15 Fitness Tips For Beginning Golfers to Use at Home

We all know the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise, right?

Golf has become a sport full of very fit and active people as it has been found that specific exercises and health habits can increase your performance out on the course! The repetition of striking a golf ball requires:

  • Muscular Strength
  • Muscular Endurance
  • Muscular Flexibility

Before we dive into some of the fitness tips, I just wanted to tell all of you that I do have a degree in Exercise Science, so I do know what I’m talking about when it comes to wellness and exercise. However, if you do have any movement restrictions or injuries, please consult with a medical professional before using my advice!  ????

What Muscles are Used in Golf?

A good golf swing requires the combination of strength, balance, and flexibility to perform on the course consistently. It’s not all about having the right golf equipment, your muscles need to be conditioned for play!

The key areas that need to be trained are:

Lower Body: Calves, hamstrings, quadriceps

Core: Abdominal muscles, pectorals, deltoid (shoulder muscles), lower back muscles

Arms: Bicep, triceps, forearm muscles

A complete training program will help activate and strengthen these muscles which help improve your golf game!

Frequently Asked Question About Exercise and Golf: Does lifting weights hurt your golf game?

The short answer is no. I recommend that on top of the exercises listed below that you also hit the gym to develop and grow your muscles. However, lifting heavy amounts of weight to build muscle mass will constrict the range of motion of some of your muscles during the golf swing which can hurt your distance and consistency. (Notice how many of the golfers on TV are pretty lean)

Using lighter weight and higher repetitions will help develop the muscular endurance needed tp perform at a high level on the course!

How to Use These Fitness Tips

The tips listed below are my 15 fitness tips to improve your golf swing. Most (if not all) of these exercises can be used at home, so there is no need to get a gym membership! I have included some instructional Youtube videos that will teach you how to perform the exercise. My goal for this article is to teach beginning golfers the impact that fitness has on your golf game. By implementing some of these tips into your daily routine, you will become more confident with your golf swing!

1. Stretch

Stretching is one of the most essential fitness habits that can help improve your golf game.

It is recommended that you stretch both before and after your golf round to:

  • Prevent pulled muscles
  • Provide better blood circulation to the muscles
  • Lengthen shortened muscle groups (helps improve golf posture)

Types of stretches:

  • Toe Touch
Toe Touch
Reach down as far as you can without buckling your knees
  • Shoulder Stretch
Shoulder Stretch
Put your arm across your body and hold your forearm, stretching each shoulder
  • Tricep Stretch
Tricep Stretch
Reach Behind your head and press down with your opposing hand to feel your tricep stretch
  • Rotation Stretches
rotations stretches
stand up straight and rotate to one side of your body keeping your lower body still
  • Quad Stretch
Quad Stretch
Lift your leg behind you and pull it up to stretch your quads
  • Calf Stretch
Calf Stretch
Put one leg in front of the other and push forward, extending you back leg to stretch the calf muscles

Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds

2. Diet

Now the goal of this article isn’t to sound like EVERY other fitness website out there telling you to eat your fruits and veggies! I’m sure you know that a proper diet is essential to muscle growth and the overall functionality of your body.

Just remember to:

  • Add more lean protein into your diet (fish, chicken, beans)
  • Avoid Fast Food restaurants and any processed foods at the grocery store
  • Develop an eating routine where you will meal prep for your upcoming week
  • Don’t eat access snacks before bed (increases caloric intake)
  • Drink more water ( I guarantee that you are not drinking enough)  
  • Try and eat smaller meals throughout the day and avoid overeating in one sitting (Improves metabolism)

Follow these simple tips, and you will have more energy and improved muscle coordination out on the golf course

3. Push Ups

One of the easiest and most effective ways to build up your upper body strength is to do completesets of push-ups throughout the week.

Push- Ups exercise your:

  • Chest Muscles
  • Core Muscles
  • Tricep Muscles
  • Forearm Muscles

Here is an example of a push-up exercise routine you can implement:

  1. Monday: 4 sets and 10 repetitions
  2. Tuesday: Rest
  3. Wednesday: 4 Sets and 10 repetitions
  4. Thursday: 6 Sets and 8 repetitions
  5. Friday: Rest
  6. Saturday: 6 Sets and 10 Repitions
  7. Sunday: Rest

Note: This is just a sample exercise program to help build up your upper body muscles. When you can no longer make full motions when exercising, switch to the “modified” position to help your muscles recover.

Golfing Benefits: Having a strong core and upper body is essential when trying to add “power” to your golf swing.

4. Sit Ups

To build strength in your abdomen, start adding sit-ups to your daily routine.

Start with 5 sets of 10 repetitions with a 60-second break between each set

Golfing Benefits: Having a strong core is crucial when trying to have a consistent golf swing and you will see improvements in your:

  • Ball contact
  • Swing Speed 
  • Golf Posture

5. Wall Sits

The large muscles of your lower body (quads and hamstrings) are what generate the clubhead speed. NOT THE ARMS!

Start with 4 sets with 30 seconds hold time. Rest 1 minute in between sets

 

Golfing Benefits: The lower body generates much of the power through the golf swing increasing your clubhead speed (aka distance!) Psst… Learn how to hit more fairways here!

6. Lunges

Lunges are an effective method to build up muscle endurance in your quadriceps, calf and core muscles. (And butt muscles!)

Start with 5 sets of 10 repetitions with a 60-second break between each set

 

7. Power Walk

Speed walking can be a great way to condition your muscles and improve your cardiovascular system.

Power walking consists of walking as fast as you can without running. This increases the heart rate and makes the body have to use “fast twitch” muscle fibers to generate the speed.

You’ll see the best results if you power walk for 2 minutes straight and then take 30 seconds of rest.

Repeat this process for around 30-45 minutes to start to see results

8. Run

Similar to power walking, running is one of the best cardio exercises you can add to your training. Golf requires repetitive motions and a lot of body movement which can be draining to the body. Improving your cardio will add more stamina to your game, and there is no faster way of improving your endurance than implementing a light jog to y0ur weekly schedule.

I would recommend three jogs during the week where you run at least 20 minutes straight. If you can’t go this long, start out with less time and work your way up.

My best advice for people who don’t like to run is to make a playlist of your favorite songs and listen to them while you are on your run. It helps make running more enjoyable!

9. Oblique Twists

Oblique twists strengthen the sides of your core which are very important when making a golf swing.

Having stronger oblique muscles will improve your clubhead speed

Start with 5 sets of 10 repetitions with a 60-second break between each set

Golfing Benefits: As you probably know, much of the golf swing is created by the rotation of the upper body. The oblique muscles play a critical role in supporting your golf posture and an increased clubhead speed. 

10. Reverse Swing

A great way to increase your stabilizing muscles is to make reverse swings when training. (if you swing right handed, swing left-handed)

Start with 3 sets of 20 swings with the opposite side of the body. Take a 30-second break between sets

Golfing Benefits: This exercise is great to use when you need to stretch out and lengthen:

  • Oblique muscles
  • Hip Flexor muscles
  • Back Muscles

11. Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks increase your cardio and muscular endurance of your lower body

Start with 5 sets of 30 jumping jacks taking a 30-second break between each set

Golfing Benefits: A golf round can take a long time! After 10 or 11 holes, your muscles may start to get tired which may lead to inconsistent shots. Jumping jacks help with your overall muscular endurance so you can play at a higher level on the course.

12. Cycling

Cycling is a non-impact method to increase your cardiovascular system.

I would recommend that you cycle on opposite days where you run or power walk as not to “overstimulate” specific muscle groups.

It’s best to cycle 3-4 times a week for 30-45 minutes

13. Squat Jumps

Squat jumps are a great dynamic exercise the increases both your cardio and your lower body power.

Start with 5 sets of 30 of squat jumps taking a 30-second break between each set

Golf benefits: By jumping off of your squats, you will improve the explosiveness of your golf swing, adding more clubhead speed.

14. High Knees

The high knee exercise improves the muscular endurance of:

  • Your core
  • Your lower body muscles (mostly calf muscles)
  • Hip Flexors

Start with 5 sets of 30 high knees taking a 30-second break between each set

 

15. Tricep Dips

Tricep dips (as the name suggests) helps improve your core and triceps strength

Start with 4 sets of 10 repetitions taking a 30-second break between each set

Golf Benefits: Strong muscles in the arms will help with power and muscular endurance throughout your swing

Alternatives

The general summary of this post is to inform you that improving your flexibility, strength, and range of motion will help improve your golf scores! Now I know not all can perform these fitness tips listed above. This could be due to an injury, illness or constriction to your range of motion, AND THAT’S OKAY.

If you aren’t able to complete some of the fitness activities above:

  1. Start walking several times a week to help blood flow stimulate your muscles and improve your flexibility.
  2. Start slow! Don’t overwork yourself. Just by implementing various stretches and little workouts (ex. modified push-ups) into your daily routine, you’ll start to see improvements in your body’s performance!
  3. Ask a doctor or medical professional about various activities that you can start performing to improve your strength and flexibility.

Conclusion

I hope now you can see the importance that being physically fit has on your golf game!

The tips listed above have been proven to increase muscular strength, flexibility, and endurance. However, as I do not know your current health situations, my recommended repetitions and sets can be altered to whatever you feel most comfortable completing. Don’t overdo it! My goal here is again to help you develop new, healthy habits and routines that will help you get into better shape, thus improving your golf swing! Each of these tips should be added to your weekly schedule as they only take around 10-15 minutes to complete!

Thank for reading, and I know that these fitness tips will help your golf game reach the next level!

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