Angus Golf Courses Tips to Best Prepare For Golf Season
The annual ritual of the start of golf season is coming up fast. If you want to have a better season than last year (fingers crossed!), then here are some tips for preparing in advance. And I am not simply talking about getting your golf shoes out of the garage to clean them off. Rather, you need to prepare your body itself for golfing.
Many people see the game of golf itself as part of their fitness efforts. That's fine to a degree, but what is even more important is getting your body ready for the new season after a winter of neglect.
And for those who ride the course in a cart rather than walking, and then pack away a couple of cold drinks after the round, the fitness element can be almost non-existent. If your body is capable, I encourage you to save the money and global-warming contributing emissions from your golf cart usage, and take to the fairways by foot this year.
But before the season starts, there are several ways to prepare your body for the rigors ahead. The goal is to get you ready to handle the lengthy time standing and walking on the course, and to gently build muscles that are used frequently in golf.
So we are looking at stamina and aerobic exercise to prepare for the lengthy golf course, and flexibility and key muscular training for longer drives, more accurate swings, and general mid-body strength. None of this involves the heavy weight lifting that body builders do. Rather, the key is to gently strengthen the muscles worked repeatedly in the asymmetrical, repetitive game of golf.
Rotational and hip flexibility, shoulder strength, and the muscles of the lower back all make up the unique swing of each golfer. And working the legs and lower back will also reduce those spasms that can result from long days on the links. If you have spent all winter stuck in a cubicle like me, then a pre-season warm-up is essential.
Don't feel intimidated by the time commitment, because you can perform many of these exercises during your lunch break, or at home in the evening in front of the television. You also don't necessarily need to break a sweat doing most of them. The rotational power in your torso relies on the hips, buttocks, thighs, abdominals, and lower back muscles all working in coordination. So begin by stretching those core areas. Later you can begin strength training, but still maintain the emphasis on the core power zone areas.
The core area is all the bones, muscles, and ligaments between your chest and your knees. Hundreds of exercises and variations can help you work your core, including abdominal crunches, gentle trunk rotations, gentle torso twists, lower back stretches such as "cat" arches and hunches, hamstring stretches, and side rotations using resistance.
Be sure to start slowly if you have led a sedentary existence during the winter months. The risk is that you may injure a core muscle, and your golf season would be pushed back by several weeks. Take a few minutes to warm up before each strength building session, using whatever aerobic method you prefer such as a treadmill, elliptical trainer, or stair climber.
I'll outline some specific exercises in another article, but the key is to get started early! Don't wait until the day before your first tee-off of the season. Get going on some of these easy, brief, daily exercises well in advance of when you will need them, and you will reap the rewards of greater torso strength, and stamina to play well from tee-off to final putt.
Morgan Fobbs is a golf lover and expert teacher. For more great advice and to get an absolutely free copy of a report that is guaranteed to take strokes off your golf game, click the link now to forever alter your golf world view.Angus Golf Courses: Angus Golf Courses
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