The biggest challenge when it comes to getting started with golf fitness is knowing what to do. What should you be doing in the gym to help your golf game? Unfortunately, that is a very loaded question. The best answer is ‘it depends.’ It depends on a lot of different factors, what have you done in the past? Are you currently experiencing pain? What are you trying to accomplish in your golf game?
All of these questions need to be taken into consideration when looking at what to do in the gym. However, if you're relatively healthy and you're looking to get into the gym to improve your golf game in a general sense, the three most important things to focus on are mobility, strength and power.
It’s important to start with mobility, progress to strength and then move to power. The reason we work on mobility first is that the golf swing is very demanding on the body and to play your best and without injury, you need to be able to get to different positions that require a lot of mobility. The three most important things to hit in regard to mobility for golf are moves that target the hips, spine and shoulders.
Strength is the next piece to add to your routine. Although mobility is the first piece of the puzzle, strength is just as important, and it comes in a few different stages. Most people hear strength and they think of bodybuilder exercises. Some of these exercises may be part of a golf fitness routine, but in reality, strength for golf is really about building muscle in areas that will keep the body protected from the impact that the game tends to have on the body. Building strength in the muscles that help with stability is the second piece of strength. The golf swing is played by putting most of your body weight on one leg at a time. This means your balance has to be good, especially when hitting off uneven lies. Single leg movements and free weight exercises are a great way to develop full body strength and stability. Once the body is in a good place to be protected from injury, that’s when we start to get heavy with the weights to hit the ball farther.
Power is the final piece of the puzzle. Everyone can improve power in the golf swing. The golf swing is an explosive movement. In fact, forty-five percent of golfers swing with a driver speed between 96 and 100 mph. That’s explosive, which means we need to incorporate explosive movements like jumps and medicine ball slams into our workouts to gain speed. Systems like Stack and Superspeed are also a great way to get faster in our golf swing.
There is no one way or one set of moves that will magically make you better at golf. Everybody is different, and everyone's body has different needs that can help them play better golf. Going to the gym and doing something is better than doing nothing, but scrolling Instagram looking for moves to do when your body may not even need them could be a big waste of time. The best thing you can do to help your game in the gym is to have a plan, and the first step to making a plan is figuring out what your body needs.
Getting evaluated is a great way to figure out where you currently are and to find out what you need to build a workout plan that's specific to you. Not knowing what to do to improve your game can be frustrating; the best way to tackle that is by seeking an expert. If you have any questions or want to take control of your golf game, please reach out.
Kian O’Donnell, PGA is a Golf Performance Coach at Seattle Golf Fitness in Mercer Island, Washington.