Tee Time Training: 5 Exercises to Boost Your Golf Game
When spring comes around and the weather starts to get nicer, many golfers are start to think about getting back on the course. Before golf season is in full swing, it’s a great time to prepare your body with golf specific exercises that improve strength, mobility, balance, and control. The right movements can help increase swing power, improve rotation, and lower the risk of common golf-related injuries, so you can feel ready and confident when you step onto the tee.
1. Thoracic Spine Open Books
How to Perform Exercise:
- Lie on your side with your hips and knees bent.
- Extend both arms straight out in front of your chest.
- Keeping your bottom arm still, slowly rotate your upper body and open your top arm toward the floor.
- Let your head follow your moving hand and keep your hips in place.
- Hold for a few seconds, then slowly return to the starting position.
Video Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e71IP2SLrRc
Benefit of Exercise for Golf:
Thoracic open books help improve upper-back rotation, which is important for a smooth and powerful golf swing. Better thoracic mobility can make it easier to rotate through your backswing and follow-through without putting as much stress on your lower back or shoulders. This can help golfers move more comfortably, improve swing mechanics, and reduce stiffness before playing.
2. Rotational Ball Toss
How to Perform Exercise:
- Stand sideways to a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
- Hold a ball with both hands at chest height.
- Rotate your upper body away from the wall.
- Rotate back toward the wall and throw the ball using your hips and core.
- Catch the ball, reset, and repeat.
Video Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hraVGjB1yTY
Benefit of Exercise for Golf:
Ball rotational throws help golfers develop rotational power, which is important for generating speed in the golf swing. The movement trains the hips, core, and upper body to work together, similar to how power is transferred during a swing. It can also improve coordination, explosiveness, and follow-through control, helping golfers create more force while staying balanced.
3. Glute Bridges
How to Perform Exercise:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent.
- Contract your buttocks to lift your hips off the ground until your trunk is aligned with your legs.
- Make sure to engage your core as you lift your hips off the ground.
- Hold for 5-10 seconds.
- Slowly return to the initial position and repeat.
Video Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUgsJ8-Vi0E
Benefit of Exercise for Golf:
Glute bridges help strengthen the glutes and hips, which are important for creating power and stability in a golf swing. Strong glutes help support better hip extension, weight transfer, and lower-body control during the swing. They can also help reduce stress on the lower back by improving how the hips and core work together.
4. Squat
How to Perform Exercise:
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your chest up and core engaged.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees as if sitting into a chair.
- Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or as far as comfortable.
- Push through your heels to return to standing.
Video Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pg2PeH9U_Y
Benefit of Exercise for Golf:
Squats help build lower-body strength, especially in the glutes, quads, and hamstrings, which gives golfers a stronger and more stable base during their swing. They also improve balance, posture, and control, helping with weight transfer from the backswing into the follow-through. Stronger legs and hips can help generate more power while reducing extra strain on the lower back.
5. Pallof Press
How to Perform Exercise:
- Attach an elastic band around waist height and grab it with both your hands.
- Slightly bend your hips and knees so you are in a slightly squatted position.
- Engage your core and press the band out with both hands so your arms are extended in front of your chest.
- Hold this position, resisting the pull of the band, not letting your torso rotate, for 5-10 seconds then bring the band back into your chest.
Video Demonstration: https://sosphysiotherapy.ca/weeklyexercises/the-pallof-press-by-jennifer-rioux/
Benefit of Exercise for Golf:
Pallof presses help strengthen the core by training the body to resist rotation. This is useful for golf because it improves stability and control during the swing, helping golfers stay balanced while transferring power from the lower body through the torso. A stronger, more stable core can also help reduce extra stress on the lower back.
Unlock Your Golf Performance with Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy can help golfers of all skill levels improve performance, reduce pain, and prevent injuries. Here are some of the key benefits:
- Improve mobility: Increase flexibility in the hips, shoulders, and thoracic spine to allow for a smoother, more efficient golf swing.
- Build strength and stability: Strengthen the core, glutes, and legs to generate more power, improve balance, and maintain swing consistency.
- Improve balance and coordination: Better balance promotes a more stable swing and improves accuracy.
- Increase rotational power: Target rotational strength and coordination to help you hit the ball farther with greater control.
- Prevent injuries: Identify movement limitations, muscle imbalances, and swing-related stresses before they lead to injuries.
- Recover from golf injuries: Physiotherapy can help treat common golf injuries such as low back pain, golfer’s elbow, shoulder pain, wrist injuries, and knee pain.
- Personalized exercise program: Receive a customized plan based on your mobility, strength, goals, and any current or previous injuries.
- Return to golf safely: Whether recovering from an injury or surgery, a physiotherapist can guide your return to playing while reducing the risk of re-injury.