Your golfing technique and performance doesn’t all come down to the equipment you use, instead you have to put the time and effort in to become the very best you can be.
Sure, you can buy yourself the most expensive clubs, ensure you have spare trolley batteries from Pure Drive Batteries and look like a well armed pro but you still need to work on that swing and get down to the gym regularly (yes, that’s right, it’s cardio time) if you want to master the game.
Let’s say you want to complete an 18-hole course in good time to get back to the clubhouse for drinks later. Stamina will help you zip round the course in no time, as well as improve your drive.
Golf is a sport. All sports require a certain level of fitness for you to excel at them and the easiest way to enhance your golfing performance is by improving your cardio. Fit a cardio workout into your fitness routine, two to three times a week, if you’re serious about improving your game. This could involve heading to the gym to use the cross trainer and sit down bike for 45 minutes or even heading out for a 30 minute jog in the evening while dinner cooks.
That’s the first step. Next you need to ensure your joints are supple and muscles are flexible to improve your swing – and avoid injury. To encourage this, a yoga class might help, if you can touch your toes after three weeks just think how loose your shoulders will feel and how fluid your swing should be as well.
Working your core and side muscles will improve your range of motion, which in turn allows for a longer back swing resulting in increased force and velocity. Here are some golfer specific poses to try out for yourself, if you don’t fancy signing up for a class.
Before starting a game you need to also ensure you are warming up to improve your overall performance. Golfers who enter the green and don’t allow themselves time to warm up and stretch are going to cause themselves an injury and upset the quality of their game. It takes around 15 swings for muscles to feel warmed up enough to go through a full scorecard.
Protecting your back will also improve your golfing performance, back injuries are commonplace in golf because people don’t ensure their flexibility and stability are in check. A great tip is to perform 80-90% of all training exercises standing up, to improve your core and upright stamina.
Finally, stay hydrated while out on the green – those who don’t top up their water intake while exercising will find that they feel sluggish after a few rounds. It’s also a good idea to avoid a big meal before any game – feeling full while doing any exercise is going to reduce the quality of performance.
Now it’s time to head to incorporate some cardio into your routine, dabble in some yoga and work on that core to improve your fitness and your performance out on the course. Don’t expect results immediately, it might take a couple of months to start noticing any drastic changes, keep going and you’ll soon start enjoying the game even more.