Workouts to help you prepare for the season ahead.

By Dee Tidwell

With prime golf season still a few months away, the two major fitness themes you can work on now are mobility and strength.

Mobility in golf allows for the generation of elastic energy (backswing) and therefore establishes a base for efficient power production (transition/forward swing). Mobility also permits you to maintain stable posture during your entire swing and plays a major role in club path and club face at impact. A lack of mobility—which often results from sitting all day at a desk—leads to pain and power leaks in your swing.

A platform of mobility and stability helps develop strength. That’s why stretching throughout the winter and prioritizing gym workouts will improve your game. Strength also helps prevent injury and promotes a consistent, repeatable swing move, which translates to longer, straighter drives.

These three exercises require an exercise band or cable machine, which will help you gain mobility and strength in your legs, hips, core, thorax and shoulders.

For each exercise:

1. Start with light weight
2. Perform 1-3 sets of 8-15 reps on each side
3. Do all three exercises back to back without rest, then rest for 90-120 seconds
4. If you have pain, STOP immediately

Warning!

Please be careful in executing these moves. If you have prior injuries to the ankles, knees, hips, lower back or shoulders, be aware that these exercises will challenge each of those joints. Don’t be a knucklehead and ignore my warning!

1. Curtsey Squats

• From a standing position with good posture simply step behind one leg into a side lunge.
• Try keeping your front knee over your ankle and your chest and head facing forward.
• Stand back up and do the other side.

2. Cable pull into side lunge

• Facing the machine or wall where the band is attached, put one foot in front of the other and grab a cable or band handle about chest high with the hand opposite of the forward foot.
• With good posture, assume a long lunge position with your back heel up.
• Start to “sit back” into a side lunge where the front leg becomes straight and you sit into the back knee and hip (almost like you are going to sit in a chair behind you).
• Simultaneously use your elbow to pull the handle to the side of your chest and reach forward with the other arm
• Reverse the process to complete one rep. Do both sides.

3. Chop in static lunge position

• Grab a cable or band handle about chest high and face perpendicular to its attachment. Make sure your outside hand grabs the handle first; then place your inside hand on top of your outside.
• Get into a lunge position where the outside leg is forward. Hold this position and don’t let your lower body move at all during the exercise.
• Hold the handle close to your chest, then extend your arms and bring them back, completing one rep.

Dee Tidwell owns the Colorado Golf Fitness Club in Greenwood Village. He is a Level Three Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Certified Golf Fitness Pro, Golf Fitness Instructor, Junior Coach and Medical Coach. A three-time CAGGY Award winner, he recently ranked as one of Golf Digest’s 50 Best Golf Fitness Professionals. Reach him at [email protected] or 303-883-0435.

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