Many “athletes”, or weekend warriors on the golf course, may be quite surprised to learn that most all professional and collegiate golfers consistently work to build and maintain fitness and strength for the game of golf. For decades and decades the best golfers in the world couldn’t care less about their fitness level. Stories reported that Arnold Palmer would mow lawns in the off season to stay strong. Gary Player actually seemed to be an odd duck for being so concerned about his health during the 70’s. But until a certain golf icon appeared, golfers were much more likely to be found getting smashed at the bars rather than smashing some PR’s under the bar at the gym. Once Tiger Woods took the golfing world by storm, players realized that maybe becoming fit would pay off if they could hit a ball like Tiger. Now I’m not insinuating that Tiger’s success is attributed to just his fitness, but it wasn’t hard to see that it gave him a definite edge.
The first point to address in becoming a fit golfer is that, like most all sports, fitness for golf is dependent on many aspects of fitness such as; flexibility, strength, cardiovascular health, etc. However, in most studies evaluating the effects of a fitness program on the golf swing, the change in swing speed is the measured variable. Which makes sense, name one golfer who doesn’t want to hit the ball farther. A systematic review of 13 studies evaluating the effect of fitness programs on golf performance concluded that fitness has a positive effect on the golf swing. A study on amateur female golfers compared the difference in effects of tradition resistance training programs to golf specific training programs found that both styles of fitness training produced positive effects for the female golfers.
Fitness in golf has become so popular that the golf equipment company, Titleist, is profiting off of this trend. The Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) is a qualification many sports trainers now obtain to attract clients from the golf sector. In the TPI program, beginners are screened for swing fault based on fitness tests. A scientific study conducted on the screening program showed that at least three of the fitness screenings could significantly predict a fault in the golf swing (p-value < 0.05).
Another important impact related between fitness and golf is to not think about fitness improving the game of golf, but to also see that golfing can improve a player’s health in life. A scientific review was conducted to examine the relationship between physical and mental health to those who play the game of golf. It was determined in the review that golf provides benefits in strength maintenance and cardiovascular health, and it suggested the healthcare providers should encourage patients to participate in the game to obtain these benefits.
The image about shows the 2016 PGA Tour Player of the Year, Dustin Johnson, performing a balance and strength exercise.
I can personally testify how greatly strength training alone improved my abilities as a golfer. Golf specific training programs (dynamic strength, ground force training, and cardiovascular fitness) have taken my game to an even higher level as well. There’s two important takeaways I would like readers to realize from this blog post. First, if you are a golfer of any level that is looking to improve your skill, you really should spend time in the gym acquiring some strength and endurance. And second, if you are a person who is looking to have an enjoyable excuse to get away for several hours and improve your health, you should really consider picking up the game of golf. But please, realize that you should be walking and not driving a golf cart.
Resources:
Smith, C. J., Callister, R., & Lubans, D. R. (2011). A systematic review of strength and conditioning programmes designed to improve fitness characteristics in golfers. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29(9), 933–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.571273
Murray, A.D., Daniels, L., Archibald, D., Hawkes, R.A., Schiphorst, C., Kelly, P., Grant, L., & Mutrie, N. (2016). The relationships between golf and health: a scoping review. Br J Sports Med. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27697939.
Hegedus, E.J., Hardesty, K.W., Sunderland, K.L., Hegedus, R.J., & Smoliga, J.M. (2016). A randomized trial of traditional and golf-specific resistance training in amateur female golfers: Benefits beyond golf performance. Phys Ther Sport, 4(22)41-53. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=A+randomized+trial+of+traditional+and+golfspecific+resistance+training+in+amateur+female+golfers%3A+Benefits+beyond+golf+performance
Gulgin, H.R., Schulte, B.C., & Crawley A.A. (2014). Correlation of Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) level 1 movement screens and golf swing faults. J Strength Cond Res, 28(2), 534https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Correlation+of+Titleist+Performance+Institute+(TPI)+level+1+movement+screens+and+golf+swing+faults.
The Dynamic World of Golf 