Barbell Squat
The second most important way for a golfer to train to hit longer drives is by getting stronger. The two best exercises to help golfers get strong are the low bar barbell squat and the deadlift.
Combined, these two exercises train far more muscle tissue than any other exercises.
Since they engage the most muscle groups and muscle mass, you are able to lift the most weight with these exercises.
The world record for the deadlift is 1,105 pounds and the world record for the squat is 1,080 pounds. There are no other exercises that come close to this amount of weight.
Muscles used in golf swing
To understand why these exercises will help golfers the most, it is important to understand which muscle groups are active in the golf swing.
Obviously, for the vast majority of golfers, the muscles in the legs are most active in the golf swing (not including paralyzed golfers, or those who’ve lost legs to injury or illness).
The calves, quads and hamstrings are all actively engaged in the golf swing, so it only makes sense to develop strong legs if you want to hit longer drives.
The glutes are what connect the legs to the torso, and they are very active in the golf swing.
Next, we have the lower back, abdominal muscles, hip flexors and obliques.
And then the muscles of the upper torso, the lats, traps, shoulders, arms and pects, round out the rest of the muscle groups engaged in the golf swing.
In other words, the golf swing is a full body movement pattern that ultimately transfers power from the ground all the way out through the hands.
The squat and the deadlift together train nearly every muscle group engaged in the golf swing.
Yet, the vast majority of golfers never train them.
This is out of fear, bad information, and a lack of ability among many fitness trainers to teach the movements properly.
As a result, many exercises prescribed for golfers only involve dumbbells and resistance bands.
This is interesting, because competitive long drive athletes actually embrace both exercises in their own training.
I’ve always had the view that we should copy the things that successful people do and discard the noise.
The general public is afraid of doing squats and deadlifts because the medical community tells them those exercises will destroy their backs.
Nothing could be further from the truth. When performed correctly, these exercises STRENGTHEN the back, which plays a crucial role in the golf swing.
Furthermore, these exercises effectively mimic and load natural human movement patterns. We often squat down and stand back up (particularly when using the bathroom!), and we often bend over and pick things up.
Training for strength
When you want to train for pure strength and get much stronger in the shortest amount of time, the squat and the deadlift give you the most bang for your buck.
This is why these two exercises are the cornerstone of any legitimate strength training program.
To train for strength, we generally focus on performing these lifts within a lower rep range (1 to 6 reps) with heavy weight.
However, this does not mean that you should start out training heavy right away!
If you are untrained, or you haven’t trained for a few years, it is necessary to start out conservatively. This allows you to get comfortable with the movement patterns.
Initially, we train both exercises, along with a pressing movement such as the bench press and overhead press, three days per week.
With each successive workout, we add some weight to the bar. Our body then adapts to the added stress by getting stronger, assuming we eat well and get enough rest.
Here is a basic routine for training for strength:
Workout A Workout B
Barbell Squat Barbell Squat
Bench Press Overhead Press
Deadlift Deadlift
Sets and Reps
For the squat, bench press and overhead press, we want to perform three working sets of five reps.
For the deadlift, we will only want to do one working set of five reps.
Before we do any working sets, we want to warm up first.
I recommend getting the body warm by jogging in place and doing some jumping jacks for a couple minutes, followed by some light stretching.
With each of the lifting exercises, we then want to perform a few warm up sets with a focus on our form, before getting to the working sets.
Sample Workout – Bench Press
Set 1 – Empty Bar – 10 reps with focus on form
Set 2 – 100 pounds – 5 reps
Set 3 – 115 pounds – 3 reps
Set 4 – 135 pounds – 1 rep
Set 5 – 145 pounds – 1 rep
Set 6 – 155 pounds – 1 rep
Sets 7-9 – 175 pounds – 5 reps
For the warm up sets, you only rest for the time it takes to change the weight on the bar. For the three working sets, you will rest for about 2 to 3 minutes.
If you start out very conservatively with your weights, then 2 minutes is all you should need. Eventually, as the weight on the bar increases, you will need much more time between sets.
Sample Workout – Deadlift
Set 1 – 135 pounds – 5 reps
Set 2 – 155 pounds – 3 reps
Set 3 – 175 pounds – 1 rep
Set 4 – 195 pounds – 1 rep
Set 5 – 205 pounds – 1 rep
Set 6 – 225 pounds – 5 reps
Adding Weight
For the first couple of weeks, you should be able to easily complete 5 reps for 3 sets for each exercise (except the deadlift), adding weight to the bar with each workout.
If you are completely untrained, and over 50, you may only be able to add a couple of pounds to the bar for the pressing movements and five pounds for the squat and deadlift.
If you have trained before, you may be able to add ten pounds to the squat and deadlift each workout for a week or two, then drop back to five pounds.
After a couple weeks or a month, the weight on the bar for the deadlift may be significant, and you will want to then start training it only every other workout.
Consider a different pulling exercise when you get to that point, such as pull ups or chin ups.
Final Thoughts
Assuming you’ve made some decent changes to your golf swing, the next best way to hit longer drives will be to engage in legitimate strength training.
The squat and the deadlift are the two best strength exercises for golfers.
If you are ready to embark on legitimate strength training to hit longer tee shots, then I recommend you check out my training programs.
Also, if you plan on training from home, check out my article regarding the necessities for a home golf gym.
Now, get to work!
