Some golfers will spend hundreds of dollars on a driver. They'll spend hundreds on lessons. Some will spend tens of thousands to be able to play at the most prestigious country clubs. Many will spend hundreds on expensive golf balls. But, the average golfer will not spend a dime on improving the most valuable asset to his game: his body. I can't imagine buying a $1200 set of clubs, and not doing some sort of strength training program to ensure I could use them to their full capacity. The average golfer's conditioning program consists of a couple of practice swings, maybe a few twists to loosen up, and then it's off to the races. Think about it, what's more important, a graphite shaft, or a strong and healthy lower back? You do not get in shape by playing golf; you get in shape to play golf, at least to play golf more safely and successfully. Your physical ability has more influence on how straight and far you can hit a golf ball, than what golf equipment does. The alignment of your spine and strength of your spinal and back muscles have more influence on your physical ability to hit the golf ball than any other part of you body. The development of skill in golf serves one basic purpose: it enables you to use the strength of your muscles with greater efficiency. Your hours on the practice tee hone your ability to use your muscles, but what are you doing for your muscles?

Golf is an explosive sport that places a premium on good core strength, speed from being loose and flexible, and having strong legs. A proper golf strength-training program takes each of these attributes into account and focuses some of the training time on developing these areas of need. Although the upper body -- the swing -- is where the action is expressed in golf, the "posterior chain" of the hips, gluteal (butt) and upper legs and the abdominals are of equal importance in the execution of the swing. Your muscles also have the ability to contract and shorten, producing varying levels of movement force in the process. A proper progressive strength training program enhances your muscles' contraction capacity, thereby increasing your movement force and improving your musculoskeletal function. Such strength conditioning provides the dual benefit of more power production and greater resistance to potentially damaging forces.

Many golfers I talk with think that injuries like low back pain and shoulder problems are just a part of the game. What if I told you that a proper strength training program can cure most of these ailments, and can dramatically improve the risk of experiencing future problems? In addition, a proper strength training program can dramatically improve your game. It is interesting to note that golfers may not recognize poor physical function until they begin to function better. Many of the program participants reported feeling more energetic and less fatigued during their golf games. Some were amazed at how much more they enjoyed playing golf after starting a proper strength training program.

The game of golf produces unbelievable forces on all the joints-the spine, hip, knees, elbows shoulders, and neck. As a result many high level golfers suffer some type of or orthopedic injury sometime in their life. These injuries to the golfer’s joints may reduce or eliminate their ability to play golf for their lifetime. Proper strength training will improve their golf game and will reduce the potential and severity of injuries because your muscles, ligaments, and tendons become stronger, more functional and durable with regular high intensity strength training workouts. Although you could increase your hitting power and reduce your injury risk by practicing proper swing mechanics under the watchful eye of a professional golf instructor, you also could improve your swing and decrease your potential for injury by performing appropriate strengthening exercises that produce a flexible and strong musculoskeletal system. As you achieve higher levels of fitness, you can generate more power with less effort, thereby producing a smoother swing with greater club head speed. You will develop more force without forcing the action, which is essential for long and consistent drives.

Despite amazing technological advances in golf training aids, and gadgets to help a golfer's game, many are not seeing improvements. Without discounting the importance of golf-specific skill practice, if improvements in muscular structural integrity are not made, the game so many enjoy will not be tolerable over their lifetime.  

Since I have mentioned “proper strength training” many times in this article let me touch on that subject. A proper strength training program must be one that provides high-intensity low force resistance training. The high-intensity causes the strength and muscle increases while the low force resistance makes it safe for all ages. Exercise Solution’s program is a private, one-on-one personal exercise training facility that uses the safest, most productive clinical exercise technology know.

Now here’s the great part. All of these benefits to enhance your golf game can be obtained with only one weekly session lasting under 30 minutes. Hard to believe, but our prescribed once per week workouts allow your body (muscles, tendons and ligaments) its natural course to recover and build long-term, sustained strength and muscle tone that will have you hitting longer golf shots while preventing any future injuries from playing the game of golf.

Here are just a few of the many golfers that train at Exercise Solution:

Sheils Torgan

2003 CT Amateur Champion

2006-2007 WMGA Match Play Champion

2008 WMGA Match Play Runner Up

2007 WMGA Player of the Year

2002-2004-2008 MGA French American Team

2003 & 2005 USGA Connecticut State Team Member

2007 USGA Mid-Amateur Sectional Qualifying Medalist

2003 USGA Mid Amateur Qualifier

2003 MGA Mixed Pinehurst Champion

2003 WMGA Stroke Play Runner-up

7-time Westchester Fairfield Champion

13-time Women's Club Champion

8-time WMGA Griscom Cup Team Member

Nancy Early

Executive Director

Women's Metropolitan Golf Association

49 Knollwood Road

Elmsford, NY  10523

Amy Carver

Teaching Professional

Wee Burn Country Club

410 Hollow Tree Ridge Road

Darien, CT 06820