A Golfer’s Ultimate Guide to Strength Training - Guest Post

Just as with any sport, your performance on the golf course can improve by building your strength. 

However, as a golfer, you must be careful to develop the strength of your bones as well as your muscles. For that reason, golfers should follow a full-body approach to strength training.

Playing golf involves control over the entire body. Each movement requires the contraction of some muscles combined with the relaxation of others and the deployment of others to give stability.

A natural full-body approach will give golfers more endurance, so reducing fatigue and lessening the risk of injury while building strength. Concentrating on just certain muscles could cause a muscle imbalance and actually deteriorate your game by interfering with the natural ability of your body to play good golf.

Most weightlifting programs just concentrate on building bulk; however, mass and strength are not directly related.

For a golfer, bulk is not an asset, and, in fact, it could interfere with the style and smoothness of your swing. One of the best exercises for building full-body strength is lifting a heavy weight from the ground, then to above your waist, shoulders and finally above the head. Get down to the gym and learn how to do this correctly under the guidance of a qualified weight trainer.


When done right, this lifting motion causes muscle contractions throughout the entire body, as well as providing gravitational stimulus to strengthen your bones. You don’t need to repeat the lift many times, but you should increase the weight gradually.


Repeating a movement until you feel fatigue can cause bone, joint, tendon, and ligament problems and increase the risk of injury. Fatigue can also cause bad posture and gait which a golfer definitely does not want.

So, aim to do a maximum of six repetitions with a weight to safely build muscle and bone strength without bulking and fatigue. 

You should use a bar with about 80-percent of your maximum one-time lift weight. Aim to do four sets, but do not over-stress your body. Allow your muscles time to recover- at least three minutes, between each set. Lift quickly, smoothly and correctly, always thinking about your technique and safety, and stop before significant fatigue develops.

While down at the gym, don’t bother with the high-tech machines you see there. These are designed to build muscle mass by concentrating on certain muscles groups at a time and have little use for a golfer unless you need to rehabilitate a particular area following an injury.


The treadmill, however, can be a useful way to get some aerobic exercise. Aim to raise your heart-rate, but not too dramatically. Increasing your aerobic activity will improve your stamina and help you to maintain a healthy weight. The treadmill is a good way to warm up before doing some weights. Then do two to four sets of deadlifts with the barbell and repeat five times. Follow this with the same number of squats. Round-off your workout with another short stint on the treadmill. 

READ: Golf Tips for Warming Up and Increasing Power If You Have an Injury

A kettlebell workout is a great exercise option for golfers who want to increase their strength and endurance. 

Kettlebells offer a serious full-body workout, especially the all-important shoulders and lower back muscles as well as the legs. It also increases grip strength. Kettlebells offer a convenient way to get some strength training with a safe, simple-to-use, and relatively inexpensive piece of equipment which you can use at home.

To increase the benefits of your strength training, eat a well-balanced diet, take daily walks, and get a good night’s sleep of between 7-8 hours every night. 

Johanna Cider is a New Zealand-based writer who is passionate about anything related to fitness and healthy living. She usually includes running and yoga in her daily workouts. See more of Johanna’s work here.

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