Golf
Golf
| Peak Points * Stretch, stretch, stretch before every round to avoid injury and to have a fluid swing. * Work on your abdominal muscles to stabilize your swing and protect your back. * Do strength training, concentrating on wrists and legs, to add speed and power to your swing. |
For too long, golfers got no respect. Mention that you golfed to a nonplayer and you''d inevitably get teased about the ugly plaid pants that had to be hanging in your closet.
But things have changed. Golf is getting more and more popular. Nearly everybody who tries it likes it. Golf, people are realizing, is a fun, challenging game of skill, played in a truly beautiful setting. Respect has arrived.
But the respect only goes so far. For example, don''t try selling golf as great exercise. Carrying a full golf bag for 18 holes, well yes, that''s very good for you. But the actual game, taking up to six hours to hit the ball less than 150 times (let us hope), with at least half of those hits being putts or chips, is not exactly a day at the gym.
The irony is that for a sport that offers such limited exercise potential, it also carries high injury potential.
A golf swing puts extraordinary torsion ("torsion" is a twisting or wrenching force) on your back and spine—up to eight times your body weight during a swing, says Allan M. Levy, M.D., sports doctor to the stars, partner at the Sports Medicine Center in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and co-author of the Sports Injury Handbook.
Also, every golf swing is in the same direction. What muscle building it does is lopsided. And if you aren''t warmed up and flexible, the sudden swift torsion is jarring. It''s likely to tax and strain muscles leaving you, at the least, uncomfortable the next day, says Dr. Levy. In particular, players often suffer lower-back pain from the constant one-direction torsion, says New York City chiropractor Joseph Askinasi.
Working Out for Golf
Practice improves your skills, but a powerful swing and a pain-resistant body require workout time away from the course. To be your best at golf, you''ll need general conditioning and golf-specific strength building. It''s what the pros do.
"Muscles from the head to the toe are involved in a golf swing, and a long drive requires strength," says Ken Sprague, coach and strength trainer, owner and operator of the original Gold''s Gym and author of Sports Strength. "The strength with which you hit the ball contributes to its speed, which in turn determines how far the ball travels down the fairway."
Just as important, trainers put a tremendous emphasis on flexibility, flexibility, flexibility, notes Dr. Levy. Pro players, he says, spend 45 minutes warming up and stretching before they tee off. Flexibility is your best defense against back injury.
And provided you have the verve to forgo the golf cart, you''ll need some endurance training so you won''t be huffing and puffing by the 18th hole. Walking 18 holes on a golf course is well over four miles, say DeDe Owens, Ed.D., and Linda K. Bunker, Ph.D., in their book, Golf: Steps to Success.
If your partners will chug along, you can turn the distance to your advantage and actually transform golfing into a minor workout, says Sprague.
"Carry your own clubs and move as rapidly as possible from tee to the ball to the next tee. That''s a practical way of working on developing the stamina specific to the game," he says.
A Pro Trainer''s Top Tips Randy Myers, head trainer at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, works with more than 40 touring professionals. What they do, you should do, he says. And the biggest thing they do that he doesn''t see recreational golfers doing? "Stretching," he says. Stretch before and after a round. And "instead of sitting around drinking beer on the 19th hole, find a place where you can at least get crossover stretching—trunk rotation—for the lower back," he says. "What''s amazing about golf," says Myers, "is that if you''re a golfer, you''ll spare no expense to buy the clubs that Greg Norman uses or the wedge that Fred Couples uses." But, he says, there''s more to Norman''s and Couples''s games than good equipment. "These people are also doing conditioning activities—stretching and different things. And if Greg Norman is doing stretching, you should be, too." Myers also develops strength-training programs for his players—exercises with weights like we recommend within the chapter. And he offers an insider''s exercise tip. "You heard it here first: The best upper-body conditioning exercise for golf, bar none, is an inclined push-up. I''ll tell you why. It strengthens the upper chest and mid-back, keeps you in a good postural position and also gets extension for the biceps and forearms." What equipment do you need? A desk, a sturdy table or a bathtub. An inclined push-up is simply a push-up done on an incline. You plant your hands on the edge of the furniture instead of the floor. "I''ve worked with Corey Pavin," says Myers. "When he travels, he often does dips or inclined push-ups on his desk or on a bathtub. And that''s really a part of his upper-body conditioning when he''s playing events." |
What to Do
Our Core Routine on page 121 is a good starting place for general strength training for golf. The only area you really don''t want to build excessively is the chest, says Sprague. Too much bulk there will interfere with your swing.
Here is what golfers need to pay particular attention to and why, according to Dr. Levy.
Leg Exercises
Long, tall players have a natural advantage in golf because the power of the swing comes from the legs. For a powerful swing, strengthen your legs with toe raises, leg extensions and leg curls.
Obliques Exercises
Remember? The obliques are the muscles on the sides of your belly that help twist your torso and support your back. They are crucial in golf for hitting power and accuracy, and for protecting your back during strong swings. Do exercises such as oblique crunches and oblique twists. Also do exercises to strengthen your torso-folding abs muscles, such as crunches.
Shoulder Exercises
To improve and support your swing, build your shoulder muscles with side lateral raises and shoulder extensions.
Wrist and Forearm Exercises
Here we''re not talking power, but accuracy and precision. Strong wrists and forearms translate into greater club control and, thus, more accurate shots. Develop them with forearm curls, reverse forearm curls and wrist rolls.
Also, palm-up and palm-down elbow stretches lengthen the extensor and flexor muscles of the wrist so you can avoid a form of tennis elbow to which golfers are prone. Finally, Sprague recommends using a grip strengthener to develop hand strength.
The Pre-game Routine
You arrive at the course at 7:40 a.m. and have 20 minutes to tee time. You a.) get a small bucket of balls and start whacking, b.) get some scrambled eggs and coffee or c.) do a thorough warm-up and stretching routine to get your body ready.
You know the answer. Convince yourself. Here''s how to proceed.
First, you warm up. The object of warming up for golf, says Dr. Levy, is to get blood flowing in the muscles before subjecting them to stretching and tension—not necessarily to get the heart pumping hard. Just two or three minutes of warm-up is all that''s needed, he says.
It''s an important step, says Dr. Levy. Don''t skip it. Warm up with jumping jacks, running in place or walking vigorously for a few minutes.
Next, you stretch. Here''s an on-the-course stretching routine, adapted from the recommendations of Dr. Owens and Dr. Bunker in Golf: Steps to Success. You''ll need your driver for some of these.
Neck Stretch
Stand straight and relaxed. Rest one hand on a golf club, whose head (or handle) is resting in front of one foot. Turn your head and neck to the golf-club side of your body. With your other hand, gently push against your jaw so your chin touches your shoulder. Hold for 15 seconds. Relax, and switch sides. Do it a total of six times in each direction.
Shoulder Stretch
Stand with your heels close, toes pointed out at a 45-degree angle. Draw your left arm across your chest at shoulder height and, with your right hand on your left elbow, gently pull your arm closer to your chest. Hold the stretch for ten seconds, then reverse arms. Do a total of six for each arm.
Lower-Back Twisters
Sit on the ground with your legs stretched in front of you. Bend your right knee and put your right foot on the ground outside your left knee. Grasp a golf club, hands on each end, hold it at shoulder height and turn to the left as far as is comfortable. Hold for a count of ten. Do this six times. Then reverse positions and repeat the same number of times on the other side.
Couple this stretch with one of the next two standing stretches for the back, suggests Dr. Bunker.
Back Primers
Place the club behind your neck, across your shoulders. Hold it at each end. Keeping your hips facing forward, twist your shoulders—torso and upper body—as far as is comfortable in one direction, hold for 15 seconds. Then twist in the other direction and hold. Do six on each side. Don''t just rock back and forth, warns Dr. Levy. That actually tightens your muscles. Twist, hold and stretch.
Side Twisters
Stand with your feet slightly apart. Grasp the golf club midway up the shaft with both hands, and lift your arms straight up in the air. Bend your upper body to your right as far as is comfortable for a count of ten, and then to the left for the same time. Do six reps on each side.
Hand and Arm Builders
Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, arms close to your body. Grip the club in the center of the shaft with your right hand and bend your elbow so your forearm and palm are parallel to the ground. Rotate your wrist a half-circle to the right, then back to center. Do ten, then switch hands and repeat, rotating your arm to the left. Do six sets of ten repetitions for each arm.
Wrist Builders
Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, arms close to your body, one arm bent at the elbow so your forearm is parallel to the ground, but with your palm facing inward. Grip a club in the middle of the shaft so its ends point up and down. Gently rock it forward and back a few times, then switch arms and repeat.
Leg Stretcher
Stand with your right foot crossed over your left. Holding a golf club at the ends, bend gently forward, relaxing your upper body and letting the club reach as close to the ground as is comfortable. Hold for ten seconds. Repeat six times. Then reverse the foot position and repeat six times.
| Taping Yourself Want to play better golf? Watch TV. That is, watch you on TV. It''s the advice of former bank chief executive Dick Noel, who shaved his handicap in half in two seasons with this and a few other tricks we''ll let you in on. Another of Noel''s tips comes first, before watching TV: Buy a rubber golf mat and set it up in your backyard. Then unwind each evening hitting plastic golf balls—the kind that won''t take out your neighbors'' windows. So what if they''re toys? The swing is the same. So is the slice and hook. Fifteen minutes a night, each work night. That''s Noel''s prescription. Now, time for the TV. Almost. First, set up a video cam next to the practice mat to record your swings. Tape yourself once every couple of weeks. Indicate to the camera when you hit a good shot. Now watch TV. You''ll probably see some things you don''t like. And you''ll fix them. Because a picture is worth a thousand words. Noel also recommends comparing your best swings to that of a great pro teacher on video. He likes Golf with Al Geiberger from SyberVision. Other tips? * Play with people who are just a bit better than you, Noel advises. This keeps you on your toes. * Hit the links by 6:45 a.m. a couple of days a week. Play five or six holes, and play two or three balls each hole. Drop some balls in the traps and the deep rough. Playing the extra shots does wonders for your short game, Noel says. You''re at work by 8:30, he says. * Do a full-body weight-lifting routine and a stretching routine. We already told you this. Noel lifts Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for 45 minutes. He does 15 minutes of stretching on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Within three weeks, he saw the payoff. He was hitting balls farther and was more chipper after 18 holes. |
For the Hard Core
Want to talk really serious golf muscles—the kind you only get in a gym? Talk to Sprague.
"It''s not very common for golfers to be bodybuilders," notes Budd Coates, a trainer and exercise physiologist in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Still, says Sprague, "specific strength training can really help your game."
Here''s Sprague''s specialized full-body training program for golfers.
Off-season, Sprague wants to see you in the gym two or three days a week doing the exercises below. Figure out your correct weight and rep levels using the periodization method described in the Basic Fitness chapter on page 118. In season, stick to two days each week and do two sets of each exercise, eight reps per set, using 75 percent of your maximum lift level.
* Dumbbell lunges for hip and leg thrust
* Dumbbell step-ups and step-downs for hip and leg thrust
* Oblique twists for strong torso rotation
* Upright rows for shoulder development
* Rumanian dead lifts for back extension
* Forearm curls for wrist and forearm strength
* Grip strengtheners for finger and hand strength
* Pull-ups for upper-body pull
* Crunches for a stronger abdomen
