One of the main reasons people take up golf as a hobby is that golf is a sport for all ages. So as we get older we won’t have to outgrow it like we did with other sports like baseball or football. Another reason many give for choosing golf is the health benefits they recognize from a regular golf outing.
It’s sad to know that for many of these people, their dream of playing golf well into old age will be cut short by injuries sustained while trying to enjoy the game they love. Yes, many muscle, joint, and back injuries have occurred during a golf swing.
What’s even sadder is that most of those injuries are completely preventable. A dynamic golf strength exercise program works wonders to protect the body’s pressure points where the golf swing applies the most stress.
As you become more flexible (see my other article: Find More Distance With A Golf Stretching And Flexibility Program For Dummies) you’ll put more stress on the joints and soft tissues of your knee, hip, and lower back. This added stress will help your golf swing, but it can also cause injury if carried too far. Pulled muscles, sprained knees, strained tendons and ligaments and more are part of life for the golfer who is not in golf shape.
Therefore, be careful and take preventive measures by adding dynamic golf strength exercises to your golf training routine, if you have one. If you’re not already involved in a golf training routine, consider doing so to protect your ability to play in the future.
Golf strength is also about longer, straighter drives, more successful problem shots (wet, deep, rough fairway bunkers), and increased endurance, as well as preventing a golf-related injury.
I wonder what he was getting into with a dynamic golf strength training program. One of the exercises you could be doing is known as a lateral raise. Stand in your normal golf stance with a dumbbell in one hand. Simulate a backswing and continue with the dumbbell. Switch hands and repeat with opposite arms. The added resistance of the dumbbell helps strengthen the muscles used to execute the golf swing.
Then there is the question of time. You might be thinking that a golf fitness program like this would require hours of grueling exercise. It took so much time and effort that he wouldn’t be willing or able to commit to a program like that no matter how much it helped his golf game.
The key to time is that time is something you can control. You may want to invest a lot to get a lot. You want to improve your golf game faster than the gossip at a church social. On the other hand, you may want to go slower than molasses in the winter. You can do either or something in between. All up to you.
The best fitness programs for golf combine a dynamic stretching and flexibility program with a dynamic strength training program. The combined program creates exercises that achieve greater flexibility and greater strength at the same time. Now, how is efficient time management?
The important thing is that you do something. Do it for the improvement of your golf game, the health of your body, and for the wealth of joy that a lifetime of golf could bring you, or any other reason that motivates you. But do it. Your life, both on and off the field, will be much better thanks to it.