It might sound like golf fitness training is hard, sweaty, and a lot of work. Not like that has to be. I'd be lying if I said it was easy and you wouldn't have to put in a little effort and keep at it to see results.
But what I'm trying to say is that it's easy to do a Golf fitness training programme. You don't need much equipment, and you can do it at home or even at the office.
How ?
With just a stability ball, some exercise tubing, and a pair of handweights. All in all, your "total golf fitness gym" will cost you less than $60. That's about the cost of a one-month membership to your local club, which you'll go to once or twice and then never again (but keep paying every month).
Get out of your head the image of the "muscle-bound" hulk lifting hundreds of pounds with one arm, slamming it to the floor, and making the famous LOUD GRUNT to get people's attention.
No, you'll use bands, balls, and handweights to do golf-specific exercises that will help your golf swing right away. For sports conditioning or, in this case, golf fitness training, you have to use your body in space, balancing, stabilising, and timing your movements in the same way you do when you swing a golf club.
The direct link means that your drives will be longer and more accurate, you'll hit more greens in regulation, and you'll beat the pants off of your playing partners when you leave the course.
This is the best example of "instant gratification"!
What about no more hurts? I'm not joking! Pains and aches were finally gone. Forever! A body that is stronger and more flexible will be much less likely to hurt itself or feel pain. And as a bonus, you can swing "easier" and with much less effort, but the ball will go much farther and more straight. It will feel like you are "out of your body."
A couple of warnings!
If you hear about or see programmes that claim to be golf fitness training, but the golfer or trainer is using basic gym equipment, this is NOT golf fitness training. Without a doubt, this is "general fitness." Not a bad thing in general, but it won't help your golf game.
Using a stability ball, tubing, and handweights, you can imitate many parts of a golf swing and work on your core stability, balance, and muscle endurance at the same time. All of these are important to getting the best swing mechanics for 18 holes.
And it's fun to use them. You'll never get board. You can always make it harder by making it harder to balance or keep stable.
Just try to get one of those "muscle-heads" to lift the same heavy weights they do on a stability ball. Call for help, because things are going to get bad very quickly.
Most people who go to the gym to work out never test their proprioceptive awareness (or simply...using their body in space). This is the secret to playing good golf.
If you can strengthen your core stabilisers and make them more flexible, you'll be on your way to a great game of golf. You'll be the envy of your foursome for sure.
So don't be afraid to start training for golf fitness right away!
