Q: Could you please give me some ideas on how to stay in shape for golf during the cold weather, when I do not go out on the links? — Scott Nance, Lakewood
A: “Golf is a good walk spoiled,” quipped Mark Twain, who apparently experienced some frustration on the links. Unfortunately, because of the enormous popularity of the sport, most golf courses now require golfers to use carts in order to keep the players moving at a more efficient pace. Seems that getting in “a good walk” is almost impossible these days.
Regardless of the use of carts, golf requires a high level of physical and mental endurance. Flexibility, stability, balance, endurance, posture, strength and power all come into play whether you are driving, chipping or putting.
Watch a great pro perform a golf swing; notice that the body coils and uncoils during the execution. It should be evident from this that it is the body that drives the ball, not the club. Therefore, the muscles of the lower back, abdomen, 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.
In the off-season, golfers need to maintain and improve overall strength, as well as the functional arenas of balance, rotation and flexibility. Many golfers make the mistake of focusing just on the functional fitness part of the game, forgoing the strength aspect.
According to Neil Wolkodoff, program director for the Rose Center for Health and Sport Science (), who has been training golfers for more than 15 years, notes that in-season and off-season programs alike should have a balance between general strength and functional movements.
“The research clearly demonstrates that functional movements are never truly effective unless they have a pure-strength basis,” Wolkodoff says. “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.”
Wolkodoff also suggests an optimum rotation during the golf season with one basic strength workout per week, balanced with one functional- strength workout. During the off-season, he suggests a ratio of 80 percent strength training to 20 percent functional movements, such as wood chops. He also recommends spending some time on core exercises that build basic posture, like plank positions taught in yoga.
Presses, squats
Suggested strength exercises for the upper body include dumbbell presses for chest and lat pull downs for the back. For the legs and hips, use the leg press and hamstring curl machines, and perform squats and lunges with dumbbells or barbells, or both. Abdominal crunches on a stability ball are great for core strength.
For functional strength, try cable chest presses with torso rotation and single arm cable rows with external shoulder rotation for the upper body. Kettlebell/dumbbell squat swings can be useful for the legs and hips. Core function responds well to chops/reverse chops using a cable machine, dumbbell, or medicine ball.
“When it comes to increasing raw speed in golf, core training still wins,” Wolkodoff says.
Linda J. Buch is a certified fitness trainer in Denver; linda@ljbalance.com.
