Are You Fit Enough to Play Golf? Protect Your Back

OK, so last week we covered travelling round the course. Now let’s look at the swing itself.

To knock that little white bugger the 300+ yards many courses now require, we need to be generating a clubhead speed of 100 mph+ (although a solid strike is more important for gaining distance than just raising clubhead speed). That flashy, custom-fit driver ain’t gonna swing itself!

So it’s up to your body to generate that speed. Doing so can create compressive forces of up to 8 times body weight acting on the spine (Golf Anatomy, Davies and DiSaia, 2010). Your body is smart enough to engage the spine’s supportive muscles to protect your spine without your knowing. However if these muscles aren’t strong enough, injury is very much on the cards. I don’t know about you, but I want to make sure my muscles are strong enough!

Check out the video for a couple of simple exercises to help strengthen the muscles that support your spine. Try 21 repetitions for marching (right, left, then both legs is 3 reps) and start with 10 reps for the glute bridge. As these exercises get easier, try to increase the number of reps or add another set.

If these already feel easy for you, try marching just with both legs together and the glute bridge on one leg to make the exercises harder. As these exercises are low intensity you can do them as often as you like, but aim for at least 3 times a week for best results.

Stop by next week for a quick little warmup routine you can do on the first tee so you’re at 100% from the start of your next round!