Since golf season is winding down in the northern states, many golfers will soon be turning their attention more to their golf fitness.
With that in mind, I thought I’d address some issues I see in the golf fitness industry, which has really exploded over the last decade.
Most tour players now have a fitness coach. Many larger cities have fitness trainers that focus on golf now as well.
There is even a golf fitness certification business out there where many teaching pros obtain a certification for gaining knowledge about fitness.
One of the major issues I see is that many of these fitness professionals have their clients doing some ridiculous stuff to improve their swings.
Most people get training from a golf fitness professional to gain some extra distance with their clubs.
But, what I typically see are these golfers doing stuff like throwing medicine balls, taking swings on one leg while standing on a bosu ball, doing dumbbell presses on a balance ball, doing yoga type exercises, etc.
While some of this stuff may provide you with some moderate new strength in the near term, it does virtually nothing to increase your strength in the long run.
The bottom line is that if you want to have the ability to hit the golf ball further, you need to either make improvements to your golf swing, build strength, or both.
The easiest thing to do is build strength.
But, you don’t build significant strength by doing some of the ridiculous exercises I mentioned above.
You build strength by training with barbells.
Recently I had a chance to listen to a podcast by Mark Rippetoe of Starting Strength discussing the role of strength training in golf.
Rippetoe is by no means knowledgeable of the game of golf, but he is extremely knowledgeable about strength training.
Here are a few quotes he made during the podcast…
“…To hit the ball further, you must hit the ball harder. In order to hit the ball, you accelerate the club and transmit force from the accelerated club to the ball on the tee. And to do that, you accelerate the club by applying force to the club. Force is applied to the club by the whole body. A golf swing is a full body movement. OK, now, it doesn’t matter what the what the golf swing looks like, it’s necessary to understand that the kinetic chain of a golf swing is between the hands and the feet. And everything in between the hands and the feet is in the kinetic chain of the golf swing. Therefore, if we strengthen the kinetic chain involved in the golf swing, which is the whole body, then the whole body can contribute to force production during the golf swing. Accelerating the club more rapidly.”
In reference to some of the exercises I mentioned earlier, he goes on to say…
“What they can’t wrap their heads around is the idea that the best way to get stronger is the deadlift and not to do silly ass golf specific rotational bullshit in the weight room that lacks the potential to make you stronger. What’s the best way to get stronger? This is the only question. If you understand the physics of a golf swing, what’s the best way to get stronger for the golf swing is to get stronger all over because we’re using the whole kinetic chain and that question is answered. What’s the best way to get stronger?
By barbell training. And that’s all there is to it…. But they have you guys believing that in order to get stronger, you have to do something that superficially looks like golf. For it to apply to golf. And that’s just not true.”
Now, I can virtually guarantee that if any golf fitness professional read this post they would attack me straight away. They have to defend their business, and that’s understandable.
But, it seems to me that most of these golf fitness professionals treat golfers as if they are all fragile beings.
Therefore, no heavy lifting is involved, and they have to make themselves seem relevant by creating these ridiculous exercises.
Here’s a fact though… those exercises will build little muscle. And, if you are not commited to actual strength training over the long run, you will begin to get weaker past age 40.
It doesn’t have to be this way. You can get, or stay strong, into your 70’s and beyond.
If you are strong, you will be more durable, and be able to hit the ball further.
You can do all the yoga you want to, but if you are not training with barbells along with it, you won’t add much distance off the tee beyond what a little extra flexibility does for you.
Now, get to work!
