"Adding Years to Your Life ...and Life to Your Years!"
Golf - Not Just a Sport - More a Way of Life
Golf is fast becoming the world's most popular sport with as many as 60 million participants worldwide.
As a Personal Trainer on the Costa del Sol / Costa del Golf (with the highest density of golf courses on
the European continent), I work with numerous Golfers passionate about their sport. So let me share with
you the secret of playing Golf WELL... ...and WELL into your golden years!
Get in shape to play your sport. Don't play your sport to get in shape.
Most club golfers think they get "fit" by playing golf. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Most players
do not walk the course at a sufficient pace to improve their aerobic fitness.
Furthermore, most club golfers step onto the first tee, fling their club around themselves 3-4 times as a
warm-up, and then fire their first shot at 85 to 100 mph. No wonder they get hurt!
The more diligent might practice their swing for hours, with the intention of working on their game. However
if your musculoskeletal system isn't conditioned for the extra strain, over-practicing a swing can do more harm
than good!
Sharing the Secret - Better Golf, Better Living
You see, unfortunately, "playing" and "practising" golf is not enough. You must treat your game and body like
the Golf pros do. You need to add proper and regular exercise to your routine.
However by understanding which specific exercises can improve your Golf game, you will also start to understand
which exercises are important for your general health and fitness, and for slowing-down age-related declines
in the body. In other words, the very same exercises that contribute to better golf also contribute to a better
quality of life, particularly as you age.
Exercise - how it can improve your golf game
Increases your driving power
Decreases your injury potential
Increases your satisfaction with the game (better golf, lower scores)
Allows you to play without feeling fatigued and to stay focused
Allows you to play more often (as you recover quicker from playing)
Keeps you playing well into your golden years!
Exercise - how it can improve your overall health and vitality
(provided you walk the course!)
Walking 18 holes = 3 miles +, particularly if you don't hit the ball straight every time!
Helps maintain your lean muscle mass and basal metabolic rate
The balance & coordination involved keeps you agile
Wards off degenerative diseases and maintains functional independence
Decreases anxiety and tension, which helps regulate blood pressure
Reduces total cholesterol & increases the good high density lipoprotein cholesterol
Valuable relaxation time close to nature for renewed energy and vitality
Social atmosphere (playing in groups of 2,3 or 4 plus tournament play)
Quite simply exercise can add years to your golfing life, and life to your golfing years!
The Role of Exercise in the Modern Game of Golf
There is perhaps no single action in sport that requires more overall muscular strength, joint flexibility, and
movement coordination than a perfectly executed golf swing.
Today's top young players are leaner, more muscular, and more flexible than the generation of golfers before them.
Muscle Suppleness
In my view, this is perhaps the most important requirement. I watch many "seniors" on the coast practise their
swing through a limited range of movement.
Individual restrictions in one's body can prevent the golfer from doing what the teacher, video or golf magazine
tells them they must if they want to improve their game. What the pro sees as a swing fault is often only the
manifestation of how the golfer attempts to compensate for a limitation.
In addition, injuries can keep golfers off the course for long periods and eventually force retirement from the
game. Stretching is vitally important to ensure that your body can move through the range of motion required
in the golf swing without causing excessive stress on the muscles or joints.
Tight muscles lead to shorter drives, so you must increase your flexibility if you want to play - and live -
comfortably. Smooth, coordinated movements lead to consistency in your swing.
What's more, arthritis is the major affliction for individuals over 50+ and recent research suggests, that
many incidences could be prevented if people took time to stretch.
However, simply hitting balls at the driving range won't increase your mobility or loosen your tight muscles.
You need a daily stretching and mobility routine to find comfort on the golf course - and afterward.
One simple mobility exercises is this. Kneel on your knees and hold your driver behind your back so that it
is resting between your elbows. Place your hands on your hips. Your knees should be shoulder width apart or
just fractionally inside. Your posture is the same as it would be if you were addressing a shot.
Now turn your shoulders as much as you can to the right or as you would normally do on your backswing. When
doing this let your left hip turn to the right with your turn. Your knees should not move and expect some
resistance down your left-hand side. Repeat 12 times BOTH sides. This drill can add power to your backswing.
Muscle Strength and Endurance
In golf, it is important to maintain your spine angle for a consistent swing. This means you remain bent or
tilted at the hips. This requires sufficient strength and flexibility in your hamstrings, abdominals and lower
back. If any of these are weak or tight, you will struggle. The result is often off-centre hits, less distance,
errant shots, and post-Golf soreness in the back!
To strengthen your hamstrings, try lunges. Take a big step forward and drop your bodyweight onto the front
leg and let the back leg knee almost touch the ground. Keeping your body upright, return to the starting position.
Repeat 12 times on both legs.
Optimal Golf also demands adequate strength in your shoulders and arms, as these connect your golf club with your
body's "core". Plus by strength-training 2-3X a week, you will also help combat age-related loss of muscle mass,
and increase your bone mineral density.
Muscle Balance and Agility
The golf swing is a motion that involves all parts of your body. Force is transferred from the ankles, to the
legs, to the back, to the shoulders and through the wrists. So the smoother the transfer of force - the better.
Hence it is important to build "whole-body" exercises into your programme, often on unstable surfaces, to encourage
"movement efficiency" and co-ordinated actions between muscle groups.
Not only will this add a level of consistency to your game, balance and agility is key in later life, to prevent
falls and similar accidents.
Cardiovascular Fitness - Keeping Body Fat Levels Down
Without a cardio component in a golfer's training routine, fatigue often sets in and limits the quality practice
time required to make lasting changes in the golf swing. Concentration levels also drop towards the end of a game.
Tired, unfit golfers practice faulty movement patterns that can take over for correct golf techniques. These
improper movement patterns practiced when you are tired may influence your swing when you are fresh and rested.
The best thing we can do for our health is to keep any excess weight off. For a Golfer, a potbelly will also
affect the centre of their swing. Not convinced? Simply look at the top 10 Golfers in your country. All have
narrow hips, a flat stomach, wide shoulders and a strong back. Such conditioning is all geared towards
maximising distance and consistency in their drive.
Get In Shape for Golf! Get In Shape for Life!
Without regular exercise a golfer finds their strength, mobility and agility, so vital to the game, gradually
diminish with age. By improving their strength, mobility, co-ordination and aerobic fitness, a golfer can
expect to have better control over their body across 18 holes, thus optimizing their swing mechanics and accuracy,
resulting in fewer "miss-hits" and lower scores.
So through combining golf practise with golf-specific conditioning exercises. I guarantee not only will you look
and feel years younger... you'll also have a good chance to beat some of the younger players you might get
paired with!
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