Golf Fitness & Conditioning

This whole “golf fitness” thing is a relatively new gig.

It wasn’t long ago that golfers weren’t considered athletes.

When I started working in the strength and conditioning field  over 20 years ago, there wasn’t a single coach in this country recommending that golfers actually train, eat and live like serious athletes.

Boy, how times have changed (Thank you, Mr. Woods).

Although there are still a few examples of successful golfers on tour who shun the idea of health and fitness, there numbers are dwindling (instead of their waistlines).

I get asked on occassion, “is it possible to be a top level professional and NOT be in good shape?”

The answer is obviously YES, as exemplified by the guys and ladies mentioned above.

However, the question that begs to be asked (and so I will) is this – just how close or far are they from their true peak performance potential?

In other words, just how good would they be (or would you be) if they stopped relying so heavily on just their athletic skills, and got their overall health, fitness and performance levels up to par (bad golf puns are a weakness of mine).

So, can a golf fitness routine really improve YOUR golf game?

Heck Yes!

Think about it… it is YOU that swings the golf club.

Your golf instructor is fighting a constant battle, in that they are usually attempting to get your body to do something that is NOT a natural movement.

Unless you are in the small minority of people these days (like 5%), then you most likely have any number of imbalances within your body.  Some muscles are too tight, while others are too loose, and some maybe “shut down’ completely.

These are not character flaws, mind you, just the reality of our everyday life.

Your golf instructor then has two options:

1)  force your body into positions which it is incapable of going (at least without injury)

2)  adjust your swing i.e. create a compensation for you.

Option #1 is NOT recommended.

Option #2 can work to some degree.

However, realize that a compensation is a compromise.

And a compromise means that you will NEVER reach your true potential.

I don’t know about you, but I think that sucks.

So this is where golf fitness comes to the rescue.  By balancing and stregthening your body for golf, your instructor will no longer be forced into creating compensations for your swing because of your physical limitations.

Combining over two decades of one-on-one work with hundreds of golfers and my relentless study with both the top organizations in the world for golf fitness, and more holistic health models and paradigms, we have come up with the major facets of the Renegade Golf Fitness System:

Flexibility & Posture

It is crucial that you begin your golf fitness program with an assessment of your current flexibility, range of motion and postural status.  If you have imbalances between muscle groups, or differences between the same muscles on the right and left sides of your body, this will create shearing forces, torque and compression on your spine and tissues.  You don’t need a medical degree to know that none of those sound good for your performance or longevity in golf.

Stability

Creating a solid foundation is a key element in preventing injury and enabling you to generate power with your long clubs, and consistency with your short ones.

Strength

The next phase is to develop “functional” strength.  This means performing exercises that have a more direct carry-over to the links.  In general, this translates into more time on your feet in the gym, and less time siting on machines.

Power

Although power is the holy grail for many golfers (especially us guys), it is actually only of value once the above three training phases have been adequately completed.  In simple terms, power is strength + speed.  This training phase is a lot of fun, because it involves fast rotational exercises and throwing stuff around.

Warning!  Do NOT skip any of these steps… Do not pass Go, and keep your hands off the $200! 😉

Everyone wants to jump right into the strength and power phases on day one.

At best, you will build up some strength, but be unable to fully utilize it, resulting in frustrating inconsistencies.  At worst, you will end up injured and unable to play at all.

A comprehensive and effective golf fitness plan will take into account your current level of health and fitness, and then systematically balance and strengthen your body based on proven scientific principles and the specific demands of the sport of golf.

On this site you will find resources to assist you along every step of the way.  Use our search navigation, or browse through the categories off in the right sidebar.

And as always, if you have ANY questions, please contact us… we are here to help.

Now let’s get fit, and get after Old Man Par!