Being one of the most technically complex games, golf needs immense stability as you hit the ball on and off the tee. However, just like any sport, this motor control isn’t easy to achieve until you train and strengthen your body properly.
Looking into the complexities involved amidst the game, here are 10 exercises for a better golf swing you can follow on a daily routine to get the necessary outcomes. All the workouts included have been bundled up based on pure research and suggestions given by experts of the field, and will surely help to achieve a good level in the sport if followed regularly.
So let’s get straight into it:
10 Exercises for Better Golf Swing
- Do some squats
Well, many of our amateur golfers mistake golf for just the “arms work”, without realizing that your lower body components are the ones providing stability as you swing the club. So until you strengthen them enough, you can’t have a better and accurate swing to achieve great distances. Moreover, the stability of your body is also compromised, resulting in considerably poor shots. With squats performed regularly, you can strengthen your lat and quad muscles along with thoracic spines, ultimately resulting in a straighter and more stable posture.
How to?
- Stand up on your feet having enough area between them to provide perfect stability.
- Keep your back as straight as possible, while bending your knees and lowering yourself to a level that your quads are completely parallel to the ground.
- Hold for a minimum of 5 seconds and then return to a standing position.
- Perform 3-4 sets and 8-12 repetitions on a daily basis.
- Pelvic Rotations
You can’t just ignore the significance of your hips’ stability while making a perfect swing. Since they help to keep the body up straight and strengthened throughout the shot, an immense force is applied to them for a few seconds. Therefore, it’s another exercise to ensure they remain highly firm as you play your perfect shot.
How to?
- Lift your one leg while holding your golf club firmly on the ground.
- As you feel stable, rotate your pelvis to its last limits in both directions, towards and away from your upright leg.
- Perform at least 30 rotations on each leg every day. Also, you can use this as your warm-up exercise before the game. It will result in more control n your shots.
- Slow sit-ups
Unlike the traditional sit-ups, consider these as their Slo-mo versions with a bit of modification. Instead of holding your hands behind the neck, in these sit-ups, you will hold them upright with a nice and slow motion. Moreover, it will require better strength, so you are rest assured that your core muscles are completely engaged during the process. By doing this regularly, you will feel a huge difference in how your torso reacts to each shot!
How to?
- Sit on your back, keep your back straight, bent the knees, and strengthen the arms right above your head.
- Now as you keep your feet firmly flat on the ground, gently and lower your back towards the ground with your hands upright.
- Keep your back and arms straight, slowly sit again.
- Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions a day.
- Windshield Wipers
This exercise is used to restore the normal motor control of the lower back muscles. It plays a huge role in improving internal hip rotations that have a great role in shaping your swing, especially the forward motion, which decides where your clubface is going to sit on the ball. It will greatly reduce the probability of slice, and will make sure you play the shot as per your desire!
How to?
- Lie on your back and bend your hip and knees at exactly 90-degree to each other.
- Now place both of your fists between the legs and try separating your feet away from each other, while keeping the knees and hands in contact with each other.
- You can tie your knees with a belt if you want.
- Perform 3-sets of 15 repetitions on daily basis to have complete benefits of the exercise.
- Do some Superman Stuff
Well, you must be thinking it’s some tuff ultra-arduous exercise, but it’s not! All you need to is just to lie flat on your stomach and do some, well, superman styled stuff? Anyway, it plays a huge role in strengthening your back muscles to reduce the probability of any injuries. Of course, you must have come face to face with the condition at some point in your game. And if not, then better not! Follow the below-given steps to elevate your back muscles’ strength.
How to?
- Lie flat with your stomach facing the ground.
- Keep your arms and legs completely straight in their respective directions.
- Lift your arms and legs from the ground with just the stomach in contact. Hold them for 3 secs and drop them down. This will count as one repetition.
- Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions a day.
You can hold them for longer to develop a better tension endurance.
- Shoulder Wall slides
Shoulder wall slides are one of the best among 10 golf exercises for better golf swing as it will minimize or almost eradicate the upper back and shoulder mobility restrictions, consequently allowing faster, smoother, accurate, and effortless swings.
How to?
- Stand firmly with your feet at a distance of 12 inches from the wall and place your back on the wall.
- Firmly stick your butt, shoulders, and head against the wall, but don’t arch your back.
- After that, simply put your forearm and elbows against the wall.
- Slide your arms in an up and down direction slowly. Make sure that the motion is in a completely controlled condition to make benefits out of it.
- Try pinching the shoulders together during the downward motion.
- Perform 3 sets of 5 repetitions daily.
- Sword Pulls
Sword pulls will help you keep the club in the correct plan as you make a backswing. Here’s how it is performed:
How to?
- Begin with standing exactly in golf posture.
- Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and get your left hand behind you.
- Now rotate your shoulder internally so that your right hand thumb points towards your left hip.
- As you do this, simultaneously move the weight away from your body and keep the thumb externally rotating so that it is pointing towards your body.
- Perform 2-3 sets of 15 repetitions.
- Leg swings
Leg swings are a useful exercise in reducing the stiffness of your hip. As a lot of power is sucked up from the area during your back and downswing, it’s important to strengthen it and increase its mobility. If the exercise is done properly, the results can be rewarding!
How to?
- Hold support for balance and stand with your feet at least a shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your torso straight and stretch one of your legs apart and move it back as far as you can.
- Repeat 10-swings for each leg and do it 3-sets a day.
- Cable wood chops
This exercise is beneficial in strengthening the overall parts of the body that comes into action during one complete swing, therefore it will help you to build strength and greater mobility in the core, shoulders, and back area.
How to?
- Begin with attaching handle at the topmost setting of the cable machine
- Stand next to the machine in the golf posture, with your feet a shoulder-length apart.
- Grab the handle with both hands with your arms fully extended.
- Pull the handle across your body, just the way you swing a golf club.
- Perform 10 repetitions of 3 sets daily.
- Handwalks
This exercise is done to prevent the golfer’s elbow as well as to prevent other injuries primarily used due to stiff shoulders.
How to?
- Start with standing up firmly with your legs slightly apart.
- Bend forward at the waist and gently ground your hands.
- Now when you’re on all fours, Gently and slowly walk your hands in a pushup position. The motion should be done in a highly controlled manner.
- After that, walk your toes towards your hands while keeping the knees completely straight.
- Repeat for a total of 10 times until you feel the stretch.
As the exercise is a bit arduous, doing one set a day will do!
Want to become a better player on the course? Check out our comprehensive 12 tips on how to become a better golfer.
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I am Kelsie J. Associated with the golf industry since 1998. I am here to provide you with some of the most unbiased and host golf product reviews along with gossips, news and latest happenings in the world of Golf.