GOLF FITNESS MADE EASY!

The sport of golf was forever changed late in the summer of 1996 when Tiger Woods made his professional debut. Since then, Tiger has won more tournaments and more prize money then any other active golfer. While there were numerous components that factored into his success, the one key thing that Tiger did, that no other golfer at the time did, was follow a thorough strength and conditioning program. World renowned golf instructor David Leadbetter says, "I'm a big believer in fitness, and if golfers take the time to stay fit they can reach their goals." Butch Harmon says, "Physical conditioning in golf not only helps you play better, it helps your longevity.... Conditioning is one of the biggest changes in the game of golf. It's important to get your body in shape."

A physical training and therapy trailer follows the PGA tour and the pro tour golfers use the trainers, therapists and chiropractors to improve their overall fitness and prevent and treat injuries. The biggest trend on the tour is not in the bag, but in the gym. Professional golfers now realize that the best method of performance enhancement and injury prevention is to start a golf fitness program.

So what are the components of a proper golf conditioning program?
    Strength Training for golf
    Flexibility for golf
    Cardiovascular (aerobic) conditioning for golf
    Posture and Balance training for golf
    Nutrition and diet for golf
    Injury prevention techniques for golf

A stronger body plays better golf. Playing golf at the highest level requires muscular strength, power, and endurance. Contrary to what you might think, hours and hours of hitting balls will not get your stronger. In fact, this method of training just amounts to a lot of frustration and a greater chance of injury. Increased strength will enable you to hit longer - and straighter - drives with less effort and hit more accurate shots, which will consequently lower your scores. Getting stronger does NOT mean getting bulkier. Increased strength occurs from both changes in the muscle AND the nervous system. A proper golf strength training routine will focus on improving neuromuscular control for better balance and increased power.

The benefits of golf-specific strength training have been well documented. Golfers have significantly increased their driving distance, lowered their handicaps, and reduced injuries. A proper assessment BEFORE starting a strength training program is necessary. This assessment should determine which of your muscle groups are flexible and which are inflexible, which muscles are strong and which are weak and in what positions you have good balance and what positions you have poor balance. A program must be designed to correct these problem areas.

Many of our patients have complained that they have gotten injured during the first four to eight weeks of working out. This occurred because the aforementioned type of assessment was never performed. Once these deficiencies are corrected, a golf specific routine should be designed to take you to the next level.

Butch Harmon says, "Golfer's have to be just as particular in their technique when they're working out as they ar in their golf swing. You can hurt yourself working out, you can overdo things by doing it the wrong way. Tiger is very precise in the way he does things to make sure that he always does it the right way so he gets the most oout of what he is doing. If you go to the gym and workout and your technique isn't any good, you are going to hurt yourself."

Flexibility is probably the most neglected component of a fitness program. Butch Harmon says, "The most important thing in golf is flexibility. I don't care how much you workout, you've got to stretch because if you get everything tight and bulky you are not going to have a good golf swing."

Flexibility is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion smoothly and efficiently.As we age, our tissues lose elasticity and we lose flexibility. This is why golf professionals agree that a regular stretching program improves range of motion during the swing, and decreases resistance in tissue structures. This will translate into improved distance, power, and accuracy as well as reduced injury risk and reduced muscle soreness.

Flexibility is critical to get into - and maintain - proper golf posture. Consider this: It's scientifically proven that over tightening the muscles at the wrong time in the swing is one of the major causes of bad golf shots. Another little-known benefit of flexibility training for golf is increased neuromuscular coordination. Flexibility exercise, when combined with strength training, helps opposing muscle groups work in a more synergistic, coordinated fashion. The direct benefit is a more synchronized and coordinated golf swing.

Do you find you have more miss hits at the end of a round of golf? Do your mechanics falter on the back nine? Fatigue is the enemy! Thankfully, this enemy is easily defeated with a cardiovascular conditioning program. Because golf has long been considered a leisure game and not a sport, very few people have taken cardiovascular endurance seriously. Remember, 18 holes can take 4 plus hours to complete and may involve walking 4 - 6 miles. If you are not cardiovascularly fit, you can see how your body just won't be able to keep up the pace both physically AND mentally. Physical fatigue causes diminished mental focus and can detrimentally affect your attitude. This will devastate not only your long game, but your putting as well.

Proper balance and posture are critical to better golf. In fact, posture is the first thing that needs to be corrected and must be done BEFORE you start a strength training program. For instance, if you are a sloucher you will never attain the flexibility you need to swing a golf club properly. In addition, you are setting yourself up for neck and rotator cuff injuries because the humerus (arm bone) will not be properly positioned in the glenoid (shoulder socket). Fortunately, this can corrected by some simple postural exercises and increased body awareness. Balance is another area frequently overlooked and essential for a smooth, controlled swing. Simple and fun to do exercises can improve your balance dramatically.

Very few athletes of any type realize the connection between healthy eating and a better performance. If you expect to play your best, what you eat or don't eat is crucial. Food is fuel for your body, and just as a high performance car needs "premium" octane fuel, so does your body. So what is proper golf nutrition? What do you eat the morning you play and on the course? Most importantly, how do you eat properly for overall health? For more information on nutrition see Sports Nutrition. And, what about hydration? Do NOT neglect proper hydration as this is one of the most important components of performance. See Hydration Guidelines and Heat Injuries.

In his book, The Egoscue Method of Healing In Motion, Peter Egoescue writes, "unless golf faces up to the indifference it has traditionally shown to the body and its proper functioning, the booming interest in golf won't last. The sport will be swamped in pain. Thirty and forty-year-olds who are now heading for the fairways in droves are the least functional generation who has ever teed up a golf ball. They bring dysfunction... by playing hour after hour, day after day, and this repetitive compensation motion injures them."

Injury prevention techniques like a proper warm-up must be included in any golf conditioning program. In addition, years of repetitive strain can cause microtrauma to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments and result in adhesions or scar tissue that limits movement and causes pain. Two wonderful techniques I use the get rid of this scar tissue are Active Release Techniques® (used at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy) and Graston Technique.

I think you now get the idea that for improved performance, injury prevention and overall health a proper golf fitness program is a must.

Call Dr. Horwitz today to schedule a golf fitness assessment and golf fitness program!
301-622-9000