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Strengthen Your Core, Improve Your Golf Score!

Welcome to the next portion of my golf performance program.  For those of you that read last month’s article, I hope that you are progressing well with your balance.  If you were unable to read the last article, click here to read about the importance of balance for improving your distance and accuracy.  The next step for improving your golf fitness is core strengthening.

Golfing & Physical Therapy FAQs

The most frequent question that I receive from golfers is “what are the best core exercises to do for golf?”  Based on how often I am asked this question, I am pretty sure it is well-known how important core strength is for golf performance.  In the most basic sense, your core is what helps you maintain good stability and control through the golf swing.  Keeping a stable core allows for a very fluid and consistent swing.  It is also one of the main areas in which we generate the force needed to hit the ball long distances.  That power is developed when the body rotates for the back and forward swing.  This ability to rotate comes from the strength of the core muscles.

Core Exercises For Golf

With that being said, there are endless amounts of core exercises and most will likely help to some degree.  However, the best exercises should address some of the sport specific requirements of the golf swing.  Good core exercises should incorporate dynamic motion that requires you to rotate and maintain a stable base of support.  These concepts will directly translate into improving the quality of your swing.

The two exercises below are common ones I use with golfers and will improve your swing.  They require minimal equipment and can be done just about anywhere.  In the videos, I demonstrated the exercises with and without resistance.  I suggest starting with the resistance free set up first.  Once you are able to maintain good stability, go ahead and add some resistance (feel free to use bands or cable weights for the resistance piece).  These are good exercises to do daily.  2 sets of 15 is a good amount.

Dr. Michael Johnson is a physical therapist and golf specialist

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