Wouldn't You Like To Hit A Golf Ball
Further And Straighter?

by Harry Monell

As you work towards developing your absolute best golf swing, you'll begin to understand the importance of consistency and how it impacts your level of confidence, trust in your skills, your enjoyment with the game, and ultimately of course, your final score.

The fundamental problem that most of us tend to overlook is that too often we allow a lack of physical fitness to affect the critical areas of our game. For many of us, golf has been a means, or if you will, an excuse to insert some degree of physical activity into our lives. And, for the most part, that's fine, but when we haven't developed or at least toned certain muscles, a variety of conditions are likely to exist which may have a detrimental effect on our capacity for developing the necessary skills we'll need in order to meet our personal goals.

Furthermore, an even more important consideration is that by constantly utilizing poorly developed muscle groups in our swing sequences, pivots, rotations and awkward stances, we're inviting trouble for our bodies and our game. Unless we've been involved with some level of professional fitness training, it goes without saying that because of our individual lifestyle and assortment of activities, we're all going to find in ourselves certain muscles that are over developed and others under developed.

That's generally ok, but when we subject our bodies to a completely new activity such as golf, which requires very specific muscles, there is the potential for injury. This imbalance allows stronger muscles to overpower weaker opposing muscles, which create compensating unnatural motion, which in turn put unnecessary stress on ligaments and tendons, and that condition can ultimately limit our playing time or in painfully severe cases, make participation completely impossible.

Few golfers will argue the fact that the most difficult part of any exercise or strength building program is the degree of personal commitment. Just as it is with any worthwhile personal goal, there’s always an investment or sacrifice required. Fitness exercises are more about the time component rather than anything financial. In fact, most stretching and flexibility routines require zero equipment. A simple yet typical example is the busy office executive or staff member. While sitting in the desk chair, anyone can perform basic stretching and flexibility maneuvers, which include twisting the torso from side to side and holding for a few seconds to merely reaching or extending the arms in different directions.

Now, it’s important to note here, that golf exercises are not to be confused with bodybuilding. Typical golf stretches and exercises routines are intended to add muscle tone, strength, and flexibility. Bodybuilding is intended to add muscle mass, in an overly developed fashion. The disadvantage of adding muscle bulk is that it stiffens the body, which is counter-productive to the flexibility derived through golf fitness training. So, there’s little need for anything beyond workouts with dumb bells, which will add sufficient arm and shoulder strength. A rubber ball is generally enough to strengthen handgrip. But, the best advice for anyone contemplating a workout program is to consult with a golf fitness expert. A professional evaluation can locate areas of weakness that need attention, after which a carefully targeted group of exercises can be applied to achieve the desired results.

Golf is a sport that requires strength and fitness if you’re going to perform at your best, by allowing you to hit the golf ball further and straighter. And, as a result of proper back strength, you’ll gain the extra distance and accuracy with much less effort, minimizing fatigue, and consequently lowering your scores.

Copyright 2009 Harry Monell. All rights reserved. Please feel free to share the entire contents of this article with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left intact with all links unchanged, including this notice.

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