When getting a few extra yards and taking a few strokes off our golf game, no fancy new driver or revolutionary new golf ball seems too far-fetched.
But what if I told you you can get even better results from proper preparation? Armed with a pro-warm-up routine and a little know-how, you could add a dozen yards to your drive and take several strokes off your scorecard.
Follow these ten simple tips and get those scores you’ve been dreaming about.
Tip #1: Warm-Up
I wish two draft beers and half a cigar were a warm-up, but it is NOT. Full body movements are great, including trunk flexing, extending, and rotation. Other dynamic warm-up moves should target hip rotation in all directions. Lastly, ensuring that your shoulders are prepared for all parts of your backswing and follow-through will provide an excellent first shot from the tee box.
Tip #2: Hydrate
Being only 10% dehydrated can lead to a loss of up to 5% of your ability to produce power.
That means that if you’re used to hitting your 9-iron 130 yards, you’ve lost 7 yards. Do you like hitting that 5-iron 180? Not anymore: Now you’re only hitting 170. Any good golfer knows how important being on your distances can be when trying to beat the course. Knowing how far you will hit your clubs if you are not adequately hydrated is hard.
Tip #3: Get Fueled Up
If you think hydration is essential for athletic output, you’d better understand how vital proper pre-golf nutrition is to your success. Golf is a marathon with bouts of some pretty explosive movement mixed in throughout a lot of walking and strategizing. If you don’t have a good base of calories and blood sugar, it’s like driving from D.C. to Maine on only half a gas tank. It’s not going to be pretty.
Tip #4: Keep on the Gravy Train
It’s so easy to get lost in the competition of the game of golf. The excitement of good shots. The frustration of duffs and slices. It’s all any of us can do to keep our heads together. Now, try limiting your brain’s energy source during a round, and the mental game gets much more challenging. Try something as simple as some trail mix, an energy drink, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Any or all of these will keep your mind sharp and your muscles purring.
Tip #5: Be Strong
This isn’t necessarily something you can do before each round of golf, but it should be at the forefront of your mind if getting better at golf is the goal. There are so many strength-building activities that I can’t even begin mentioning them here. But as long as you know that strength is built in the offseason, sped up in the preseason, and hopefully maintained in some manner during the season, then you’re ahead of the game.
Tip #6: Be Flexible
Another result of a regular golf-specific training program. You won’t see a lot of actual flexibility gains from a few stretches before a round of golf. You will feel a much more prepared nervous system and joint mobility, translating to your golf game as pure and efficient mobility. This is key for anyone trying to beat a course, break a distance mark, or get through a round without nagging aches and pains.
Tip #7: Be Coached
Lots of people play golf with little technical skill. Many folks are good athletes or have played sports their entire lives, but things seem to change when they pick up a golf club. We find that their athletic experience doesn’t transfer. As a lifelong baseball athlete, I can speak to this frustration firsthand. Few things are more frustrating than having difficulty hitting that little white ball lying on the ground.
But put me, or any other experienced athlete, back into their familiar setting, like holding a baseball bat, tennis racquet, or a basketball, and things feel right again. Once you get a pro to look at you, swing a club, and help you refine some of your technique… well, we’ve all been there. Contact us if you haven’t found a solid coach, and we’ll help you find one. We know all the best coaches in the area because they send their best to us.
Tip #8: Be Hardened
Sometimes toughness counts. Playing sports is difficult. Sometimes, pain is part of progress. Knowing the difference between “good” and “bad” pain starts in off-season golf-strengthening programs and continues in life. Those who know what “good” pain is also spent less time sitting out practices or rounds of golf because we understand how useful movement is for healing and furthering our athletic progress.
Tip #9: Periodize
This term might not be familiar to even serious golfers, but to a strength coach or a #nextgenPT, this is one of the most important pieces of the golf strength, injury prevention, and performance puzzle. We use this term to describe how training programs change depending on a golfer’s current fitness level and the time of the year (golf season) that we are working.
For example, how important is it for a golfer in the mid-Atlantic or northeast of the US to be the most explosive and ready to play golf in December? Think about that. Does it help that golfer to have their best chances of high-level performance in the winter? Of course not. So, we’ve created golf-specific programming for all the year's phases and competitions/plays. This way, we periodize the golfer for the maximum benefit of each training and injury prevention phase (or period) to maximize physical abilities during the golf season.
Tip #10: Plan for Rest and Recovery
This shouldn’t be the first time any good golfer has heard that they should be taking proper care of their body after some time at the range or an actual round of golf. However, this might be the first time you realize that this could be the most important and easiest thing you can do to ensure a pain-free and rewarding golf season.