My Own Personal Golf Story
Since the tender age of 9, I have played the game of golf. I have endured ups and downs like most other people who have played the fantastic yet frustrating game. But always strive to be the best I can be at it. From turning 15 years old, I have represented My home club team – Bamburgh Castle Golf Club having previously played for their junior team and making appearances for my County under 18s. To this day, I remain a category 1 amateur golfer (handicap generally flips between 3,4,5) as I don’t get to play as much as I’d hope. However, this doesn’t stop me wanting and trying to be the best I can be.
Improving Your Fitness for Golf
I think we can all agree that we all could make huge improvements on our golf game by simply working on our bodies and getting in better shape. To maximise your potential as a golfer – you must maximise how efficiently and well your body moves. Working on your fitness is the BEST way to do that yet it’s often overlooked.
Though golf is a sport that doesn’t literally require you to have a fit looking body, it is still quite easier for physically fit individuals to swing harder, have better focus and improve faster in this game. For some reason many golfers completely ignore the physical aspect of their game, to the detriment of both their scores and, ultimately, their health. Why is conditioning so important? Just analyse a golf swing – a good golf swing requires a combination of flexibility, power and speed, all servicing the aim of a technically smooth swing.
Improving Your Swing with Training
If you are keen to improve your golf fitness, one of the best ways is to find a personal trainer who can design a programme for you. It’s important to find a trainer who has experience designing individual conditioning programmes specific to the sport. It’s certainly not a question of just doingany workout. You need to specifically target the muscles you use on the course while recreating the way you use them.
A trainer will physically assess you and discuss what you want to achieve, in order to design a customised programme that considers both your needs (i.e. to improve your golf game), and any history you may have of illnesses or injuries. If you haven’t worked-out for a while or have any medical history that could impede your training, be sure to consult a doctor before you start.
A Golf Training Programme?
A golf fitness programme will usually focus on the following:
Flexibility
Golf requires good flexibility. Keeping yourself flexible can improve your game, reduce the risk of injuries, and alleviate the symptoms of minor injuries, particularly to the low back.
Strength training
Increased functional strength can dramatically improve your performance – just think, every time you swing a club you require the body to propel it to a speed of between 80-100 mph in less than a second! It makes sense that increasing your strength will not only improve your ability to do this, but also provide a measure of protection against the extreme forces involved in such a motion.
Cardiovascular training
Cardio (or aerobic) training will help in two ways. Firstly, it’s likely to reduce your weight, which has benefits in many areas of your life. Secondly, it will improve your endurance, making it much more likely that you’ll play the 18th hole as well as you played the first.
Where Specifically do you need to work on?
Joint Mobility (ankles, hips, thoracic spine, shoulders)
Segmental Stability (hips, core, scapula stabilizers)
Improving Static Posture
Moving better in all three planes of motion
Improving the following movement patterns (squatting, lunging, bending/hinging, pulling, pushing/pressing, twisting/rotation)
Strategies for recovery, regeneration & nutrition
In Summary
You have nothing to lose except a few strokes per round and a few unwanted pounds around your waist!
