. Find the equator of the exercise ball and place the outside of your right hand (while palms still together) on the left side of the equator of the ball. From here, you will bring your upper body down towards the ball and begin ‘rolling’ on the ball with slow controlled motions starting with the outside of your hand all the way to your shoulder. Make sure you are NOT holding your breath, adjust your motions accordingly so you are breathing throughout the exercise. Repeat for the other side, and alternate sides about three times to complete one set.

Lower Back Extension (strengthens your lower back for stability and power during your swing)

You will need your dumbbells for this exercise. Stand with your legs less than shoulder width apart, holding your dumbbells on your sides bend forward reaching the dumbbells to the ground. You may have your knees slightly bent (you will notice that you will be able to have better reach without bending your knees as much as the days progress). Come back up to the starting position as you clench the glutes (this will also tighten your lower back muscles) and bring your chest out slightly by bringing your shoulders back. Repeat for 30-45 seconds.

Golf exercise for Longer drives

The following is guaranteed to add many yards to all your clubs in your bag. For this exercise, you will need a 5-15 lb dumbbell (depending on your fitness level, you may work your way up starting with a lighter weight). Holding the dumbbell with your lead arm, get in your normal golf posture to get a pre-stretch in the muscle we will be working with, which is the back of the lead shoulder. This is a critical muscle in improving power and distance in your golf swing. You will feel this muscle stretching, indicating your starting position for this exercise. Your arm holding the dumbbell should be across you past the opposite arm. You will notice this position is a pre-impact position in your golf swing. From here, still maintaining your golf position, lift the dumbbell in a side, upward motion bringing your arm to a 90 degree angle with your shoulder (do not bend your elbow).  In a slow, controlled motion, bring your arm back down to the starting position. To get the full benefits of this exercise, it is important not to let gravity swing your arm.  Perform 12-15 reps, nice and controlled, isolating the muscles behind your shoulder, maintaining your golf posture the whole time. Once you’re done with the reps, put your dumbbell down.  You will now stretch that shoulder muscle group by taking your right hand under your left hand and push your left arm up with the back of your right hand until you feel the shoulder muscle group stretching. Hold the stretch for about 15 seconds. Once you’re done give that arm a shake and do another 2 sets of 15 reps on that same arm making sure to stretch in between sets.  Switch arms and repeat the same sets and stretches for the opposite arm to work your body equally on both sides.  Do this every day and you’ll transform your golf swing faster than you ever imagined.

How wide to place your Stance

As with any sport your stance can greatly affect your effectiveness on how well you hit. Your stance at the tee can greatly affect your swing and how far and accurate you shot will be. If your feet are too narrow you won’t be able to keep your balance through-out your swing greatly reducing the power of your swing. Too wide and you won’t be able to pivot into your back leg properly.  The general assumption is that a good stance is shoulder width apart on all swings. Although close, using your hips as good measurement of how wide your feet should be deems a better method. By placing the inside of the heels the width of your hips it will allow you to pivot into the back leg properly.

Now, using your hips is just a rough starting point. You also want to keep in mind that how wide you place your feet depends on what club you are using. Think of a Tri-pod on a camera. If you lengthen one foot (the length of your driver vs. an Iron) of the tri-pod, you’re going to have widen out the other two (your feet) as well. This goes the same as you shorten one leg of the tri-pod.

A good way to tell if your legs are the right width apart is how well your finish looks. On a good finish all our weight should be on our front leg. This will leave our back leg just hanging with no pressure on it. Too wide of a stance and you’ll have to hang back leaving some of your weight on your back leg or dragging your foot. This will not let you finish stacked, meaning you won’t be able to put your full weight and twist into the ball. Too narrow and your back foot will protrude past your front foot. This will not only look funny but leave you off balance in your swing. You won’t be able to put the full power of your body into the swing. Our starting toe-position on our right foot shouldn’t move, It should just pivot as you bring your body to that finish position.

Starting strong will enable you to finish strong. It is important to have a good golf swing, but most importantly, to have a correct golf swing—that is, the swing that is right for your body. Everyone’s body is structured differently and therefore everyone’s swing will be different. So, starting with the proper stance will lead you on the right path to finding a rhythm that will lead you to the correct golf swing for you. Two things must be constant as you practice your swing, consistency and smoothness. Practice, very deliberately, every moment of the swing until every swing becomes the exact same swing regardless of the club you use—weight should not be a factor in consistency. Trying to adjust your swing to correct an unwanted outcome is forcing your club to hit the ball ‘correctly’, hence jeopardizing the smoothness of your swing. Compromise your smoothness and your consistency will fail. Every action makes a difference. Learn to discipline your swing and make consistency and smoothness the constant variables every time you swing.

Preventing the Dreaded Shoulder Injury

Although often perceived as a leisurely activity, golf can be a demanding sport, which can result in injury, usually from poor technique and lack of preparing your body for the exercise it is about to endure. The shoulder is a commonly affected site, with the lead shoulder, or the left shoulder in the right-handed golfer, particularly vulnerable to injury. A thorough understanding of the biomechanics of the golf swing is helpful in diagnosing and managing these injuries. Common shoulder problems affecting golfers include subacromial impingement, AC arthritis, rotator cuff tear, shoulder joint instability, and shoulder arthritis'. Although the majority of patients with these disorders will respond to nonsurgical treatment, including rest and a structured program of physical therapy, sometimes going under the knife is the only way to fix these problems.

These and other shoulder injuries can be minimalized and even prevented through a proper Warm up and stretching. Here are a couple exercises that you can do 5 to 10 minutes before you play your next game.

Arm circles

Start with your Arms straight out and level to your side and make small circles forward and backwards. Try different positions like moving your palm position, Palm Facing up, Down, Forward and Back. You want to do a set of maybe 10 to 15 repetitions on each side.

Club Turns

Grab a 5 Iron; place it out horizontally in front of you, arms a shoulder with apart. Keeping both hands in a palm down with a loose grip on the club, Twist the club like steering wheel left and right so your arms slightly cross over each other. As you get warmed up try a wider grip to get more of a full rotation.

Over and Under

Starting with arms straight out to the side swing them in crossing them in front of you alternating with your right arm on top of your left and vice versa. Control and be aware of how far back your arms go behind you and how far you cross them in front of you.

Shoulder-Upper Back Stretch

Placing one hand behind your head and reaching down your spine (palm facing your back), place the other behind your back reaching up your spine (palm facing away from your back) and try and make the 2 meet behind your back. Using a towel or golf club can help you stretch to bring the two together.

These exercises will not only help loosen your shoulder muscles up but help you drive those extra yards right off the first tee. Take the extra  minutes every time and you will be sure to be providing your body the greatest chance to keep playing the game that you love without shoulder injury.

Hamstring Flex Test

A great amount of power in your swing will come from the follow thru in your golf swing. As you rotate into the swing and extend to finish this is where your hamstrings will come into play. Flexibility in you hamstrings is key for your lower body balance and for the rotation in your hips as you take your swing. It can also help you finish a golf swing looking like a pro.

Hamstrings are a problem area of flexibility for most people. That’s because we maybe spend about 5 minutes stretching our hamstrings and the rest of the day making them shorter. Every time you sit down for a long period of time you’re shortening your hamstrings. We go from laying down in bed, to sitting in our car, to sitting at work, back in the car, and home again till the weekend comes and we hit the course. Sometimes with hardly a warm-up, thanks to running errands or dropping off the kids to their practice times. This tension in our hamstrings can lead to lower back problems and a stiff swing. As the song goes, all your muscles and bones are connected to each other through a chain. One stiff link can affect the strength of the whole chain. Now seeing that the hamstring is the third largest muscle in the body, it’s a pretty important link.

A great way to stretch your hamstrings is called a dynamic stretch. For this stretch you will need a rope or towel. Something long enough for you to grab while wrapping it around your foot and laying on your back.

1. Start by laying down on your back and wrapping a towel around your foot.  Bend at the waist keeping your leg straight and knees locked, (Don’t feel discouraged if you can only bring your leg to a 15 degree angle, you have to start somewhere.).
2. With the help of your towel bring in your leg as far as you can go without any serious discomfort or pain. (When it comes to stretching the saying “No Pain, No Gain” does not apply, pain will make you tense up making you hold your breath and it’s more important to relax into your stretching.
3. Hold this position for a good 3 or 4 seconds and release. As you hold make sure to breathe out. Breathing is an important part of stretching. Deep breathing will bring Oxygen to your muscles and relax them as your stretching.
4. Repeat this stretch 5 to 8 repetitions 3 times on each leg.

Take 5 minutes to do this exercise once a day and you’ll find in time that not only you are able to bring that foot further into the stretch but it will allow you to bring your hips into your shot with ease and control. This will result in a better finish and follow through into every shot.