Before diving into what I view as 5 of the most common mistakes people make when physically training for golf, let’s have a quick recap of what exactly the job of a golf strength and conditioning program is.
Strength and Conditioning Program For Golf
In my mind there are three things that it really boils down to. There are others but if we really break it down, we can’t get too far away from these;
- Increase force production potential in the sporting action i.e increase Club Head Speed Potential
- Decrease injury risk.
- Make it easier to achieve desired swing mechanics.
When contemplating different training methods, and the adaptations that will arise as a result of them, ask yourself what effect will they have on the above criteria? By doing this we ensure that we can answer the “why” question that should be a staple of every strength and conditioning program for golf. If an exercise is not directly meeting one or both of the criteria above, then why is it in the program. Is it essential, or is it just time consuming “fluff”?
5 Common Mistakes
If you are not sure whether your training falls into this trap or not, below are 5 common mistakes that I have picked up on in a strength and conditioning program for golf.
Forgetting That Golfers Are Power Athletes
Old school golf tradition probably has a part to play in this, as golf wasn’t always seen as the most athletic of sports. This has obviously changed, and we now have many professional golfers with driver club head speeds in excess of 120mph. The sequence of power generation in the golf swing is remarkably similar to the sequence we see in many throwing and rotational events. Think of javelin throwing, baseball pitching, shot putting, tennis forearm shots. These are all incredibly athletic motions which demand high levels of power to be executed successfully. The golf swing is no different. Some of our training must seek to enhance the quality and force of the sequence we use to generate power. Great examples of this are things like medicine ball throws and various jumping exercises.
It should also be noted that power can often be improved by working on mobility, coordination, and stability, in people with a “low training age” i.e people who are new to strength and conditioning / physical training. Generally exercises which are actually training power will have to be employed for further benefits after the initial “newbie” training gains tailor off however. Power training is also absolutely critical for the older golfer as power drops off more quickly than strength or endurance as we age.
Trying To Practise The Golf Swing Rather Than Improve Physical Qualities
Golf is a sport played by individuals, who all have unique strengths & weaknesses, backgrounds, injury histories, and goals. With this in mind it is essential that as coaches we concentrate on the particular athletic needs of the individual, as opposed to training only things that resemble a golf swing. People need to be functioning well in basic fundamental movements before worrying about making training ultra “golf specific”. While golf strength and conditioning programs should include some golf specific movements these will be far more beneficial if one has first built a solid foundation in basic movements. If a client presents with poor movement quality and strength in fundamental movements like squatting, hinging, lunging, pressing, pulling, planking, jumping, and throwing you have found your starting point. Just because these moves don’t necessarily look like the golf swing does not mean they will not provide a huge amount of benefit. General qualities must come before specific qualities.
In summary….focus on transfer of training, not simulation of the golf swing.
Watered Down Training Stimuli
Don’t confuse effort with effect. The golf swing is an alactic activity lasting approximately 2 seconds, broken up by long periods of low intensity aerobic activity i.e walking between shots. Golfers never need to go into the glycolytic zone as their primary means of energy production, where high intensity efforts are carried out for long durations. By having an understanding of how our different energy systems work and interact, and referring to our underlying principles at the beginning of the article, it makes programs easier to design.
As an example let’s imagine a player who is in search of more club head speed and would benefit from creating more vertical force. In an effort to improve his vertical force production we prescribe….vertical jumps. This is half the equation, we have chosen the exercise, but now we need to prescribe an appropriate protocol. Most of the time I prescribe 3-5 sets of 3-6 reps, depending on the condition of the athlete. This allows the athlete produce close to maximal power on each jump, without much of a decrement in power output from jump to jump. 15-25 total jumps per workout split into sets of 3-6, at close to full power is great for improving maximal power. Not rocket science. Compare this with a different prescription but something commonly seen. 3 sets of 15+ jumps, or 3 sets of 30 seconds on 30 seconds off. The second prescription will seem much harder, and lead to much more fatigue, but will not be as effective for increasing the explosive power we are trying to work on. The fatigue accumulated will lead to too big a drop off in power production during the jumps, and turn it into a muscular endurance exercise. Even though you are trying your hardest, power production will not be very high due to fatigue.
Be clear and precise with the training qualities you are trying to improve, and don’t get too fancy with trying to combine them. Alactic, Glycolytic, and Aerobic energy systems have varying levels of importance for different sports. For the golf swing, which is a very short duration rapid power activity it’s all about the alactic system. 5 mins of walking between shots allows plenty of time for full recovery between swings.
To maximally train the alactic system we need near maximal effort on every rep, short duration sets, and adequate recovery between sets.
Allowing Strength Levels To Drop Off In-Season
There is a misconception that golfers should stay out of the gym while the competitive season is in session and leave their physical training until the off season. While physical training certainly needs to be carefully placed in the hierarchy of priorities, below practice and play, it must be included in the overall plan. High level golfers whether amateur or professional generally play long seasons, with tournaments usually 36-72 holes depending on standard of play.
I encourage all of my golf clients to keep up with their physical training throughout the season, but we modify it to make sure they stay away from muscle soreness and unnecessary fatigue to ensure their practice and play isn’t affected. By keeping a training stimulus in place we ensure that players don’t lose much/any of the strength, power, mobility they would have worked on more thoroughly in the less busy parts of the season. Additional benefits are that by staying conditioned throughout the season with regular training the golfer is less likely to pick up injuries, will more than likely have better energy levels throughout tournament play, and not lose any distance as a result of decreases in strength and power over the long season.
Great ways to keep strength levels high in season without getting too sore or tired are to vary exercises less frequently, decrease training volume per session , planning more demanding sessions in the days after a tournament has finished so it’s further away from the start of the next tournament.
“Majoring In The Minors”
This is a phrase I first heard from a well known strength training author Jim Wendler. It essentially means devoting too much time to things that aren’t really important, and not enough time to the basics and foundation that everything else is built upon. In my opinion too much of the training content I see online is over complicated, gimmicky, and not conducive to long term progression. Just because someone got a lot of retweets from standing on a Swiss ball swinging clubs with mini bands wrapped around ankles and knees doesn’t mean it should be emulated. Lots of these things look very impressive, and aren’t easy to do, but that does not mean they merit much training focus. Our focus should be developing quality movement, mobility, strength, and power in the fundamental movements mentioned above. While I certainly don’t believe golfers should train exclusively like strength sport athletes we must consider what the best stimulus we can provide with our training time is. Everything can have its place, but really consider it before adding it to a program.
Mastering the basics of mobility, strength, and power will never get old and transfer extremely well to the golf swing. Getting proficient in a simple movement like a split squat will improve mobility, strength, and balance, and can be progressed for long periods of time. This is a great example of something that looks nothing like a golf swing, but the training adaptations transfer really well to the golf swing. The same cannot be said for exercises that are more similar to clown tricks or circus acts.
In summary, don’t sacrifice principles for gimmicks and social media likes.
If you want to try a strength and conditioning program for golf, check out the The Fit For Golf App. Over 6000 golfers from around the world have used the Fit For Golf App to improve their golf game and fitness.
