Warming up and stretching are just as important as hitting some shots before a round. There is a great way to do it and it only takes 10 minutes.
How many times have you run to the first tee and just swung a couple clubs to warm up? How about raced to the range with your cart to slam a small bucket of balls?
I’ve done both and… I warm up about 4 holes into the round. That’s less than ideal.
Major Rotational Centers
We have four major rotational centers in our body. Those are your neck, shoulders, thoracic spine and hips. Those joints and the muscles that attach to those joints must function properly for you to be at your best going into a round of golf.
Warming up and flexibility are key. Especially the older you get. Note: I’m older and regularly had lower and upper back stiffness / mild pain from playing golf. Stretching, and doing these exercises helps a lot.
My golf game is better because of it.
Make sure exercise is appropriate and OK’d by your doctor. I exercise at the pace and with the range of motion that I can handle.
Here is a 10 minute warm up I try to use every time I play golf. It’s a great overall warm up. I add using a small foam roller and loosen up my glutes and hamstrings. There is a foam roller video below. I carry a beach sized towel to sit on for some stretches or one quarter inch thick exercise pad works well outdoors also.
Warming up makes a big difference.
Working out at home
You can do pretty much anything you need to do with exercise bands and a foam roller.
I have a half inch thick exercise mat for stretching on the floor. I’ll list other stuff I use as well.
for more resistance
Just a note: It’s much better to follow along with a professional trainer or doctor in a video.
Here is a great YouTube channel ULaunch Golf Fitness that goes into golf related stretching and exercise in detail. I like all of the videos.
I’ve had a history of lower back, hamstring and thoracic spine stiffness so I focus on those exercises and stretches weekly and fill in with the others.
Videos
This is a list of stretching and exercise videos I use. I don’t do all these every time. It’s good to change things up.
Just A Band (Resistance Band Workout of Golfers)
Thoracic Spine (From a Chiropractor)
Back and Hip specific stretches 15 minutes
Back and Hip specific stretches 30 minutes
Dynamic Stretching with John Rahm
Golf Digest Mike Boyle – Hip Mobility
Golf Digest Mike Boyle – Saves Your Shoulders
Exercise and stretching items
All of this stuff is from the videos above.
Note: You may want to look for kits that include several of these items together to save money. I bought everything separately over time. Some were kits with multiple bands, etc.
• ★★★★★ Exercise pad 1/2 inch
• ★★★★★ 4 different kinds of resistance bands- heavy duty (super) bands, tubing bands with handles, thin ankle bands and one short tube band with a handle on both ends 20 inches. One or more of the kits I bought includes a device to lock one end of the resistance band in a door to pull against.
• ★★★★ Two foam rollers: One foot and three feet long. (The longer one works better for your upper back) I take the little one to the course for rolling out my hamstrings and glutes or use it at home for my lower legs and arms. (Do Not use foam rollers on your lower back. My rule is rib cage to upper back only
• ★★★★ 2 hard rubber lacrosse balls – Some muscles you can’t get at with a foam roller. (Good for getting knots out of hard to reach places. Like my upper back muscles or small muscle areas around your hips)
• ★★★ One 8x12x2 inch Yoga block. To kneel on or to put my head on.
• ★★★Two 6x9x4 inch firm rubber Yoga blocks to sit on or brace on.
Note: All of the band kits come with at least five different strength bands. I normally use the two easier bands for resistance training. You can always work your way up to stronger bands.