Tags: golf, golf fitness, golf tips, golf swing, golf conditioning, power golf

I did a little bit of research, as usual, in recent weeks, and came to the realization that there is one muscle group that most golfers do not work on much, but it is definitely a key to achieving distance potential.  This group is the lats, the muscles of the upper and middle back.  Women in particular tend to have much smaller lat muscles than men.
 
The reason this muscle group is important is that it is very involved in the winding and unwinding of the golf swing.  The stronger these muscles are, the more torque you can put into the golf swing. 
 
The best way to work out these muscles without much in the way of equipment, is the pull up.  Unfortunately, pull-ups can be quite difficult, and most people, especially people who are a bit over weight, find it difficult to perform just one repetition.  However, by simply using a chair to support some of your weight, you can still do pull-ups and increase your strength. 
 
We do this by setting one foot on the chair.  This takes away some of the body weight, which makes it a little easier to do a pull up.  Doing our best not to push up with that foot, we pull ourselves up until our chin as even or slightly above the bar.  If you lower yourself back down slowly, you will continue to work the muscles. 
 
You can try a variety of grips on the pull up bar.  First, try an overlapping grip with the hands shoulder width apart.  A more difficult version would be to place the hands outside of shoulder width apart.  Or you can also try a very narrow grip, with the hands just a few inches apart.  You can also do a chin up, which is done by grabbing the bar so that palms face toward you.  
 
Since the pull up hits the back and arms, and the shoulders to an extent, it is a great exercise for the golfer seeking to add some distance without spending hours in the gym.

Scott Cole  www.powergolftraining.net

 

Tags: Golf, Golf Fitness, Golf Tips, Golf Swing, Golf Exercise, Golf Conditioning
Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the key components to increasing your distance off the tee. In the first few segments I will discuss the basic swing keys that must be present in your swing to maximize distance. These tips will be followed later by fitness tips, since many golfers may have limitations that make it difficult to maximize distance through golf tips alone.

First and foremost is the set up. I can not emphasize this enough. If you have a poor set up, you are immediately losing yardage potential. You've probably read plenty about the importance of a good set up in other places. Here is how I describe the proper set up for hitting a drive to my students...

1. First, place your feet about shoulders width apart, or slightly wider.

2. Now, if your club is in your hand, lean it on your leg. Let your hands hang down by your sides. Now, bend your legs slightly, and turn them in toward each other very slightly. Your weight should be evenly distributed, or 55-45 favoring the right side.

3. Focus your balance on the point between the two big pads on the bottom of your feet.

4. With your back straight, bend at the waist just a few inches, and keep your chin up a bit, and let your arms hang.

5. Now pick up your club, and retrace the steps described above if you did not have the club leaning on your leg. Once in that position, grip the club as you normally would, and let the arms drop down from that natural position described above, and let the clubhead extend to the ground. Move the clubhead so that it rests in line with your left heel, or up to one inch to the left of your heel.

This stance now should have you in a position where the arms are extended and relaxed. The shoulders will naturally be tilted slightly with the lead shoulder above the rear shoulder, since the lead hand is held higher on the grip. There will also be a few inches between the grip of your club and your body, which allows you room for proper extension on the take away. In fact, for the driver, there should be more than one fist length of space between the top end of the club and your body at the set up, and probably at least 1.5 fist lengths. This space will be narrower for shorter clubs.

Finally, your feet, knees, hips and shoulders should all be parallel to the target line. Now you are in the right position to make a powerful golf swing. Although most amateur golfers do not set up properly to the ball, this is the easiest part of the golf swing to get right!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net