This routine is a quick and easy way to get your body prepared for golf practice or play, or working out. It can also be done as a daily mobility routine.
On the Fit For Golf App there are much more in depth warm-up and mobility routines, plus strength and power routines. This FREE routine is just to give you a taste.
I recommend performing 10 exercises of each exercise for 1 or 2 sets. On the exercises where there is movement in two different directions, do 10 reps in each direction.
Note: Save this link to quickly access the warm up for future use.
Targets: Hamstrings and back
Instructions: Extend your arms overhead and reach back behind you as far as you can. Pause for a second, then bend forward and reach towards the ground. A little bit of knee bend is fine, but try to keep it limited so that you get a nice strength on the hamstrings. Don’t worry if you can’t get all the way there, just go as far as you can. Pause for a moment, and repeat the full movement. On each rep, try to go a little bit further than the last.
Targets: Ankle, knee, hip joints, and the surrounding muscles
Instructions: Set up with your feet a little bit wider than shoulder width apart, with your toes turned slightly outward. Keeping your heels on the ground, drop your hips as low as you can. The dowel rod (or golf club) can be used to relieve some of the pressure on your lower body, help keep your torso more upright, and increase the depth to which you squat down. Pause for a second or two in the bottom position, then return to the start position. If you struggle with depth in this exercise try putting a 2x4 or book under each heel. If you feel up to it, you can also remove the stick being used for assistance.
Targets: Pelvis & Torso separation, oblique & hip mobility.
Instructions: Set up in golf posture and lightly press a stick or golf club into the ground. You can also put your hands on a table or the back of a chair. This will help keep your upper body anchored in place. From this set up position, simply rotate your pelvis as far as you can left and right. There will also be some movement at the knees. In general, this is an exercise that elite golfers tend to be able to do extremely well, but less skilled golfers struggle with. This is partly due to coordination and partly due to mobility. Both can be improved with practice.
Targets: Pelvis & Torso Separation, thoracic spine rotation
Instructions: Set up in golf posture then back up a couple of steps until your glutes touch the wall. The wall will give you feedback about the movement of your hips. Rotate your chest as far as you can in each direction keeping both of your glutes on the wall at all times. You will find that as you turn to the right, your left glute will try to come off the wall, and vice versa. In this exercise we are trying to isolate thoracic rotation aka shoulder turn, so we do not want this to happen. Many people are surprised with how little shoulder turn they have when they isolate it in this fashion. Improving this will likely be beneficial for your golf swing.
Targets: Shoulder mobility
Instructions: Keeping your elbows extended, perform an arm circle through as big a range of motion as you can. Try to have your bicep clip your ear on each rep. Notice the slow and controlled tempo in the video. This is a common exercise, but one often done in a fashion that results in no mobility benefit. Perform the movement slowly and with control, challenging the range of motion at the shoulders as much as possible in each rep, keeping the elbows extended, and resisting arching at the lower back.