Improving your golf & Reducing your injury risk
Research review by Eamon O’Reilly (Read time- 5 mins)
Over the past 10-15 years, professional golf has seen a shift in the body shape of professional players. Golfers in the pursuit of marginal gains and an influx of research from sports science & performance has turned professionals to strength training in huge numbers. In recent times, even elite major winning golfers are getting called out for their apparent failure to further embrace strength training. Like any sport, for me, it is still all about the skill of the player and their ability to perform under severe pressure. However, there is absolutely no doubt from the research that strength training can have huge benefits to your golf game and keep you on the course, once you adhere to good practices during your training in the gym.
It has been suggested that conditioning programmes have the potential to improve golf performance through fitness adaptations. A review in 2011 by Smith et al found this to be the case. They looked at 9 different golf studies. Conditioning programmes involved the use of machine weights, free weights, medicine balls, and elastic bands, and most studies included a flexibility component. Most studies assessed changes in fitness characteristics and generally resulted in improvements. The findings from this review suggest that strength and conditioning programmes can have a positive effect on the golf swing and fitness characteristics of golfers.
Physical fitness characteristics including strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination impact on a golfer’s ability to produce force and coordinate movement. A number of studies have looked at the physical characteristics that professional golfers are consistently better than amateurs on that are listed below
Physical characteristics of Golfers
(Hume, Keogh, &Reid, 2005; Keogh et al., 2009; Sell, Tsai, Smoliga, Myers, & Lephart, 2007).
These attributes golf-related physical characteristics provide successful golfers with more effective swing and body mechanics allowing successful golfers to consistently produce higher club head speeds.
Golfers need to withstand the repetitive strain placed on their muscles and joints over the course of a round or the effect of multiple rounds in tournament golf . Fatigue during can lead to a breakdown of your golf swing. It requires acceleration and deceleration of varying body segments in addition to rotational torsion across your spine and force through your joints.
Golf performance is highly dependent on a successful golf swing that is repeatable and allows for maximum distance, distance control and accuracy.
The Smith et al review in 2011 looked at various studies and the effects of physical conditioning on golfers and performance development. Hellstrom (2009) clearly identified the role of biomechanics (how your body moves) in golf performance. They describe the positive role of biomechanics in increasing driving distance and accuracy.
A 2005 study by Hume et al clearly establishes that physical conditioning has the potential to improve performance indicators such as driving distance and swing mechanics. It is important that this is built on a strong foundation of functional physical fitness in order to tolerate training load and reduce injury risk.
By designing a conditioning programme that addresses these needs, golfers have the potential to improve their body’s performance during the golf swing, which then has the potential to improve swing mechanics and, as a result, golfing performance.
Improvements in Golf performance following a physical conditioning programme
So in conclusion, the available evidence suggests that physical conditioning can positively influence club head speed and swing mechanics in golfers. The combination of core and non-dominant arm strength exercises can increase drive distances. (Sung et al,2015) Golf performance studies indicates increases in ball speed, carry yardage, and total yardage. Injury risk around major joints can be decreased through better muscular control of your golf swing.
So the evidence is there to suggest that strength training is a good way to improve your game. BUT, and its a big BUT, you can never beat getting out there and getting those hours of practice in to perfect your game! Best wishes with the upcoming golfing season.
Eamon
SPARC:GOLF is currently accepting golfers of all ability into our bespoke golf programme. There are a variety of different ways the programme can be delivered. There are classes on a variety of days and we can accept both open and private group. Our open groups will be on a Monday or on a Wednesday. Private classes (for individual groups of golfers from a given club) can be discussed with our team. All golfers will be screened prior to entering the programme to assess their suitability to take part.
For a limited time only (until Wednesday Feb 5th), we are offering a FREE screen to current or former SPARC clients who enrol on the programme.
Individual Sessions (€55)
Group Session - Every Monday & Wednesday @ 0945am (€40 per month (1 class per week) or €15 per session)
Private Group sessions for groups of Golfers that want to work together (Price per Person dependant on numbers)
Class details
Baechle, T. R., & Earle, R. W. (2008). Essentials of strength training and conditioning (3rd edn.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Chettle, D. K., & Neal, R. J. (2001). Strength and conditioning for golf. In P. R. Thomas (Ed.), Optimising performance in golf(pp. 207–223). Brisbane, QLD: Australian Academic Press.
Doan, B. K., Newton, R. U., Kwon, Y., & Kraemer, W. J. (2006). Effects of physical conditioning on intercollegiate golfer perfor- mance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20, 62–72.
Driggers A & Sato K (2017) The effects of vertically oriented resistance training on golf drive performance in collegiate golfers. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
Fletcher, I. M., & Hartwell, M. (2004). Effect of an 8-week combined weights and plyometrics training program on golf drive performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research,18, 59–62.
Folland, J. P., & Williams, A. G. (2007). The adaptations to strength training. Sports Medicine, 37, 145–168.
Fradkin, A. J., Sherman, C. A., & Finch, C. F. (2004). Improving golf performance with a warm up conditioning programme.British Journal of Sports Medicine, 38, 762–765.
Gamble, P. (2006). Implications and applications of training specificity for coaches and athletes. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 28 (3), 54–58.
Hagger, M. S., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. (2009). Assumptions in research in sport and exercise psychology. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 511–519.
Sung DJ, Park SJ, Kim S, Sok Kwon M, Young-Tae L (2016) Effects of core and non-dominant arm strength training on drive distance in elite golfers Journal of Sport and Health Science 5 219–225