Golf exercises

Getting Fit for the Links
Golf-Specific Exercises Can Pay Off --
If You Stick With Them
May 17, 2008; Page W5

A lot of golfers I know follow Mark Twain's regimen for physical fitness: "Every time I feel the urge to exercise, I lie down until it goes away."

Still, it's hard not to wonder what a little more application on the physical front could do for one's golf game, given the way golf magazines and TV commentators rhapsodize about the maniacal workouts of players such as Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh. I have nothing against exercise. In fact, I enjoy a heart-thumping 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer whenever I can find time for the gym. Ditto for the pumped-up feeling in my arms and legs after a weight workout.

But there's a difference between this type of general exercise and the golf-specific drills prescribed in articles and on videos. Golf routines usually have you assume some kind of awkward position -- standing on one leg or prone like a wounded bug on your back with feet and arms waving in the air. Then they call for repeatedly moving an isolated body part or an obscure muscle -- such as the gluteus medius -- in an unnatural way.

These exercises, in my experience, are amazingly tedious. Sometimes when you finish, you don't even feel tired; there's instead a fatigue in the microfibers of the muscles, which isn't the same as that good old satisfying "burn." You have to take it on faith the effort is worthwhile.

The most authoritative source for golf fitness advice is the Titleist Performance Institute, a supergym and golf-practice center in Oceanside, Calif. For $10,000, you can go there and get a physical workup by doctors, physical therapists, nutritionists and swing instructors, plus a new set of custom-fitted Titleist clubs. Titleist's Tour pros spend a lot of time at TPI.

Or you can log on to its Web site, mytpi.com (free after registration), and develop your own fitness program. The site goes deep with articles explaining the biomechanics of golf and provides sample workout regimes geared to different goals, such as power, balance or flexibility. Short video clips demonstrate each exercise.

The experts at TPI know their stuff, and the workouts they prescribe can help your golf game -- if diligently pursued. That's a big if.

Take, for example, Tour pro Rory Sabbatini, whose case study is posted on the site in such detail it feels like an invasion of privacy. Between February 2007, when he started working with trainer Jeff Banaszak, and February 2008, Mr. Sabbatini improved his internal hip rotation, which is key in creating a stable golf swing, from 25 to 60 degrees on one side and from 27 to 62 degrees on the other. He made dramatic progress in other measures and, more importantly, eliminated the lower left back pain that had been preventing him from practicing as much as he needed to. His world rankings during that period climbed from 42nd to eighth.

Mr. Sabbatini's progress didn't come easily. Mr. Banaszak, who runs a company called Back9Fitness, traveled to nearly every event where Mr. Sabbatini competed. Early each week he would give Mr. Sabbatini an hour of stretches and deep-tissue massage. He'd spend another 30 minutes working on Mr. Sabbatini's shoulders, trunks and hips before each round and put him through another session afterward. In addition, he supervised two or three strength workouts a week, and gave Mr. Sabbatini daily drills to do on his own. He even whipped up protein breakfast shakes for Mr. Sabbatini and prepared nutritious snacks to eat during rounds.

And that was just maintenance work. On Mr. Sabbatini's off weeks, Mr. Banaszak ordered more intense routines.

For everyday golfers, such commitment would be absurd. "Most golfers don't want anything to do with the gym, to be honest," Mr. Banaszak said. That's why he has decided to focus his business on Tour players rather than on the much larger consumer market.

But even a milder commitment to fitness can help. For those serious about improving their physical capabilities, Mr. Banaszak advises seeking out a well-trained physical therapist for an overall assessment. (The TPI Web site has links to trainers certified in its methods.) This kind of exam can identify any particular concerns, such as limited mobility or muscular imbalance, and therapists can recommend an appropriate conditioning program. After a few sessions, players can perform the exercises alone, but Mr. Banaszak recommends follow-up sessions every two to three months.

"Knowing how to adjust the intensity and when to progress is the part that you really can't do on your own," he said.

And if that's too much trouble? Dave Phillips, a TPI co-founder, said casual players can see dramatic improvements in their swing with as little as five minutes of work a day, provided it is the right kind.

Increasing internal hip rotation by just five degrees, for example, can lead to a significantly better turn behind the ball, which can increase distance and take pressure off the lower back. "Most back injuries from golf are caused because the hips aren't able to turn enough," he said, "causing the lower back to have to jump in and do a job it's not designed to."

A simple exercise to improve hip mobility is called the windshield wiper. When lying on your back, raise your knees and put your fists between them. Then, with calves parallel to the floor, push your feet out as wide as possible, hold briefly and repeat many times.

For most golfers, the two other prime areas to work are the gluteal muscles that run up the back of the upper legs and the core muscles of the lower torso. Mr. Phillips calls these the King and Queen. Both sets of muscles, he said, help the golfer brace against rotational forces during the swing and hold the body at proper angles.

The bedrock golf exercise, he said, is the deep squat, done with arms extended, holding a golf club over your head. "It involves all the most important golf muscles, both in the lower body and in the shoulders," he said. Nearly all Tour players can squat at least to where their thighs are parallel to the floor, he said, but only about 30% of American adults can.

"Those are the ones I'd work on: the King, the Queen, the hips and the deep squat," said Mr. Phillips. "Take five minutes a day while you're watching television. You'll be amazed at how your swing will improve."