The golf swing is a complex, athletic movement that requires strength, power and flexibility. The best golf workout program is one that addresses each of these areas.
The Two Factor Approach to Athletic Performance
First of all, it’s important that we make some distinctions.
While the golf swing is indeed a complex movement, that does not mean golfers should train any differently than other athletes who need strength, power and flexibility.
I believe golfers should follow what is known as the Two Factor Approach to athletic performance.
This approach completely separates the fitness training from the skill development of the sport itself.
This approach is quite a bit different than what we see in contemporary fitness, where the fitness training often seeks to mimic the movements of the sport.
The world of golf fitness is probably the leader of applying this “functional” style of training, as there are many exercises promoted by golf fitness trainers that mimic all or parts of the golf swing.
In my view, this is a flawed approach to training.
As mentioned, golfers, like other athletes, need strength, power and flexibility.
These exercises that mimic the parts of the golf swing fail to significantly increase strength, power, or even flexibility.
Why? Because they are movements that can’t be loaded with significant weight, can’t be performed with speed, or simply don’t promote much increased flexibility.
Do they have a place in a golf fitness program? Sure, some of them, eventually.
The best golf workout program will therefore focus on these areas separately from golf skill development.
In other words, golfers should build strength, power and flexibility in the gym, and develop their golf skills at the golf facility.
Strength training for the best golf workout program
The best and most efficient way to train for strength is by training compound movements with barbells.
Compound movements are those that involve multiple joints and muscle groups.
The four best exercises for building general strength are the squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press.
We also like to add in a couple other pulling movements, such as bent over rows and pull-ups to round out our training.
You will notice that there are no exercises that focus specifically on the “core.”
The core can be defined as the area between the middle of the thigh and the solar plexus.
Golf fitness trainers love to focus on the core since it is heavily involved in the golf swing. They create a wide variety of exercises to focus on the core.
The two best exercises for training the core are the barbell squat and the deadlift, yet they are largely ignored by the golf fitness community.
Why? Because eventually, they can be loaded with significant weight, and the muscles of the core are heavily involved in both exercises.
With that said, once you get generally strong, THEN you can focus on some more golf specific movements to build a little extra power.
And, if you want a little more conditioning for the core, then exercises such as planks, leg raises and Russian twists are good exercises.
I go into much more detail about a basic barbell program for golfers here.
Mobility and flexibility training
While you are going through a basic strength training program, it is perfectly ok to work on improved mobility and flexibility.
Mobility and flexibility training is helpful to increase and maintain the range of motion in your golf swing.
The bigger swing you can produce with good fundamentals, the greater potential you have to hit bombs off the tee.
A good general stretching program combined with a few other exercises will do the trick. Yoga is awesome as well.
You can find a great beginner Yoga routine here that will really help with your overall mobility and flexibility.
Perform this routine twice each week and it will pay big dividends.
My Strength and Fitness Program includes a full stretching routine and a few other mobility exercises that are very helpful.
Power training to increase club head speed
Jump Squat
The last type of exercise that is included in the best golf workout program is power training.
Power training is effectively a combination of strength and speed exercises.
The absolute best exercise to develop power in your golf swing believe it or not is sprinting.
Sprints are employed by virtually all athletes who compete in sports where power plays a significant role.
Sprints can also be performed at virtually any age, as long as you are in good general health.
Plyometric exercises such as jump squats are also great for developing power in your golf swing.
Lastly, this is where some of the “golf specific” exercises can be incorporated.
These are actually not golf specific, as they are applied in other rotational type sports such as throwing a discus or shot put.
Medicine ball throws against a solid wall are one such exercise you can do just about anywhere.
Grab a 10 to 15 pound medicine ball, and stand fairly close to the wall so you can catch the ball when it bounces off the wall.
Do three or four sets of 10 reps in both directions. If you perform this exercise consistently, once or twice per week, it will help you develop more power off the tee.
Exercises not included in the best exercise program for golf
I would argue that there are numerous exercises I see demonstrated by tour pros with their fitness trainers that I think should be thrown in the trash bin.
First up is any sort of exercise performed while standing on a bosu ball.
The idea with these exercises is to help you develop balance.
Well, if you can squat 200 pounds without falling over, you have good balance.
Also, unless we are playing golf during an earthquake, we are hitting our golf shots on a stable surface. Bosu ball exercises are a complete waste of time.
The golf fitness community is in love with cable exercises that mimic the golf swing in one way or another.
One exercise I see demonstrated often, is an exercise performed with a cable with one arm. This is demonstrated in the photo.
You won’t see those exercises in the best golf workout program. Why?
Because they are generally useless to the development of general overall strength, which is what the vast majority of golfers need.
Final thoughts
The best golf workout program is one that incorporates general, legitimate strength training, mobility and flexibility training, and power and speed training.
When properly programmed, this training will turn you into a better prepared athlete. You can then focus on practicing golf with the rest of your free time.
The best workout program for golf is one that keeps things simple, rather than give you dozens of exercises to perform each week.
Nobody has time for that. Golfers barely have time to fit in general strength training to begin with.
Given that I was once a competitive golfer, my program considers your time constraints and general need for greater strength and mobility.
You can check that it here… Strength and Fitness Program.
Now, get to work!
