Want to add 20 yards to your drives, hit crisper irons, and chop strokes off your golf handicap—all without taking a single golf lesson: Workout at least three times a week. Many professional golfers workout religiously, including Tiger Woods. When he’s not practicing, playing, or penning golf tips, he’s working on his body with golf exercises. Tiger works out anywhere from 2 to 10 hours a day.
Check out these golf exercises below:
If you’ve never worked out, joining a health club is a start. Many have exercise machines, aerobic equipment, personal trainers, and day care centers—all under one roof and for a reasonable cost. Some clubs have too much exercise equipment. They could probably do with less. But having all that equipment attracts new members. Many health clubs also have free weights.
But if you’re not into health clubs, working out with free weights in your home is another option. Personal trainers are divided on what’s better—free weights or exercise machines. Many say free weights. Free weights, they say, provide a better workout because they improve stability and muscle coordination. Both are crucial to a solid golf swing. For those who prefer using free weights, we describe five golf exercises you can do at home. Do three sets of 12 repetitions each for each of these golf exercises.
Dumbbell Bench Press
Lay on a workout bench with weights in both hands. Now raise and lower your arms one at a time. Change arms. Replace the bench with a physio ball for a more intense workout. The alternate-arm dumbbell bench press strengthens your chest, improves balance, and stabilizes your core. It also increases range of motion in your shoulders and wrists. This exercise replaces chest press machines.
Dumbbell Lateral Squat
Stand up strait with weights in both hands. Now move laterally by pushing off to the same side with your left foot. Then straighten up. This exercise strengthens your legs and increases flexibility in your hips and groin. Stronger legs and flexible hips and groin allow your lower body to move properly when swinging. They also decrease torque on your lower back. Keep your back flat when doing this exercise.
Medicine-ball Throw
Stand perpendicular to a wall while holding a medicine ball waist high. Now swing the ball to the right while moving into a semi-squat position. Then transfer your weight to your left side by standing and rotating toward the wall. Throw the ball at the wall. Now switch sides. This exercise increase power and strength. It also decreases the torque on your spine that a trunk rotation machine delivers.
Abductor Pulls with Stretch-tube
Insert both feet through a stretch tube. Lift your leg off the ground and stretch it out sideways as far as you can. Hold your right leg steady. Reverse legs. Abductor pulls strengthen your hips, downswing power, and foot stability. They also help prevent swaying when you swing. Adductor and abductor machines train these muscles in isolation. They also restrict the range of motion of your hip rotators.
One-legged Romanian Deadlift
Stand up straight with weights in both hands. Now bend over forward on your right leg until you create a straight line from left ear to left ankle. Pull through your hip to return to standing position. Reverse sides and do the exercise again. One-legged deadlifts strengthen your hamstrings, glutes, and hips. They also improve balance. You may need to flex your ground leg slightly to do this exercise. It replaces hamstring curls with a machine.
Working out can take your game to the next level. It’s why we stress exercising in our golf instruction sessions. When Tiger Woods isn’t playing golf, he’s working out. He knows the benefits of working out. So do many professional golfers—both men and women. If you want to chop strokes off your golf handicap without taking a single golf lesson, get off the couch and work out.