What’s the biggest difference between how you play and how the pros play? Some say shotmaking. Others say course management or short game. What about flexibility? Flexibility allows for full range of motion as well as the potential to reach maximum length and power. If you want to improve your distance and outdrive your partners on the course follow these golf tips on flexibility.
One area you can work on to improve—especially as you get older—is your flexibility. PGA and LPGA players tend to have great flexibility. Some of them are just naturally flexible. Others work hard it and develop it over time. Increasing your flexibility might not sound like a big deal, but it is. Flexibility helps you do three key things: maintain your posture, rotate correctly, and execute an in-balance swing.
One area you can work on to improve—especially as you get older—is your flexibility. PGA and LPGA players tend to have great flexibility. Some of them are just naturally flexible. Others work hard it and develop it over time. Increasing your flexibility might not sound like a big deal, but it is. Flexibility helps you do three key things: maintain your posturs, rotate correctly, and execute an in-balance swing.
Below are six stretches you can do to improve your flexibility. Doing these stretches can help you generate the kind of flexibility needed to make big gains in your swing. That, in turn, can help you hit straighter, more accurate shots that can lower your typical score and your golf handicap:
- Hip Extension — Place one knee on the ground and extend the others as if you were lunging while bracing against a club, a barbell, or a stick, etc. Now push your hips forward slowly while keeping your upper body upright. Hold for 15 seconds and repeat. Switch legs and do two more reps. This exercise improves posture and stretches your hips, producing more swing speed.
- Hip Extension with shoulder rotation — Use the same setup as above, but place the club outside your lead leg and to the side). Make sure you grab the both with both hands, so your shoulder is rotated. While the club is planted, push it away. Hold for 15 seconds and repeat. Switch legs and do two more reps. This exercise simulates a complete body turn into a stable lower body. It’s a good way to improve rotation.
- Hip Extension with T-spine rotation — Use the same setup as the first exercise above, but hold the club over your head. Now rotate your upper torso toward the lead leg. Maintain balance and keep the club parallel with the ceiling. Do five reps quickly but hold the last for 15 seconds. Switch legs and repeat. This exercise increases your range of motion in your thoracic spine (upper spine), allowing you to swing in balance.
- Torso Toner — This exercise strengthens your lower diaphragm—a good step to boosting flexibility. Have a friend stand behind you with his or her fingertips just below your waist. Take a 20 to 30 percent deeper inhalation than normal (without lifting your shoulders) and try to exert ample pressure on your friend’s fingertips. Repeat ten times every day. And added benefit that comes with this exercise is that it increases the flow of oxygen to your muscles.
- The Sidewinder — Stand with your back against a wall and your feet spread wide. Extend your arms and place them against the wall. Then, while keeping your legs planted, slide your upper torso and arms down the wall by bending to one side. Hold the stretch for five deep breaths and repeat to the other side. This stretch increases torso turn and arm extension.
- The Scissor — Lie on your back and place a rope or fitness band on the ball of your right foot. Arch your foot and gently pull your leg and foot forward while keeping your knee locked, with help from a band. Hold the stretch for two seconds then release. Do eight repetitions, then repeat. This stretch improves your lower body stability and knee flex.
These are great stretches to do daily. You can do them at home or on the road wherever you have space. And with the golf season shutting down for the winter in many areas, winter is a good time to incorporate them in your daily routine.
Working on these six stretches boosts flexibility. Increasing your flexibility does three things for you: It helps you maintain your posture, rotate properly, and swing in balance. Improving these areas using these golf tips will help you not only break 80 but also cut strokes from your golf handicap—all without swinging a club.
