Virtual Roundtable 6/22/06

[GolfFitPro]

Welcome to the third edition of The Better Golf with Fitness "Virtual Roundtable."

Periodically, I send questions out to golf fitness professionals
throughout the country and ask them a question about golf fitness and
post them here.  Click Here for the Virtual Roundtable Archive

This month's question I posed to our golf fitness experts is:
"We know pro golfers need to be in shape, but why do amateur/recreational
golfers need golf fitness?"

"The 2 main reasons anyone trains for a sport are:
1) To decrease injury potential- this is the best reason to start a golf fitness training program.  Amateur golfers have an injury rate of 60%!! (See Dr Divot's response below) Swing mechanics break down when you are tired and poor swing mechanics will eventually lead to injury.  If you're injured you can't play and that sucks.  Think of training as pre-habilitation or preventative medicine for your body.
2) To enhance performance-Although there is no guarantee that you will enhance performance by starting a golf fitness training program, amateur/recreational golfers will give themselves the opportunity to become better golfers by becoming more flexible, having more stability, becoming more balanced, stronger and more powerful.

Starting a golf fitness training program is an important part of enhancing anyone's golf performance and enjoyment of the game, pro's, amateurs and recreational golfers alike.
Anthony Renna, CSCS
Five Iron Fitness
www.GolfFitnessProducts.net
Better Golf with Fitness Blog

"Most amateur golfers try to put themselves into positions that they simply don't have enough range of motion to do.  They take golf lessons from golf pros who show them positions that tour players are in eg. big shoulder turn with limited hip turn, etc.  Most amateurs can not assume many of the athletic positions and dynamic change of direction that is required to swing a golf club efficiently.  Getting into a regular golf specific training program can help to lay the frame work for a more athletic golf motion."
Eanna Rushe MS, CSCS,
MES

BioSport Technologies
Cos Cob (Greenwich),
CT

"I have trained over 1,000 golfers from beginners to top ranked juniors to competitive amateurs to professionals. There is one thing that most golfers have in common. Each and every one of them has a sincere desire to play to their true abilities and reach their full potential. Golf fitness is a natural part of a comprehensive training program. Without
it, golfers are adding additional strokes to their scorecard. With golf fitness, golfers can maximize their abilities, minimize their injuries and know that they gave their game every opportunity to be successful."
Susan Hill
www.fitnessforgolf.com
Fitness for Golf
[email protected]

"Fitness refers to a specific ability to execute a specific task under particular conditions safely and efficiently.  From this, it's clear that fitness as it's applied to golf is as important for the amateur or recreational golfer as it is for the pros.  Playing enjoyable, successful golf requires that the golfer display adequate mobility, flexibility, stabilization, and strength to execute the desired task on the golf course.  A decline or lack of preparation in any of these abilities often leads to at the very least poor performance or at the very worst an injury.  Prepare to play well!"
Bill Hartman, PT, CSCS
PR Performance Golf Fitness Training
www.yourgolffitnesscoach.com

"Amateur & recreational golfers need fitness to correct biomechanical/swing flaws due to muscle strength % flexibility imbalances.  Building the proper fitness program after a thorough evaluation specific to each golfer will in turn correct many of these problems, prevent common injuries and increase performance on the course.  Golf fitness allows the body to function optimally for years to come."
Brian Schiff, PT, CSCS
The Fitness Edge
www.thefitnessedge.cc

"The need for the amateur golfer to develop a level of fitness is crucial if not paramount when compared to tour players because it may provide higher levels of consistency in play especially if flexibility, torsional strength, and asymmetry is addressed.  If a exercise regimen is instituted the amateur player may enhance their ability to put up lower scores on a consistent basis as well as increase the number of healthy rounds they play in a season."
Joel Raether MAEd.
Asst. Strength and Conditioning Coach
University of Denver
[email protected]

"I believe I read somewhere that the recreational athletes most likely to be injured were soccer players, tennis players and golfers.  Of these, golfers are the most unilateral.  They wind up on one side and unwind on the other.  They do this hundreds of times during a round !  Even a well conditioned athlete is subject to considerable rotational forces that can result in muscle imbalances.  These muscle imbalances set-up a vicious cycle between weakness/tightness and joint wear.  When I explain this concept to the weekend warrior golfer they generally "see the light" and want to begin a conditioning program immediately."
Scott Kroculick MSEd, RKT, CSCS
MAT Certifed Specialist
Neuromuscular Training Institute
www.nmti.org
[email protected]


"Amateur recreational golfers need to be in shape for a few reasons:
1) decrease injuries during play
2) help with recovery after the round
3) help keep play more consistent
4) allow your instructor to help improve your game

Fatigue is a big precursor to injury, the better conditioned you are the less likely you will experience fatigue if your nutritional habits are good. The better conditioned the less likely you will experience delayed muscle soreness that will affect your real job or life's activities. The same will go with consistency, fatigue affect you both mentally and physically.
Improvement in lessons is affected by your physical status as well. If your body cannot obtain the "correct swing plane" you will have a difficult time making improvements in your game."
David Donatucci
Director International Performance Institute
www.ipitraining.com
941-752-2570


"Amateur golfers don't "need" to be in shape, but the benefits of proper golf conditioning program can also improve areas of their life outside of golf. A properly designed program will improve general energy levels, improve mental focus, allow quicker recovery from injury and stress, and assist in metabolic maintenance and general maintenance of the body. All this is especially important for older golfers.
I tell golfers to think of a golf-conditioning program as something that is really designed to improve your whole body and mind. It just so happens that your golf game improves as a result of the work."
Jason Krantz, CSCS
Sonic Boom Golf
www.sonicboomgolf.com
[email protected]


"First there is the classic "weekend warrior" injury minimizing discussion; in which golf conditioning can definitely play a beneficial role in reducing any ill effect that infrequent exposures to golf can have.   However, aside from improving golf performance; a golf conditioning program also has great potential to improve the recreational golfer's quality of life.   Whether reducing chronic pain, helping shed a few pounds of fat, or even helping lower health indicator tests, all of these lead to making golf a more enjoyable activity. In my opinion it doesn't get much better than to be able to help someone live a better life and play golf too."
Troy M Anderson, Owner
Integrated Evolution, LLC
[email protected]
bluecollargolfer.com

"Since the injury rate for recreational golfers is a surprisingly high sixty percent (and even higher for senior players), and because poor conditioning is one of the main ingredients in the recreational golfer's Recipe for Injury, it makes sense to understand how basic conditioning is an important weapon in the war against golf injuries.

People may have thought that golf fitness pioneer Gary Player had spent too many rounds in the hot sun when he began advocating (decades ago) the importance of fitness for golfers.  Golf requires fitness?  You bet it does if it is going to be played well and with a minimum of injuries.  History has proven Gary to be as accurate as one of his chip shots.  Not only has he enjoyed a long, successful and healthy career--but today's touring professionals are surrounded by trainers and fitness gurus as well as a caravan of physical therapists.

Okay, so golf doesn't require the endurance of running a marathon or the brute strength of bench-pressing 400 pounds.  But, during the two seconds it takes to perform a golf swing we accelerate the club head to speeds of 100 miles an hour or more--which is pretty macho stuff when you think of it.  The golf swing also demands rapid, coordinated movement from many muscle groups and stresses parts of our bodies to near all-out capacity (the spinal and trunk muscles, for example).

Admittedly, no one is maintaining that the gal or guy who plays a few rounds of golf a month needs to hit the gym the same way that Tiger is known for.  That said, it is a widely held conviction among golf medicine experts that a flexible and strong body is better protected from the excessive forces of the golf swing than a poorly conditioned body.
Dr. Larry Foster (aka Dr. Divot)
Author of "Doctor Divot's Guide to Golf Injuries"
www.DrDivotMD.com

http://fitnessforbettergolf.typepad.com/be...f_with_fitness/

[HackitUp]

I agree with a lot of the trainers. I started working out doing lots of core and flexibility exercises and it's helped my game but it also helps in other areas of life.

[GolfFitPro]

Hackitup, glad to hear. Training will carry over into activities of daily living. We all need core stability, flexibility and total body strength for the "game of life." Helping your golf game is a bonus.

 

Anthony