Any Golfers In Here?

one234h

If so, do you stretch or do exercises for to help your golfing?

I'm still just trying to make consistent contact with the ball. My swing is "Under Construction".

But one thing I've noticed is that I feel better after I do a little stretching and it got me thinking, "I wonder if I could do exercises designed to strengthen the motions of my swing."

YouTube is filled with 14,000 kinds of golf exercises all endorsed by people who are most likely financially vested in the program, so, Icronians: I turn to you.

What do you do physically to prepare/maintain yourself for golf glory?:jokke:

Tushon

(not a golfer, just know a little about exercise)

Stretching (after some kind of aerobic warmup to get blood flowing) is going to decrease injury rates, which should help your ability to swing a little more. I would think that typical training for golf would be form first, then slightly weighted clubs.

GHoosdum

I saw a clip on the Golf Channel with a stretching routine a while back, basically the stretching focused a lot on hip flexors, shoulders, back, and legs. The gentleman presenting the stretching routine said it took several strokes off his game just by performing the stretching routine every day, to a point where he was significantly more flexible than the average person.

ardichoke

Tushon wrote:

(not a golfer, just know a little about exercise)

Stretching (after some kind of aerobic warmup to get blood flowing) is going to decrease injury rates, which should help your ability to swing a little more. I would think that typical training for golf would be form first, then slightly weighted clubs.

This is actually a myth. The evidence does not show that stretching reduces injury rates at all. I've seen a few articles about this lately, though the only one I have at hand currently is this one: http://socalrunning.com/stretching-what-the-research-shows-dispelling-the-myths-and-learning-the-truth/

tl;dr - The myth that stretching prevents injury is a misinterpretation of the facts. What reduces injuries is actually warm up exercises. Stretching your major muscle groups once a day can improve your range of motion, however stretching before exercise will not do anything to help prevent exercise related injury.

EDIT - A pretty thorough NY Times article on the stretching myth: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html

This one specifically mentions golfers (albeit briefly)

Tushon

I've seen those studies and agree with you to an extent. Consider this though, and why I recommended it in particular: do you think that golf, which specifically targets particular extremes in several ranges of motion, would benefit from the added flexibility, which will reduce injury rates from strain? Reducing injuries from running, probably not or a minimal effect. Reducing injuries from golf? I bet so.

ardichoke

Tushon wrote:

I've seen those studies and agree with you to an extent. Consider this though, and why I recommended it in particular: do you think that golf, which specifically targets particular extremes in several ranges of motion, would benefit from the added flexibility, which will reduce injury rates from strain? Reducing injuries from running, probably not or a minimal effect. Reducing injuries from golf? I bet so.

Read the NYT article.

Tushon

NYT wrote:

To raise the body’s temperature, a warm-up must begin with aerobic activity, usually light jogging.

Which is the first thing I said, and the article goes on to say exactly what I would have recommended (dynamic stretching)

NYT wrote:

Dynamic stretching is at its most effective when it’s relatively sports specific. “You need range-of-motion exercises that activate all of the joints and connective tissue that will be needed for the task ahead,”

NYT wrote:

Even golfers, notoriously nonchalant about warming up (a recent survey of 304 recreational golfers found that two-thirds seldom or never bother), would benefit from exerting themselves a bit before teeing off. In one 2004 study, golfers who did dynamic warm- up exercises and practice swings increased their clubhead speed and were projected to have dropped their handicaps by seven strokes over seven weeks.

and then

NYT wrote:

The largest study has been done on military recruits; results showed that an almost equal number of subjects developed lower-limb injuries (shin splints, stress fractures, etc.), regardless of whether they had performed static stretches before training sessions. A major study published earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control, on the other hand, found that knee injuries were cut nearly in half among female collegiate soccer players who followed a warm-up program that included both dynamic warm-up exercises and static stretching.

So, I didn't elaborate, but we hadn't gotten there yet, and your article supported exactly what I would have said.

Tushon

one234h wrote:

If so, do you stretch or do exercises for to help your golfing?

...

But one thing I've noticed is that I feel better after I do a little stretching and it got me thinking, "I wonder if I could do exercises designed to strengthen the motions of my swing."

...

What do you do physically to prepare/maintain yourself for golf glory?:jokke:

To answer your questions, while I don't play, it seems that doing some dynamic stretching of lower and upper body (so, I'd think rotating upper body around while maintaining foot position, going through extra wide practice swings or windmilling your arms, along with an aerobic warmup before hand would be the best to both increase your game (see the quotes I responded to ardi with) and help prevent stress injuries.

ardichoke

Tushon wrote:

what I would have said.

but you didn't say it. You specifically said stretching would decrease injury rate, which is false. What is commonly referred to as stretching (namely, static stretching) has been widely shown to be either ineffective or counter-productive. I was pointing this specific bit of information out so other people reading the thread wouldn't be misinformed and potentially injure themselves (or at the very least waste their time).

If what you meant was not what you said, then next time be more clear in the first place.

Tushon

ardichoke wrote:

but you didn't say it. You specifically said stretching would decrease injury rate, which is false. What is commonly referred to as stretching (namely, static stretching) has been widely shown to be either ineffective or counter-productive. I was pointing this specific bit of information out so other people reading the thread wouldn't be misinformed and potentially injure themselves (or at the very least waste their time).

If what you meant was not what you said, then next time be more clear in the first place.

Well, I'm glad to see that you so thoroughly cleared the air with your post about how dynamic stretching was a good thing.

Anyways, if there are any others who can give more relevant advice than myself, I welcome it.

one234h

...So I was just at Indian Run in McClure, PA and one lesson that I feel cannot be overstated is that of foot extension when locking the break on a golf cart when on massive hills.
Because you cannot use your seven iron to whack the break down as you are chasing after it.

TheLostSwede

Even though i don't play competitive golf anymore, i do have a bit of experience.

The stretching part is VERY important AFTER the round of golf. I can't stress this enough.

If i know i'm teeing off at 10, i make sure i am at the course at least an hour before.
My warmup starts with a short jog/run, only like 2-300 meters/yards, just to get the body going. Up and down the parking lot with a few jabs a'la Boxing is enough. The warmer the body, the more flex and relaxed you are.

After that, roll the neck around with small resistance. If you feel any stiffness, you need to get it warmer. Work your way down to the shoulders. This is the area where you get 90% of your swing from. Take a four and a five iron and do small slow swings in the air. It's not necessary to swing fully, but important to allow your shoulders to start the rotate you normally have in your swing. This will also make your weight transition and hip timing wake up. 8-10 swings is enough.

Take the five-iron and flip it so that you hold it up side down. Grip it an inch above the clubhead. Do 10-15 baseball-like swings in the air where you feel like you release your wrists already at the start of the backswing. This will make your hands roll with better timing when you hit the ball. If you still have the time to hit 10 balls on the driving range, do that, but i never spend any time on the ranch. Spend it on the putting and chipping green instead. This is where you shave those strokes off your scorecard.

one234h

TheLostSwede wrote:

Spend it on the putting and chipping green instead. This is where you shave those strokes off your scorecard.

Amen to that. Two or three times I got on a horrible tear, taking totally inaccurate shots while I'm trying to exert lots of control chipping onto the green from a short distance. In those two or three cases, it doubled the amount of strokes per hole!

In those instances it comes down to wrist & forearm control for me.

Also the point about stretching AFTER the round is something I've neglected, too.

---

Also to everyone else who's been contributing to the thread:

Thanks for the articles & advice! It seems like there is a lot of "two sides of the same coin" going on when it comes to different types of stretches & warm-up routines.

I know from my experience if there is anything I can do to make my body mechanics easier and more natural, the better I can get focused on trying to put(t) ball where I want it.

The debate reminds me of when a PT and OT were in the room and I asked about the stereotype of "PT is upper body and OT is lower body" Or asking two ST's what causes stuttering. You wanna see fireworks? Ask about that. You won't even need a match.

I think those two debates will get solved right after global warming.

one234h

Tushon wrote:

To answer your questions, while I don't play, it seems that doing some dynamic stretching of lower and upper body (so, I'd think rotating upper body around while maintaining foot position, going through extra wide practice swings or windmilling your arms, along with an aerobic warmup before hand would be the best to both increase your game (see the quotes I responded to ardi with) and help prevent stress injuries.

Right now I put one hand on either end of an iron and hold it out in front of me. With feet shoulder-width apart I rotate at the hips and keep my head facing straight forward.

And I do some behind-the-head elbow push-down, and I do this:

one234h

one234h wrote:

and I do this:

Actually, it's technically more like this, but you get the picture.

TheLostSwede

It's never too late.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/07/miguel-angel-jimenez-in-maybe-the-greatest-warm-up-of-all-time/1

one234h

Stretching: He's doing it right.