New Year, New Approach

As we say goodbye to one year we say hello to another, full of good intentions, promise and hope. We set our new goals for the year and write our resolutions on how we aim to achieve these goals.

For many of you in the general golfing population a number of these resolutions will be based around your golf game. Whether it’s how you intend to reduce your handicap by 3 shots, drive the ball 20 yards further or win that coveted club trophy so you can proudly see your name engraved on the boards in the clubhouse?

Many of you will have different approaches to achieving these goals; visit the range more often, start having lessons with the Pro or invest in some psychology books to help you visualise that sub 80 round you so desperately strive for. All of these are good, positive approaches to helping you achieve those goals. However with a New Year why not try a new approach to improving your game with a golf-specific fitness programme?

The idea of introducing a golf fitness programme to an already busy schedule may seem unnecessary and a waste of time for many. Why would I need to improve my physical condition in order to improve my performance on the golf course? Well here’s why:

“Amateur golfers achieve approximately 90% of their peak muscle activity when driving a golf ball. This is the same lifting intensity as picking up a weight that can only be lifted four times before total fatigue. Yet golfers fail to consider that they strike the ball an average of 30 to 40 times a game with comparable intensity!”

Paul Chek – The Golf Biomechanic’s Manual

We know that the top golfers in the world, in particular Rory McIlroy, are all including physical conditioning programmes to their heavy schedules. If we consider this and the statement above shouldn’t we also start to view golf as a highly athletic event, where physical conditioning is important to our performance and improvement on the golf course?

Some of you may already be hitting the gym in a quest for better performance on the golf course, lifting those weights and running on that treadmill. But how do you see the benefits of this transferring across to your golf game?

Many standard exercise philosophies are built around weight training for increased muscle mass and cardiovascular exercises for VO2 max improvements, yet they do not include a functional component that will help you improve your mobility, stability, control, skill and timing that are all required within the game of golf.

“Golfers must consider themselves athletes and train using programs scientifically designed to improve integration and synchronization of the whole body.”

You may think that this all sounds well and good but a round of golf feels like a gym workout anyway!! After 18 holes you are tired and your back is sore from the long walk and bag carrying, what benefit from additional exercise would you see other than more pain?

Back pain and injury is a common occurrence amongst golfers, and even more so amongst golfers who participate in other sports. It is estimated that around 53% of male and 45% of females golfers suffer from back pain. (McCaroll, 1996).

Many golfers will play with this pain and take the good rounds with the bad, just being happy that they got the ball round another 18. There will be other golfers who aren’t able to play for stretches of time and may be regularly seeking therapists help to ease the pain.

But what if you could avoid all this and engage in a physical programme that will address the root cause of this injury and pain? Meaning that you can play better for longer, and start to enjoy the game again?!

A TPI screen can identify your areas of weakness and physical limitations, and from this a suitable physical conditioning programme can be prescribed to help you achieve your 2015 golfing goals.

For further information on this article or to arrange a TPI screening please email me rachael@dynamic-golf.co.uk.