Those who think that playing a strong round of golf requires little to no conditioning need only follow the physical workout Tiger Woods has been on or read about Lorena Ochoa’s mental game to have those thoughts dispelled.
To play golf well not only requires a high level of physical endurance to maintain peak performance levels for four to six hours, but also concentration and focus. Today’s golfers understand that they must prepare themselves in both arenas to better enjoy this sport.
“I tell all of my students – and more are over age 50 than under – that if they are not in a regular conditioning program, to get into one,” says Clayton Cole, head golf professional at Cherry Hills Country Club.
Cole says Woods’ physical condition and his success attest to the importance of fitness for golfers. Woods said in a recent Fitness magazine article that he works out as many as six days a week in sessions that can last up to three hours.
“I experienced it for myself,” Cole says about a training program he followed. “I have more stamina for all 18 holes instead of just some of the holes.”
As for the mental game, Ochoa says in the current issue of Golf for Women, “a half-marathon or rock climbing is the same as golf – you don’t give up, you control your mind. Your learn to push yourself because your body and your mind can go as far as you want.”
Physical training for golf encompasses many features: flexibility, stability, balance, endurance, posture, strength and power. All of these aspects come into play whether you are driving, chipping or putting.
Flexibility and warm-up
A golfer can perform as many as 300 to 400 swings in one round, if you include the bucket of warm-up balls on the driving range and the warm-up swings at each hole. So it’s a good idea to spend a few minutes getting the blood and oxygen to the areas that will be the most stressed during a day on the links.
Research by Andrea J. Fradkin and her colleagues at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, found that golfers’ performances improved significantly when they undertook a golf-specific warm-up program. Primary joints involved in golf are those of the shoulders, hips, elbows and wrists.
Most golfers don’t warm up their muscles enough before stretching, says Neil Wolkodoff of PhysicalGolf in Denver, who has trained professional athletes and amateurs alike. He recommends doing two to four minutes of stretches before hitting the first ball.
Anyone who has watched a great pro notices that the body coils and uncoils during the swing. The basic golf swing involves skeletal muscles accelerating and decelerating around a stable spine.
The body – not the club – drives the ball. Therefore, the muscles of the lower back, abdomen and gluteus, trunk region, shoulders and hips all must work together to create the torque and power needed to propel the ball a few hundred yards on a drive, provide controlled power for a chip shot and stabilize and balance the body for a putt.
The drive off the tee involves the most power. A great drive is a combination of strength, balance, rotation and flexibility. In one study, there was a 90 percent correlation between forearm strength and driving distance. In another study, done by Wayne Westcott, fitness research director at South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Mass., a simple weightlifting routine to improve strength (without any functional training component) increased driving distance by 20 yards.
Wolkodoff, who has been training golfers for more than a decade, notes that both in-season and off-season programs should have a balance between general strength and functional movements. “Many golfers don’t develop a proper strength base before moving into advanced progressions. The result is they just don’t get the best results and injury rates are much higher without the proper physiological foundation.”
He further suggests an optimum rotation during the golf season with one basic strength workout per week, balanced with one functional strength workout.
Lana Ortega, an LPGA teaching and club professional who has a golf school at the Links Golf Course in Highlands Ranch, says she has improved her game by working with Wolkodoff.
“What he does is integrate a lot of the golf movements into his strength-training routines,” Ortega says. “(My) cardiovascular output and strength both increased with his program; I have also achieved better posture and more muscle stability,” she says, noting that his program acknowledges the difference between men and women’s bodies and works with them accordingly.
The mental game
Kathleen Heiney, an LPGA teaching pro and owner of LINC Golf and Wellness in Denver, knows that physical conditioning is only part of the picture.
From a wellness perspective, golf requires about five hours of focus on one activity – something many people don’t do with any regularity. “Mental focus is huge in golf. There is a level of meditation for every shot, at every hole,” Heiney says.
“I teach my students to establish a pre-shot routine because every shot has a purpose,” she says, adding that the routine will help them concentrate on the shot and achieve their goal.
Heiney also recommends yoga and Pilates because they help with core strength, balance and flexibility. Yoga is preferred because it requires focus and meditation, as well as helping build strength, endurance, flexibility and posture.
Larry Olmsted, a travel writer who specializes in golf, says yoga has helped his golf game because both pursuits require a lot of “independent yet related motions all done at the same time without short-circuiting the brain.”
Pilates – a system of mind-body exercise that has evolved from the principles of Joseph Pilates – teaches body awareness and good posture and improves core strength, flexibility and agility. All those qualities are important for golfers, too.
Pilates also helps correct muscle imbalances (a key component for injury prevention) making it a logical addition to anyone’s golf fitness program.
Sarah Christensen, founder of Pilates for Golf in Palm Gardens, Fla., worked with physical therapists, golf-conditioning specialists and Pilates trainers to develop a program that has been tested by professional and amateur golfers, as well as teaching pros.
She teaches clinics around the country, and among those who have tried the program is Butch Harmon, a top golf instructor who has a school in Henderson, Nev. “I am hitting the ball 20-25 yards farther. But best of all, I can tie my shoes without pain,” Harmon says.
Resources
“Core Powered Golf” (2000, $16.95) and “Physical Golf,” (1999,. $29.95), by Neil Wolkodoff, Kickpoint Press
“Functional Flexibility,” Stephen Tharrett, Healthy Learning, 2006, $17.95
“Improve Your Golf With Yoga Techniques,” Wahi, Pappas, O’Malley, Princeton Design Group, 2001, $14.95
Katherine Roberts Yoga for Golfers, , 888-313-9642
Pilates for Golf, pilatesfor , 888-430-7220
Strengthen Your Game, Physiotherapy Associates,
Facilities and instruction
LINC Golf and Wellness, Kathleen Heiney, 1867 S. Lafayette St., , 303-380-7175
Neil Wolkodoff, PhysicalGolf, 2538 S. Colorado Blvd.,
Lana Ortega Golf, The Links Golf Course, 5815 E. Gleneagles Village Parkway, Highlands Ranch, 303-574-0775;
Equipment
Ball Dynamics, , 800-752-2255
Balanced Body Pilates Equipment, , 800-745-2837
Linda J. Buch is a certified fitness trainer in Denver and co-author of “The Commercial Break Workout.” Write her at linda@LJbalance.com
