Golfers are athletes, and damn good ones at that. Playing golf at a high level requires a ridiculous amount of hand eye coordination. A surprising level of cardiovascular fitness (don’t forget these guys walk like 7 miles in a round), and the mental fortitude of a Tibetan monk walking across a bed of hot coals.
Professional golfers can also mash the fuck out of the ball. Dustin Johnson is averaging 315 yards off the tee this season and Rory McIlroy can hit his 3-metal 370 mother fucking yards. Granted it’s in Colorado. But still, 370 yards is a long fucking way to send a golf ball careening through the air. It’s also no secret Dustin and Rory get after it in the gym. If you’re looking to take your game to the next level this summer here are the top exercises you should be doing.
Deadlifting:
I’ve written about the many reasons you need to deadlift before (insert link here), but deadlifting has a very specific benefit for golfers. The golf swing is a very quick motion, and involves a strong snap of the hips. Deadlifting is a hip dominant exercise that builds strength and power throughout the hips, back, shoulders, ass, hamstrings, and core.
Golfers also depend on having strong glutes. Just listen to Tiger Woods’ latest press conference and hear him lament about not getting his glutes firing. For a golfer to truly blister a drive 300+ drives, they need strong glutes. Deadlifts are the just what the Doctor ordered.
Pull ups:
Part of the reason why professional golfers have so much length is they have generally developed a huge amount of back and lat strength. It’s no secret that as golfers have started getting more into fitness, they’ve seen extensive benefit from cranking out pull ups.
Pull ups are a top notch exercise to build strength in the lats, forearms, shoulders, and even work the abs. All things that golfers need. By having strong lats and shoulders golfers will have more control, and be able to swing harder. Good news when you’re trying to reach a long par 5 in two.
Suitcase carries:
This one is unconventional, but might be one of the most important exercises for all golfers. A suitcase carry involves just picking up a weight on one side, and walking. Exactly like you’re carrying a suitcase. It’s a fantastic exercise for your obliques, and this is where it has benefit to golfers.
Golfers need strong obliques. This gives them the rotational power to drive the ball 300+ yards. Suitcase carries work well because the obliques are trained best for strength through anti rotational exercises. Golfers do plenty of rotational work just by swinging the club violently, but they don’t do enough strengthening work by making the obliques fire just to keep the body upright.
Dumbbell bench press:
There isn’t a better chest development exercise than the dumbbell bench press, but it also delivers huge benefit to golfers out there. Towards the point of impact the pecs have to fire, and fire hard. If you’ve got strong pecs this will lead to more power, which means more yards.
Dumbbells are a better choice here for most golfers as it allows for greater range of motion, better chest development so your pecs look better in those ill-fitting golf shirts, and the small stabilizing muscles in the shoulders have to work harder.
Ab wheel roll outs:
Golfers who plan to get it past the ladies tees need strength in their core. Ab wheel roll outs are one of the best abdominal exercises there is to build power, and maintain flexibility in the core. The act of having to stretch the abdominals out completely, and then force them to retract the entire weight of your body is incredibly stressful. Which means it gives huge benefit to those who are looking to get their Rory on.
Weighted lunges:
Leg strength is huge for golfers. But if a golfer can squat 500lbs and can barely stand on one leg, then they’re pretty well fucked. This is exactly why weighted lunges are so important for golfers. Lunges are a great exercise to developing strength in the quads, hamstrings, and ass muscles. At the same time they force the body to balance under load. This benefits golfers greatly because balance is such an important part of golf success.
Weighted lunges, either with a barbell or a dumbbell are the best possible way to develop strength throughout the leg, but also prepare you for the off balance stance when you’ve missed the fairway.