Golfers are hitting health clubs
Exercises help prevent injury
Golf is such a mental sport that it’s easy to forget about the physical demands of the game. But if Tiger Woods, Rory Mcilroy and Phil Mickelson use workouts and exercises to improve their golf skills, why can’t we? Stuart Eiche took up golf at age 15. Now 62, the civil litigation lawyer from Sussex maintains his “recreational” Lori Nickel golfer status
as a member of Bristlecone Pines Golf Club in Hartland, where he golfs at least once a week.
Eiche has always been an active person, adding tennis and cycling to his activities, but he never really worked out for his golf game until six years ago when he joined a gym. Now, two to three times a week, he works with Tony Becker at Privato Personal Fitness in Wauwatosa, and golf-specific exercises are incorporated into his workout plan.
The 12-handicap golfer liked that he found an encouraging atmosphere, free of intimidation, where he could get stronger and more flexible with Becker’s guidance and mentoring.
The exercises help his golf game with injury prevention and lower scores.
“Definitely both,” said Eiche. “At my age, injury prevention is probably more important to me than actually lowering my score. Being able to stay on the course and do what I like to do is the most important part of it.
“Strengthening the muscles that support the joints that are most likely to get injured during golf is the biggest part of it for me.”
Becker said that certain exercises could help take a 220-yard drive to 250, but another benefit of working out for the golf game may happen on the final holes, when fatigue can start settling in. Eiche found his exercises helped then, too.
“Muscle memory is very important in golf,” said Eiche. “In fact, if you’re having a bad day, people who help others say just let your muscle memory take over. Let your tempo take over, just swing through and your body will remember the things it has done for years. Part of this program gets those movements in to your muscle memory.”
Becker had an internship at the former Athletes Performance fitness facility in Arizona (now EXOS) and worked with all levels of athletes. He borrowed ideas from there, and put his own spin on some, for golf specific stretches and exercises.
(For demonstrations of each move, check out the video at jsonline.com/blogs/
chinup.)
Stretches
The Scorpion stretch focuses on low back, hip flexor, thoracic spine flexibility and spine mobility, with the golfer laying on the stomach and bringing the opposite foot to the opposite hand.
“It loosens up the back,” said Becker. “That’s where a lot of golfers are tight before they begin. The big thing with golfers is shoulder-tohip disassociation (That just means how far you can rotate your shoulders without your hips moving). The more rotational strength you can build, without letting your hips turn, the more power you can generate.”
The World’s Greatest Stretch, which starts with a lunge and torso rotation and then a pyramid yoga move, focuses on hamstring, glute, groin, hip flexor, and torso flexibility. This is a dynamic stretch and not easy. It may not work for everyone at first.
“It loosens up the hip, loosens up the hamstrings, loosens up the torso as well,” said Becker. “It builds a little bit of shoulder stability because you are putting some weight on to your hands.”
Exercises
Squat with overhead explosive rotational press.
This exercise focuses on lower body explosive power while also strengthening the shoulder – similar to a golf swing where you need lower body power and shoulder stability to work hand in hand for a powerful and precise golf swing.
“These are big-muscle exercises to build explosiveness, lower and upper body stability, core stability, shoulder mobility, spine mobility,” said Becker.
Lunge position med ball chops.
These will help with lower body stability but also engage the core. The focus is on lower body stability and isometric endurance while utilizing the upper body for rotational strength.
“The chop is a movement pattern,” said Becker. “You’re building rotational force. A baseball player can swing harder, faster. A golfer will have a powerful swing.
“The lunge position puts you in an unstable surface. Sometimes golfers are on unstable surfaces. A lot of golfers like myself, you’re in the rough a lot. If you can be strong while you’re doing a rotational exercise, when you’re in a golf stance – you should have more control over your swing.”
Med ball perpendicular throw with explosive hip drive.
This mimics a golf swing. By releasing the ball, the golfer follows through on throwing the ball, releasing that energy, just as he would swinging a club. The explosive power comes from the hips and glute activation. A lot of power also derives from the explosive hip movement.
Bosu squat with med ball counter balance.
This is a dynamic move, with the focus being on the squat. Again, this is an unstable surface. The golfer is working on balance on the Bosu and the posterior chain with the squat. The arm work with the medicine ball builds shoulder strength, since the golfer is holding his arms straight. Becker said it is important for golfers to work in compound exercises that allow their upper body and lower body to work simultaneously, since the golf swing does this.
“A lot of golfers, the biggest injury I’ve seen was their front knee and frontlead shoulder,” said Becker. “By holding that ball out in front, he’s able to strengthen the entire shoulder capsule.”