Golf FitnessHow Does Your Fitness Affect Your Golf?
Whatever you do in your day to day life, your body will change and adapt to the demands placed on it. It will get stronger in certain areas, weaker in others, more or less flexible in different areas. This has obvious implications for your golf swing. If you spend all day, every day sat in a car or behind a desk, your body will adapt to that environment. Then when the weekend comes along and you ask it to perform an athletic movement such as the golf swing, with little or no preparation, you are probably going to be disappointed with the results.
Now I understand that it is unrealistic to think that everyone can achieve Tiger Woods' like levels of golf specific fitness. However, with a little knowledge and application, significant improvements in golf fitness can be achieved, allowing the golfer to make sometimes rapid and significant improvement in areas where they may have been stuck for some time.
There are three main factors in a golfers physiology that will affect their ability to swing the club; stability, strength and speed. Typically these factors will be linked. The average male golfer will usually have issues with flexibility and stability, women golfers often have good stability, but can usually improve their strength and speed (although technique is often a huge factor in ladies not hitting the ball as far as they should). Seniors often have flexibility issues, as well as a loss of power, (although again technique and mental issues are often a factor here). For juniors it is important that they stretch and prepare properly to swing the club, to prevent injury and to prevent problems later in their golfing career.
