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Golf Tips
By: Jon Ligrow
When people think of golf, they normally don’t think about fitness to drop a few strokes off your
game. Golf is a sport and its participants are athletes. Golf and fitness have both been a big part of my
life and I can tell you first hand that the better shape you are in the easier the game becomes. Golf re-
quires strength, power, flexibility, balance, core stability, body awareness (coordination), and endurance.
That being said strength training is important for golfers. I will go over a few exercises that can help to im-
prove your game. First exercise is the squat. The squat is a great compound movement that helps build sev-
eral muscles in one movement. A strong base will give you more power and help you to hit the ball farther. A
strong core will help you with balance and trunk rotation in the golf swing. Fore your core I recommend
planks and russian twists. I DON”T recommend situps because they can be bad for your neck and back if not
done correctly. Another good compound movement for upper body strength is the overhead press. The over-
head press will build strength is the shoulders and upper back and can help produce a powerful golf swing.
Flexibility is also another important factor. Be sure to warm up before each workout and stretch af-
ter every workout. Even on the golf course you should always warm up and stretch before playing.
Lastly, I want to talk about endurance. Golf, especially for high schoolers, can be very exhausting because
we don’t have the privilege of caddies or carts to carry the clubs for us. We have to be able to walk up and
down hills with weight on our backs for four or more hours. It’s very hard to hit a golf ball when you are wind-
ed from walking up a hill. So, in the off-season be sure to keep up on your cardio training. If you like us-
ing a treadmill put the incline up to 4-5%. If you prefer to be outside, find some hills to walk/run. You can also
use a weighted vest. If you don’t have a weighted vest, put some weights in a backpack and walk some hills.
These are just a few of the things that will help to improve your golf game. Golf is a game that you
can enjoy for a lifetime, and the better shape you are in the longer you will be able to play the game.
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