Get in shape to play golf

Many golfers, especially those over 50, experience a variety of playing-related injuries, typically affecting their hips, back, shoulders, elbows and neck. One reason for the numerous golf injuries is the explosive, body-twisting action required to swing the club for a drive.

Another reason for injuries is the less-than-ideal level of physical fitness, strength and conditioning of most recreational golfers, in the view of Dr Wayne Westcott, Fitness Research Director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts. In fact, many golfers believe that strength training, especially, builds large, tight muscles that might inhibit their game. Older golfers often believe that strength building will exacerbate lower back pain and arthritic discomfort.

Much specific research has proved this to be untrue. It is generally accepted, for instance, that strength training can reduce body weight and resting blood pressure, and alleviate lower-back and arthritic pain. Perhaps finding the time to make the investment in improved strength and conditioning is the real problem golfers face.

More particularly, Dr Westcott details four studies of 77 golfers (average age 57) undertaken over 8-week periods, where they performed basic 25-minute strength building programmes three days a week. The studies took place over US winter months when they weren’t playing golf. Each session involved 12 exercises on strength-building equipment, with 8-12 repetitions per exercise. (The table below shows the exercises and their relevance to the golf swing.)

The results were astounding. Participants on average each replaced over four pounds (2.2kg) of fat with muscle. They significantly reduced their resting blood pressure (by 4.5 mmHg) and they increased their strength by 56%! Strength training alone improved club head speed (drive strength) by 4.2 km/h and for those who undertook a basic stretching programme as well, club head speed improved to 8.3 km/h. (Note that club head speed translates to far greater ball speed.)

More than this, players who had experienced prior pain reduced their injury risk and enjoyed more pain-free playing than in previous years.

Conclusion

A programme of strength building and improving physical fitness enabled older golfers to play considerably more and better golf.

Based on these findings, golfers’ concerns that strength training will add body weight, raise resting blood pressure, aggravate arthritis, cause lower-back problems, reduce flexibility, impair body coordination and decrease swinging speed seem unfounded. In fact, research clearly shows that a simple programme of strength and stretching exercises is most desirable for improving physical fitness, reducing injury risk and enhancing playing ability in senior golfers.

Table 1. Machines, muscles and movements for improved golf driving performance.

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