To prevent injury (27%)
Because everyone else does (13.2%)
Common reasons for not warming up were:
Don’t need to (38.7%)
Don’t have enough time (36.4%)
Can’t be bothered (33.7%)
The researchers point out that, according to emergency departments and sports medicine clinics, golfers commonly suffer sprains and other overuse injuries as well as traumatic acute injuries, falls and impacts with golf balls. Pro-golfers have a higher rate of injury (lifetime injury risk of 89% compared with 57-62% for amateurs), but amateurs tend to have less well-conditioned bodies and therefore place greater stress on their musculo-skeletal systems during the golf swing.
An appropriate warm-up for golfers would include aerobic exercise to raise body temperature, followed by stretching the ‘golf muscles and joints’ (hands, wrists, forearms shoulders, lower back, chest, trunk, hamstrings and groin) and, finally, by a series of golf swings with progressive increases in the range of movement and vigour.
Strenght training for more power
Strength training has changed the nature of golf. It is no longer just a game of skill and finesse, but also of strength. Tiger Woods has revolutionized golf with his combined skill and strength. Over a year of weight training Woods added 20 pounds of muscle to his lean muscular frame. With this added muscle he had raised the level of golf to the point where par-5s are obsolete.
Strength training in the form of athletic-type lifting can do the following:
1) Increase driving distance by adding power of your swing
2) provide greater control and consistency in all aspects of your game
3) provide for greater stamina for playing the final 9 holes
(Strong muscles are more fatigue resistant then weak ones.)
4) Develop mind/body coordination for executing complex golf skills
as required for playing championship golf.
Effects of Strength and Flexibility Training on Golf Performance
A study performed at the South Shore YMCA evaluated the effect of an 8-week strength and flexibility-training program on physical fitness and golf performance in adults.
The Program: Twenty-two golfers were involved in the study: 17 people went through the program and 5 were control subjects. Nobody played golf during the 8-week period. To assess golf performance, everyone was tested for club head speed before and after the conditioning program. Other assessment included body composition, muscle strength, and joint flexibility.
The 17 participants performed 15 standard strength exercises and 6 basic stretches three times a week. One set of 8-12 reps of each of the strength-training exercises was performed. It took about 30 minutes to complete the strength training and 10 minutes for the stretching.
Results: The golfers who trained improved in all of their fitness measurements:
- 56% improvement in muscle strength
- 24% increase in hip and shoulder flexibility
- 4.1-lb. increase in lean weight
- 3.0-lb. decrease in fat weight
- 5% increase in club head speed
These golfers confirmed the improvement in their driving power during the following season with consistently longer drives.
The group of 5 control subjects who were tested but did not participate in the program recorded the same mean club head speed before and after the 8-week program
