Callaway Golf Fitness Tips: Power Golf

Callaway Golf Fitness Tips: Power Golf: Training for more power on the course doesn't have to involve heavy weights or explosive ballistic workouts. For most golfers, a more po...

Power Golf

Training for more power on the course doesn't have to involve heavy weights or explosive ballistic workouts. For most golfers, a more powerful swing can better be achieved through establishing a balance between improved posture, core and extremity strength, balance, functional stability and mobility. 

That's why developing a more powerful swing is more safely and effectively achieved with a combination of golf-specific strengthening exercises that blend the golfer's own body weight against gravity with a gradual progression of free weights plus customized flexibility and functional mobility training directed at critical body regions that are most contributing to the full golf swing motion.

Here are three great examples of 'functional' strengthening exercises that specifically can help build more swing speed and power into your game. Do these  exercises 3 to 5 days a week to strengthen your power muscles and improve your golf-specific joint motion for a stronger swing and more distance off the tee. 

1) Side Split Squat:

• From a standing position on a a firm, flat surface, spread your legs as far apart as you can comfortably. 
• With your arms held straight in front of your chest, shift your weight to one leg and slowly sit back onto your one leg. 
• Emphasize moving your hips backward rather than pressing your knees forward as you squat onto your one leg. 
• Hold this 'side split squat' position for 1-2 breaths, then slowly transfer your weight to your opposite leg.
• Continue moving slowly back and forth from one leg to the other for up to 20 reps, and do 1-3 sets.
• As you get stronger and the exercise becomes easier at slower speeds, gradually increase the speed of your 'side split squats' but make sure that your full squat motion doesn't shorten.  

Purpose: Improves flexibility of your hips, knees and lower back while gaining strength and power in your larger golf muscles ... thighs, buttocks, and calves. 

2) Golf Squat:

• From a standing position with your feet positioned wider than shoulder-width apart on a firm, flat surface, hold a 5-10 pound dumbbell with a hand-over-hand grip. 
• Slowly bend your hips and knees and lower your body into a full squat position (as deep as comfortably possible).
• Hold the full squat for 1 breath then slowly rise your body up and twist your upper torso to the right while bending your elbows and raising the weight in your hands over your right shoulder.
• At the top of your twist, your hips should be facing to the right, with your weight over your right foot and your left heel off the floor. 
• Hold this full list and twist to the right for 1 breath, then slowly return to the starting position and repeat the 'golf squat' to the opposite side.
• Repeat up to 1-3 sets of 20 reps.
• As you get stronger and the exercise becomes easier at slower speeds, gradually increase the speed of your 'golf squats' and increase the dumbbell weight as you are able.

Purpose: Improves flexibility of your shoulders, spine, hips, knees and lower back while gaining strength and power in your larger golf muscles ... chest, shoulders, thighs, buttocks, and calves ... and promotes greater club control from the top of the full swing through impact.

3) Power Rotation with Clap:

• Stand in your proper golf-address posture with your arms hanging vertically down from your shoulders and your palms touching together (like you're praying)
• Keep your left arm pointing straight down toward the ground as you bend your right elbow and slowly rotate your upper torso to the full backswing position.
• Then swing your right arm down as fast as possible, clapping your right hand with left your left to make the loudest 'clap' sound that you can make with your open hands.
• Do 20 reps and repeat the exercise in the opposite direction.

• Then, from your golf address posture, bend both elbows in front of your chest so your elbows and shoulders are bent to the 90/90 degree position in front of your chest.
• Slowly begin to rotate your upper torso right and left keeping your arms 'in front' of your chest as you rotate.
• Repeat 20 upper body twists gaining speed gradually until you are rotating as fast as you can by the 20th rep. 

Purpose:  Increases explosive power from trunk (core) rotation muscles.