22 Jan Making Your Golf Offseason Productive
The off-season is officially in full swing… As every golfer knows, when we can’t be on the course, we think about the game and our swing more and more. Some people even catch themselves practicing at their desks, rolling out the indoor putting mats, and sometimes the embarrassing practice swing in the grocery store after watching that catchy YouTube swing fix video.
What we don’t usually think about in the off-season is that now is the perfect time for you to prepare your body for next season.
Over the last season, have you noticed that you feel tightness, or you’re not able to complete your turn when you’re swinging? Have you been losing distance or been stuck at the same distance for a long time. Are you having soreness and pain mid-round or after your rounds?
While some may disagree, professional golfers are some of the best athletes in the world. The movements of the golf swing require incredible control at all levels of the body and an ability to properly sequence the firing of body segments. Aside from the mental aspect of the game, the amount of strength, power and motor control required, makes golf, in my professional opinion, incredibly physically demanding and difficult to master.
With that being said, while I always recommend that you come in for a golf specific Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) screen so I can personalize a program for you, here are some of my favorite exercises to get your body prepared for the 2021 golf season:
1. Pelvic Rotation/Dissociation– it is one of the staples of the golf swing to be able to properly sequence in the downswing. By training the body to be able to dissociate the pelvis/hips from the upper body and arms, we can lay the foundation for proper sequencing. This exercise looks just like one of the tests that would be performed in the TPI screen to see if you are able to move the pelvis/hips independently of the upper body or if you need some work.
2. Single Leg Bridge– in order to be able to control the pelvis through the golf swing, you have to have adequate control and strength of the Glute!
3. Hip 90/90– to get yourself into the loaded position in your backswing, having available hip rotation is very important. While your teaching professional can help you around this limitation with setup changes, I would love for you to go back to your PGA professionals with your new available range so they can do their thing and get you properly rotating through your swing.
4. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat– One of my favorite exercises out there! This requires stability, strength, ROM, control and mental toughness. While you may feel like you are providing a loaded stretch on the elevated rear leg hip flexors, the focus of this exercise is to crush the quads and glutes, two muscles that are essential to force and power production in the golf swing.
5. Deadlift– because who doesn’t love a deadlift? The deadlift with an emphasis on maintaining a neutral spine through the hip hinge strikes a very nice resemblance to the set up in the golf swing. This coupled with the loaded hamstring stretch in the lowering phase and the glute driven power producing portion of the lift, makes it an incredible exercise for your off-season and in-season training regiments.
6. Push/Pull– here come the rotations… the golf swing clearly has a lot of rotation and power associated with it. What better way to train the body than to prepare it to produce rotational force with good control and proper mechanics? With the Push/Pull, you are training your muscles to contract in a similar sequence to what is required during the golf swing.
7. Med Ball Rotation Throws– another targeted power and rotation drill. With this exercise, we’re going for good mechanics and high velocity movements.
These exercises are some of my favorites, but if there is a nagging issue or you are looking for a more personalized approach, I recommend that you schedule a TPI screen so that I can help you find the root of your problem, and put together an individualized plan for you to optimize your performance.
~ Dr. Casey