Golfersize

Strengthening your golf game with weight training and exercise.

Each year, 26 million Americans chase a small white ball around enormous manicured lawns with hopes of getting this ball into an elusive hole in the ground ­ and they spend lots of money trying to increase their chances of that happening. Welcome to the world of golf.

Golfers spend thousands of dollars on anything and everything that may give them the upper hand over their golfing competitors. In the process, golf has become a high-tech sport ­ bags filled with boron, titanium, graphite and custom, computer-designed clubs. Ping Zing 2 irons with graphite shafts, Callaway metal wood or Big Bertha irons are a far cry from the days when irons were made on blacksmith’s anvils and woods were created by cabinetmakers.

Strange to say, however, all this technology has done little to lower the overall average handicap, which hasn’t changed in decades ­ and the reason is simple. Human biomechanics remain the same, and the club is only as good as the person swinging it. Give Tiger Woods a tree branch and he’d still be a force to fear on the golf course, but the most high-tech golf club in the hands of an amateur won’t create miracles. Technologically-advanced equipment will make little difference if a golfer’s muscles are weak and out of balance.

In addition to professional guidance and regular practice, a sound exercise program focusing on strength, balance, endurance and core stability can help take your game to the next level.

Much more than a game

Although often referred to as a game, golf is actually a high-velocity sport requiring coordinated movements of the entire body. Men often accelerate the golf clubhead at speeds of up to 160 mph, and women can reach speeds of 100 mph. Add to this compressive loads to the lumbar (lower) spine eight times one’s body weight (runners experience only three times the load) and you have a scenario ripe for injuries to unconditioned bodies.

Including practice swings, professional golfers typically perform up to 2000 swings a week. A lack of conditioning combined with technical deficiencies virtually guarantee overuse injuries over time. Even a “leisurely” round of golf can eventually create muscular imbalances and shortened muscles without proper conditioning.

However, Michelle Dube, golf pro at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, has seen “huge improvements” in the 25% of her clients who strength train. “The weekend golfers usually don’t like to take the time to strength train, but serious golfers do because they see the value in it.”

Golfers used to fear becoming too tight and “muscle-bound,” but now 80% to 85% of professional golfers regularly train with weights. Tiger Woods is known for his fitness advocacy off the green and has influenced many others to follow suit.

Other pros also credit strength-training for improving their game. Michelle notes, “Annika Sorenstam increased her drive 30 yards by adding strength conditioning to her program. [Her core stability is so good,] she can kneel on a stability ball and swing a golf club!” Michelle recommends a program called Body Balance for Performance (www.fitgolf.com), which utilizes a video-taped screening of the golf swing as the basis for a customized strength and stretching program to correct muscular imbalances.

Exercise for better golf

A golf instructor can pinpoint faults in a client’s swing, but failure to correct any associated physical deficiencies assures only a temporary fix.

Consider that ball flight is primarily controlled by five factors:
1. Club face alignment
2. Swing path
3. Angle of attack
4. Hitting the sweet spot
(These are all affected by muscle balance, posture, stability and flexibility)
5. Clubhead speed
(Affected by all of the above plus strength and power)

In other words, working primarily on increasing clubhead speed ignores 80% of the total picture. A golf-specific program should include strengthening exercises that target muscles involved in the swing as well as exercises that incorporate balance, core stability and stretching.

Sherry McCrossen of San Clemente, a client of Michelle’s, noticed tremendous improvements in her golf game by incorporating strength-training. “I thought I was in good shape when I first started working with Michelle, but the addition of strength training has helped increase my stamina and endurance and fine-tune my golf swing.”

Sherry enlisted in the Body Balance program, which she describes as a “prescriptive” type of process to resolve specific issues a golfer may have. “You do have to be self-motivated,” she says, “to stay consistent enough to see improvements.”

Injury prevention

A well-balanced, golf-specific program yields benefits beyond better performance: It also increases endurance to play longer games. Furthermore, increased overall strength and injury prevention enables players to enjoy the game into later years. Without it, loss of strength in the legs, torso and shoulders results in slower clubhead speed and loss of distance over time.

Injury prevention is particularly important for amateur golfers. Taking time to prevent injuries means taking less time off from the sport, since more than 50% of amateur golfers will experience some type of injury that will compromise their golf game. This time away from the golf course and game they love can be more painful than the injury itself.

“The key to preventing any golf-related injury is strength and flexibility,” according to Jennifer Hibl, a physical therapist with South County Physical Therapy and Pilates in Rancho Santa Margarita. She notes, “The most common golf-related injuries involve the low back, shoulder and elbow ­ ‘golfer’s elbow’ or medial epicondylitis.”

Here are the three phases of the golf swing with corresponding injury potential:

• Take away: begins when the golfer addresses the ball and ends at the top of the backswing ­ 21% of injuries during the swing occur here, primarily to lower back and wrist

• Downswing: The club head accelerates from 0 to over 100 mph, creating great potential for injury, especially if the golfer makes a divot ­ 50% of all injuries, usually to wrist, back and elbow occur at this point

• Follow through: Begins after impact and proceeds to the conclusion of the club movement ­ 29% of injuries during the golf swing occur during this phase: back, shoulder, and knee are usually involved

It’s important to note that the lower back is at risk during all three phases. “The lumbar spine is not designed for rotation,” says Hibl. “Most of the rotation comes from the thoracic spine or mid-back. Strengthening and increasing flexibility in this area is vitally important for golfers to avoid injury.”

Strengthening the core and trunk, including the abdominals and the rotator cuff musculature of the shoulder, are of highest priority in a strength program. Balance proficiency also plays into good golf performance ­ and can be easily incorporated into a program. (For example, stand on one foot while doing biceps curls to add a balance component to an arm exercise.)

A customized program like Body Balance for Performance will target your specific needs, or seek a qualified trainer familiar with golf biomechanics. OCM

Linda Melone is the owner of LifeBeat Fitness, a corporate wellness company. She can be reached at (949) 713-0403 or at LindaM@lifebeatfitness.com.
 

GOLF EXERCISE SAMPLER

These four, golf-specific exercises require little or no equipment and can be done at home. (Important note: Check with your doctor before attempting these exercises, especially if you are over 45 or have any current health issues.)

Warm-up and stretch: Perform five to ten minutes of a cardiovascular exercise of your choice. This readies the muscles and nervous system for exercise and helps prevent muscle strains.

Squats: Freestanding (or on a balance board); strengthens the lower body
1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out slightly (to 11:00 and 1:00)
2. Place hands on hips and begin lowering by bending at the knees and the hips.
3. Keep the eyes focused straight ahead and the back flat.
4. Keep chest high and brace the abdominals.
5. Lower slowly until the tops of your thighs are parallel to the floor (or as flexibility allows), then return to start position.
Repeat 10-15 times.

Rotational woodchop: Addresses the rotator forces of the trunk, shoulders, hips, knees and ankle joints.
1. Grasp a medicine ball (2-6 pounds) with both hands and stand with feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bent, as if addressing the ball. Keep feet straight ahead.
2. Tighten or “brace” the abdominals (as if preparing to take a punch).
3. Initiate the rotational movement from the trunk as
you outwardly lift the med ball from a low position, across the body on a diagonal path, to a high position over the opposite shoulder. Pivot on the back foot as the motion
nears the end range. Repeat 8-10 times, and then switch directions.

Standing rows with tubing: Strengthens upper back and arm muscles and improves posture. You will need resistance tubing with handles and a door anchor, available at most sporting goods stores.
1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, spine straight and shoulder blades back.
2. With tubing secured in the door, grasp handles at chest height with arms extended. Do not allow slack in the tubing at any point.
3. Squeeze shoulder blades back and together as you bring your hands towards your chest. Do not “shrug” as you do this. Hold for 2-3 seconds and return to start position slowly. Repeat 10-15 times.

Quadruped: Strengthens lower back and core.
1. Begin on all fours, with abdominals braced and head in a neutral position.
2. Slowly raise your right arm up and in front of you (like a pointer dog) while you raise your left leg up and out in the opposite direction. Hold both arm and leg at body height for a few seconds. Return to start position.
3. Continue by alternating sides.
Repeat 10 times each side.

Add other exercises to create a total body workout, stretch regularly and be sure to include cardiovascular fitness at least three times a week. Practice, fine tune your swing mechanics and that little white ball won’t stand a chance.