5 Exercises Every Golfer Needs in Their Bag

5 Exercises Every Golfer Needs in Their Bag

High draw, no problem. Stinger, got it. Low fade, easy. You may have all of those shots in the bag. But do you know how you move your body to produce that power stinger? You might think the golf club is the answer. In reality, our body is the secret weapon. Here are the 5 Exercises Every Golfer Needs in Their Bag.

The best golfers out there are the ones who have the most control of their bodies. They produce a consistent swing by continuously training their body. Here are five exercises that you should be doing to play better, more consistent golf.

Being able to rotate around the golf ball is a crucial element to hitting the ball well.

But what about owning the ability to not rotate? We call this anti-rotation and it is one of the most underrated moves a golfer can perform.

You can think of this as stability. The best exercise to create this anti-rotation is the dead bug. By simply pressing the mid and low back down toward the ground (laying on your back) you will activate a good majority of the deep core muscles.

This protects the spine from injury but also allows for greater separation of the lower and upper body.  

Two For One

Once you master anti-rotation, then comes the meat and potatoes.

Rotation of the thoracic spine (or mid spine) is where golfers spend a good amount of their time. The lunge with rotation exercise is a 2 for 1!

You get lower body strength accomplished as well as upper body thoracic rotation.

Start the lunge by placing one leg out in front 2-3 feet from the back foot. Then drop the back knee straight down to the ground.

Once you get to this position, rotate your upper body as far as you can while keeping your head straight. To optimize the rotation through your spine and not your hips, make sure to rotate over the leg that is out in front of your body when you lunge.

Now comes a power move!

Ever wonder how small statured golfer can hit the ball so far?

It is because they have the ability to create a tremendous amount of power. This exercise couples a lower body power move with an upper body rotation drill. It’s called a side hop (or jump) with rotation.

You’ll start on a single leg and jump laterally to the opposite foot.

You are generating power from the lower body and hips to propel your body up and off the ground.

When you land, you’ll immediately rotate your upper body in the direction you just jumped. The more force you put into the ground, the further you will jump.

Ground Force

Same with the golf swing. The more force you can put into the ground while swinging, the further the ball will go…if you hit it in the center of the club face that is.

Pro Tip: This is also a great exercise to perform as a warm-up. The amount of space you have in the hitting bay at the driving range is perfect to hop left and right in.

It’s all in the Hips

You ever hear that saying before? Well it’s true when it comes to creating a smooth golf swing.

Throughout the swing, the hip joints rotate both internally and externally in the backswing and downswing.

A very important move to “open” or improve mobility in the hips is called shin box.

To perform this motion start in the seated position on the floor. Have the feet flat and the knees bent.

From here, drop both knees as far as they can go toward the floor.

You’ll feel a stretch high in the hip joints. This means you’re on the right track.

To increase your mobility, lightly press the knees down. This turns on the deep hip rotators allowing for increased range of motion.

Repeat on the opposite side.

Just like the hips, the shoulder is a ball and socket joint.

This means they have the ability to move in many different directions. Without proper shoulder mobility and stability, a golfer will compensate through other body segments and potentially injure themselves or lose efficiency.

Either or, it’s not an area of the body you want to have restricted.

Again, like the hip, the shoulders move through internal and external rotation. Meaning it is very important to keep them healthy.

The goal post exercise is one that will do just that.

Start by standing in your golf posture. Then, raise your arms up where the elbows are in line with your shoulders.

From here, without moving the elbows, draw the hands back as far as they can go (external rotation).

This will create a goal post position.

Then move the hands down and under as far as they can go (internal rotation). Make sure to stay in your golf posture throughout the move.

This will properly warm up your shoulders and rotator cuff muscles and get you ready for your round.

If you’re looking to perform on the course and play golf for a long time…which I’m assuming you want to do…then get moving with these five very important exercises. They will help in gaining distance, playing pain free, and allow you to enjoy the game so much more!