The first phase in an off season golf conditioning program is the regeneration phase. The second phase is the strength and power phase and the third phase is the preparation phase. Today we are going to focus on phase one recommendations.
This first phase will focus on getting your body ready for the more intense workouts to come but more importantly it is the time to recover from any nagging injuries or aches and pains from the season. This phase should also be used if you have never exercised or are just starting up again after a long lay off. During the season you probably spent more time actually on the golf course or driving range then you did working out.
The most common injury for golfers is low back pain but many golfers also will experience hip, shoulder, knee, elbow, or wrist pain. The golf swing puts a lot of stress on the low back due to the high rotational forces. During this training period we will avoid any rotational exercises to allow your spine time to recover.
If you have been exercising regularly during the season and you do not have any injuries you could skip this phase but I would still recommend doing two weeks of this phase. If you live in an area where you can golf year around it would be extremely beneficial to take 2-3 weeks off from the course and perform this phase. One 2-3 week session every six months should make a huge difference in your injury risk and overall performance. Now lets get into the details of phase one.
The first component is the warm-up. This is essential and should not be skipped. Proper warm-up increases the temperature of the tissue which makes it more resistant to stress and less likely to fail or be injured. A good warm-up also will improve your flexibility and mobility. The warm-up should target all the major muscle groups and put your joints through a variety of movements. Examples are walking lunge, inchworm, overhead squat, forward and backward bear crawl, and side lunge with overhead raise.
The next component would be foam roll techniques. This is great for releasing stubborn trigger points and tight muscles. Main areas to focus on are the glutes, quads, hamstrings, back, and lats. When you hit a sore area try to stay on it for about 30 seconds with small oscillatory movements. Also perform self mobilization on the thoracic spine by lying on the roll about shoulder blade level. Cross your arms in front of you to keep your shoulder blades clear and roll up and down your spine. Good thoracic mobility will decrease your risk of low back injury and increase your swing arc. You also want to work on hip mobility which is addressed partly in the warm up. In standing tighten your stomach, place your hands on your hips and rotate back and forth in a slow controlled fashion. There should not be any twisting in your low back. The motion should occur through your hip joints.
Now we want to begin some strength exercises. Never do an exercise that causes you pain. Start with about 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions. You have some flexibility here on the exercises you do. I recommend a circuit of several exercises that focus on the big muscle groups. An example would be alternating a set of push-ups with a set of pull-ups or bent over rows. You also need a good leg exercise such as a dumbbell squat with overhead press, split squat or a one leg bench squat. No seated leg extensions or curls. A couple core exercises like the bird dog, side plank, and prone plank will round things off nicely. Finish your workout with flexibility exercises. Main areas to target are the chest, hamstrings, glutes, lats, and posterior shoulder. Hold the stretches about 30 seconds. A good chest stretch is placing your hands about shoulder height in a door way and lean into the door way.
You should be able to get this routine finished in about thirty minutes. Try to get in two to three workouts a week for at least two to three weeks. Feel free to incorporate some supplemental exercises like curls, crunches, lat pulls, etc as you wish but make sure you get the main exercises done first.

I didn’t have a conscious clue what impact training in golf was when I started to write this article. Thanks to my wife, the personal trainer, I am now on my way to becoming an expert. Impact training for golf looks at the science of force and motion in the sport and their combined impact on you, the golfer.

Impact

Impact, according to Webster, is “an impinging or striking (as of one body against another) or “a forceful contact, collision, or onset”. Yep, that pretty well describes what happens when you hit a golf ball!

But before we move on, let’s consider what part impact plays in the scheme of action and reaction. Points of consideration are energy, pressure, application and direction. When you apply pressure or exert energy on an object in any direction, in relation to the focus of the energy, that energy put in motion then transfers in at least two directions – the object absorbs the shock wave and moves or it reflects the shock wave back with an equal and opposite force. You know, it’s the irresistible force and the immovable object paradigm.

That’s a lot of science for one paragraph. Bringing it back to a golf focus, we can now at least look at impact training for golf and try to come to some conclusions.

Fore! Impact And Impact Training In Golf

When you swing your arms and golf club back you are storing energy; when you swing the club forward you are expending energy through the club and into and through the ball. Now, the ball is small and while making contact with the club, the stored energy is released sending the ball skyward. In theory, the swing follows through and slows accordingly, with only a small recoil and re-absorption of energy. The training for impact in golf, in this case is learning to swing smoothly and hit the ball squarely.

Now, it’s never happened to me, but I heard that sometimes people miss the ball entirely, swinging off into the air. The air absorbs some of the energy and I suppose moves accordingly. The remaining energy is reabsorbed by the trunk of the body, in the back, shoulders and legs. The picture is even more tangible when one hits the ground while trying to pound out a 250 yard drive.

In essence, impact training for golf means you become conscious of the impact zones, strengthen areas that are impacted and reduce the stress of potential impacts. That’s why we practice.
My wife says it’s a simple case of “Gradual progressive overload (GPO)” Oh great, now I understand! Get out the medicine ball and get to work – impact training for golf is awaits you.

Just grip it and rip it! Some of the sagest golf advice you’ll ever hear. Just grab the club and swing and forget about everything else. Grip it incorrectly before you rip it however, and you will end up somewhere in the woods on the right or in the water on the left searching for your $4 ball.There are lots of pitfalls to avoid if you want to hit it straight. If you position both of your hands too far clockwise on the grip, otherwise known as a strong grip, you will tend to close the face of the club before contact and therefore hook the ball (for a right handed player). If you take a weak grip with your hands rotated too far counter-clockwise, you will tend to leave the clubface open and slice the ball. Hold the club too much in your palms and you will reduce your ability to cock your wrists, leading to a loss of power. Too much in the fingers and it will be difficult to control the club, reducing your consistency.Now, you can see how important it is to get your hands on the club in the correct way. Of course, there is no single right way for everyone, some players will tend to have a slightly stronger grip, some weaker. Some will use an interlocking grip, some an overlapping. But there are elements of the grip that are common and necessary to everyone, and it is important to master them if you want to lower your scores.Fortunately, people have already figured out the best elements of a good grip, and there are lots of golf training aids that make it vastly easier than it used to be to correct bad habits. Molded grips, training clubs with molded grips, and grip attachments are all extremely useful to enhance your grip. Here are a few tips for selecting a golf training aid that will maximize your benefits:1. Make sure the training aid can be used to hit balls. Short clubs with molded grips are useful, but nothing beats actually hitting shots to groove the new grip. I prefer training aids that attach to the grip of your real clubs, so that you can use them during a practice round under game-time conditions.2. If you use an interlocking grip, make sure the training device allows it to fit comfortably. Some molded grips are designed with only the overlapping grip in mind, so get the thing in your hands and test it out before you buy one.3. Practice regularly with the training aid, but make sure to alternate it with a regular club so you get used to making the grip yourself without the aid. When hitting at the range, hit 5 shots with the device and 5 without it until the grip is rock solid, then you can reduce the use of the aid, using it to hit 5 or 10 shots only at the beginning of the session.Good luck and happing ripping!

Drive for show, putt for dough. Relax the nerves, trust your line. Eyes over the ball, smooth take away. Accelerate through the ball, and…Klinka tinka tinka — yes! The sweet sound of a birdie putt, or even a 6-footer for par, dropping into the cup. It’s a great feeling, especially if you just finished the 18th for a personal best round. Or if you just won 5 skins to make your buddies shell out some serious coin. A hot day with the putter can make you feel like a million bucks. Actually, in the case of a PGA tour pro, it can earn you a million bucks.Too bad that for the average golfer those days seem to come so infrequently. The average Joe uses up anywhere between 32 and 40 putts per round, while the best pros average around 30. Tour pros make just under 90% of their putts from 4-5 feet, while average guys make around 50%. That’s a lot of shots to give up! Think about this: if you are a thirteen handicapper, your average score is around 85, and you average 36 putts per round, then 42% of your shots are putts! And what do you spend most of your time doing at the range? If you’re like most guys (and gals) then you spend most of your time beating balls with your driver or mid-irons. Yet, according to the numbers you should be spending almost half of your time on the putting green.So how can busy people with little time for golf practice still improve their putting game without doubling practice time or drastically reducing the amount of time spent practicing their full shots? Golf training aids are the answer. Many training aids exist that can quickly improve your putting stroke and green reading without spending hours on the putting green. Just 10 to 15 minutes per practice session is required for most golfers to drop strokes quickly. Here are some tips for finding right training aids or a combination of training aids to maximize your results:1. Look for training aids that allow you to easily see the following things: square clubface, shoulder alignment, eye placement (over the ball), foot alignment, and stroke path. Some devices use mirrors, some use low-power lasers. Most training aids have physical barriers that keep the putter on the right path during the stroke.2. For eye alignment you can always do this: line up the putt and address the ball as if you were going to hit the putt. Then take a ball from your pocket, put it between your eyes, and allow it to drop straight down. Wherever the ball lands is where your eyes are lined up. They should be directly over the target ball.3. Whatever device(s) you choose, make sure that they are not too large and/or awkward. My experience is that you don’t use the device unless it is convenient.4. Follow through is also important, so make sure that the training aid gives you feedback for the whole stroke. You need to see that your stroke path is straight and putter face releases properly after contact, otherwise you will have consistency problems.5. Use the golf training aid consistently, every time you practice. You need to groove the stroke and you can’t do that unless you keep at it. Also, if possible, use the device at home or at the office when you have a spare minute. This extra practice time really helps.I wish you good luck and a hot blade!

If you hit the ball well, but suffer from consistency in your shot direction or shape, you may be suffering from alignment problems at address. This is an extremely important but very underrated factor in the golf swing, and most amateurs pay far too little attention to getting it right. Are your feet, hips, shoulders, and clubface aligned properly for each shot? Here’s a short test that will help you find out:First, are your feet lined up parallel to the target line? This one is easy. Just address the ball as if you were going to hit a shot, then put a longish iron on the ground so that the shaft touches both of your toes. Then take another iron and carefully line it up just behind the ball with the grip end of the shaft pointing toward the target.Now, step back and see if the shaft by your feet is parallel with the shaft behind the ball. If the shaft points to the left (for right handers) then you will tend to swing on an outside to in swing path, which will predispose you to hitting pulls, fades, slices. If the shaft points to the right of parallel, then you will tend to push, hook, or draw.Second, check your hips and shoulders. This is a little tougher. Leave the clubs from step 1 in place and address the ball again. Have a friend stand behind you and lay a club across your hips and shoulders to tell where they are lined up. If they are pointing left or right of parallel to the target line the same problems from step 1 apply.Third, check your clubface. Believe it or not, this can be the toughest one. Tape a 12″ plastic ruler or other straight object to the clubface and then address the ball normally. This will exaggerate any errors and tell you where you are aiming. If the clubface is aimed left of square (closed) you will tend to hook and if it is aimed right (open) you will tend to slice, depending on your grip and other factors in your swing.Now, if the results of this test show that your alignment needs work, I suggest you check out some golf training aids that are designed to help you line up correctly. Several affordable training aids are available that really make practicing your alignment easy. Here are some tips for finding a golf training aid that will maximize your results.1. Make sure the golf training aid is easily portable and easy to set up. If it’s not convenient to use, you won’t use it.2. Get one that not only has a ‘T’ setup for aligning your feet and ball position, but also includes a mirror that will help you get your hips, shoulders, and head position right. Otherwise, why bother?3. Use the golf training aid whenever you hit at the range, but make sure you practice without it as well. Hit 10 shots with, 10 without and alternate. Develop a feel for setting up square without the device, since you can’t use it on the course.If you get a good golf training aid and use it consistently, you should see rapid improvements in your direction and ball striking consistency. Good luck!

Slice your handicap, not the ball, with the help of the best swing trainers and other golf training aids. These convenient tools can be used whenever you have a spare moment in the office or at home. The devices are also ideal for maintaining your practice routine during bad weather.The best golf swing trainers reinforce muscle memory through repetition. Look for a system that builds a familiarity with basic principles. Once you have mastered the basics, you can work on perfecting your swing and increasing your power.Swing training aids can be used by players of all age groups and are suitable for both men and women. They assist you in banishing slicing to the kitchen where it belongs. They enable you to learn to control hand release perfectly, eliminating early or late release. If you are still battling to find that fluid, smooth tempo, these systems are likely to be of tremendous help. To maximize training, you want a teaching aid that can be used inside your home. Most of these devices simulate approach and chip shots, giving you full practice sessions and challenging physical workouts.Opt for one of the swing systems that delivers a ‘click’ if your release is executed with perfect timing. The fact that you don’t need an instructor to tell you if you are on track is a huge bonus. It is also useful if a demonstration dvd or video is included. This will motivate you to make the most of the golf swing trainer.A leaderboard-type golf teaching aid also has the potential to correct swing timing challenges. Once you have perfected your swing with the help of the device, you can repeat the exact action on the course. This is a useful tool if you want to improve your power and is utilized by professional players all over the world.This type of golf training aid assists you in a variety of areas. If you have sliding hips, this sin will be corrected. Slicing and hooking will be eliminated. Problems with casting and the use of your wrists will get their share of attention. Your posture and balance will be improved. The feedback you receive is reliable, immediate and consistent, allowing you to make the necessary changes. In the process injuries will become less common as you correct and eliminate the causes. You will be taught exactly how to use your body and how to perfect your stance.Every facet of your game can be attended to with the help of a diverse range of gadgets. Try bringing in a golf putting training aid and revel in the  admiring looks of your opponents. Some of these can be used as a putter, as well as a teaching aid. Again a demonstration video will be helpful to show you exactly how to use the apparatus.The clubhead of a mallet putter comes with a hole sized perfectly for a ball. A ball is placed in the aperture and a variety of putts can then be practiced. Short putts benefit in particular. Try taking a short backswing followed by a follow-through during which the ball is released toward the cup. This is an excellent way to eliminate deceleration, a common problem among beginners. If you decelerate, you will find that the ball isn’t released properly. If your action isn’t smooth, the ball may be released before you want it to.The device will also help you to correct alignment deficiencies. To work on this aspect, you will place another ball as you would for a putt. You would then execute your normal putt and if your alignment is correct, you would have two balls traveling in exactly the same line.Look for a system with adjustable weight, so that you can customize it for you. These tools are perfect for a spot of practice at the office or at home – every few minutes spent refining your game will show on the course and in your handicap.These are just a few of the training tool possibilities. A wealth of other aids are in high demand. These include practice balls, swing speed radar sets that measure clubhead speed, mats, gloves that help to correct your grip, and golf impact indicators. If you want to improve any aspect of your game, an affordable aid can be found to assist you.Remember that, if the love of your life is a golfer, any of these golf training aids will make a superb birthday gift.

Looking for better consistency? Need to improve your accuracy? Desperately want some more yards? Or possibly you just want your swing to look a little better so your buddies won’t tease you anymore. These are all great reasons for doing some work on your swing, but what is the best way to go about it?There are so many factors of the golf swing that it can be intimidating just figuring out what to do first: grip, stance, alignment, takeaway, swing path, shoulder turn, wrist cock, tempo, timing, weight shift, etc. It’s impossible to work on everything at once unless you enjoy tangling yourself into a pretzel. Here are some tips on how to find where to start, and on how to use golf training aids to help you improve your swing.1. Learn! Get at least one book and one video about the golf swing and learn the basic concepts before you start tinkering. This can really save you some time and heartache. Learn about grip, stance, and alignment. Learn about swing path and clubface angle and how the two combine to affect the flight of the ball. There are lots of great golf videos and books out there written by guys who have spent their lives figuring out the best way(s) to swing, so take advantage!2. Get lessons from a PGA pro! At the very least, take three lessons to check your grip, stance, and alignment before you start working on your full swing. Swing work is worthless unless you start from the right position, and you can get good instruction about the alignment basics almost anywhere.3. Get some golf training aids! Golf training aids can really help you get results faster if you use them consistently. Here are some suggestions for golf training aids that will get you going quickly:a) Molded grip. These are invaluable for learning how to grip it before you rip it. Make sure you get a grip/club combination that allows you to actually hit balls, because this is the fastest way to get used to the new position.b) Swing Path. The club should approach the ball on a slightly inside out path for optimum distance. Get a swing path training aid to help with this. They can range from a foam barrier that physically prevents you from coming over the top, to a mat that sits on the ground as a visual aid.c) Swing plane. Swinging the club on plane for the entire swing can help with your consistency. A variety of training aids exists from laser pointers for a visual aid to a large hoop that forces you to stay on plane.d) Tempo. Get a golf metronome and use it during practice sessions. This will help you groove your swing rhythm and gain consistency.e) Release. Your wrists must release properly through impact to get good club head speed and clubface angle. Get a release training aid to help with this.f) Weight shift. You absolutely must shift your weight onto your right foot in your backswing and then back to your left foot as you swing through (for right handers). Many players have a problem with falling back as they swing through, which can cause a nasty slice and too high ball flight. Get a golf training aid that forces you to shift the weight onto your forward foot as you swing through the ball and you will gain distance and directional consistency.If you follow all these suggestions, you will see results quickly. Good luck and stay focused on your swing goals!

Whack! The feeling of a great drive, the sweet feel as the ball jumps off the clubface and rockets down the middle of the fairway– it’s one of the best parts about playing golf, and one of the reasons that we keep coming back for more punishment. If only it would happen more often! Ah, to see the green envy in your opponents’ eyes when your ball blasts by theirs.Unfortunately, the average male golfer’s swing speed is around 85 mph. With a USGA conforming driver, this equates to drives of about 225 yards, an embarrassing 83 yards shorter than Tiger Woods’ average drive, and even 35 yards shorter than Cory Pavin, who is the shortest driver on the PGA Tour. So most of us go to the course with an inferiority complex already deeply ingrained from watching Tour broadcasts which constantly and blatantly rub our faces in the fact that the pros outdrive us by a country mile. No wonder most amateurs can’t relax over the ball and tend to over swing. How could the average guy hope to hit the ball that far?Well, the good news is — it’s possible for you to hit long drives! To hit like the pros, all you have to do is swing as fast as they do, while at the same time maintaining your balance. If it sounds like it is easier said than done, just think about this: As mentioned before, Corey Pavin, the shortest hitter on the PGA Tour, averages just under 270 yards per drive. He is 5′ 9″ tall and weighs 155 pounds. Now, the average male is 5′ 9″ tall and weighs 190 pounds. If Corey Pavin can average 270, then you can hit it just as long or longer!Let’s set a goal of out driving Corey Pavin, so we can tell ourselves honestly that we can drive the ball as far as someone on the Tour. To figure out how to do this, let’s start with the average swing speed of 85 mph and average distance of 225 yards. Now, physics tells us that we get approximately 3 extra yards per additional mile per hour of swing speed. So, if we want to go from 225 to 270 to beat Corey Pavin, that means we need 45 extra yards, which equates to adding 15 mph to the swing speed.How can you use golf training aids to add that extra 15 mph? Since low swing speed is usually the result of a combination of factors including; untrained muscles, poor technique, and lack of physical fitness, a multi-pronged approach is required to get to the goal fast! To accelerate your progress, you can use golf training aids to train and strengthen your golf-specific muscles, to correct poor technique, and to improve your overall fitness. A variety of training aids exist to help with this. Here’s a 3-step plan for increasing your swing speed as fast as possible:1. Make sure that your grip, swing path, and swing plane are correct. It will do no good to increase your swing speed if technical flaws in your swing prevent you from hitting the ball straight. I suggest using a single training aid for both grip and swing plane (many exist with this combination) and another training aid for swing path. For example, a hinged club with a molded grip is perfect for grip and swing path, while a foam obstacle training aid will work well for keeping your swing path on track. Practice with these training aids for at least 2 weeks before moving on to step 2.2. Get some type of weighted club. Weighted clubs are perfect for training the golf specific muscles to have the strength and explosive power that you need to produce higher swing speeds. In addition, training with a weighted club can increase your core stability and balance if done properly. Be very careful not to over swing with a weighted club since you can injure yourself! Stretch out and warm up thoroughly before you even start swinging the heavy club. I suggest using this training aid at least 3 days a week, but not more than 5. It’s important to let your muscles rest a bit each week.3. Get a golf fitness book to augment your regular training program. Overall physical fitness is just as critical to your golf game as golf-specific training. Work out 3 times a week and don’t forget your cardio to reduce fatigue at the end of your round!If you take these three steps I think you will see a great improvement in your driving distance within 2 months, if not sooner. Good luck and I hope to see you on the par fives in two!

Like many sports, golf is a game that takes patience and practice. People are rarely born with the natural, raw and inherent talent when it comes to the game of golf. Rather, they need to work at getting better and better at the game. Having the right tools to help make this possible is very important to individuals that are serious about improving the quality of their game. This is why many people will look for Junior golf training equipment when they are trying to find methods to use when it comes to getting better and improving their approach to the game of golf. There are many different types of tools that Junior’s is able to offer which will help the individual that wants to make their game better on the golf course. These tools range in price as well, since their specific functions and capabilities differ. Some of these tools are as simple as devices that will help to calculate how far away from the hole the golf ball is. Despite their seeming simplicity, these are the types of tools that will help a golf player learn how to improve their game in basic, yet extremely helpful ways. There are a number of resources that an individual can utilize when it comes to finding and purchasing Junior golf training equipment. On the internet, a person can find a great treasure trove of these items at phenomenal prices. Some people are most interested in the fact that by finding items online, an individual is able to purchase either new or used Junior golf training equipment. This is an important distinction between physical stores and online stores. Rarely will physically sporting good stores offer used items. This is because many people who are shopping in the sporting goods store will want the new items, since this is what they see. Online, individuals are able to enjoy the same items, only at deeply discounted prices. This is because in most, if not all, cases individuals that are looking to sell their used Junior golf training equipment kept in it good condition and used it in order to improve their game. However, when an individual gets done learning with a specific tool, they no longer need the tool. Instead, they can pass it on to others with the hope that these others will be able to get some use out of the item as well. In addition, the seller can help to provide themselves with some extra income due to the sale of the item.  With the proper Junior golf training equipment, provided to the individual from a quality source, an individual can use superior equipment in order to attain better results. In the end, the hope is that the individual will be able to have a better golf game. It is important to remember that an individual needs to practice, in addition to owning quality training equipment since the individual will need to learn how to master the physical aspects of the game as well. Together, with the right Junior golf training equipment, a person can hope to improve their game and enjoy the game more as well.

Many golfers look for golf training programs in the internet or from the ever growing golf fitness market. Golf training programs under the tutelage of a golf instructor or a professional golf player can be very beneficial. Discussing golf improvement tips with fellow golfers can also be a great help. However, many feel there is something especially helpful about using instructional videos as learning aids. Because of their effectiveness, golfing lessons on video have become more and more popular since they were first introduced barely a decade ago.

Golf programs have been around as long as the sport has. But in recent years, there are programs that are available on books from the internet and even with instructional videos. Instructional videos and books provide visual learning and this is very important to a great deal of people. There are several findings that support and prove that when people engage their senses of both sight and sound, they tend to learn better and faster and they can remember the information much better. Most beginners, and even those who are experienced, tend to prefer to actually see the golf swing improvement techniques demonstrated, as opposed to simply reading the text about the method being taught.

Another reason why golf training videos are popular and advantageous is because they are more accessible to more and more people. They can save people a lot of money as compared to hiring a golf instructor for a series of golf lessons, which typically will cost somewhere in the range hundreds of dollars per lesson. Instead, a golf instruction program can deliver the same information but at a small fraction of the price. And also, you can always go back and review any lesson at any time without having to dig into your funds to pay for a brush-up lesson again.

Another advantage is that these golf programs can usually be stopped and reviewed at any point in time, which is not something that is possible in a presence of a live golf pro. Especially if you are taking group golfing lessons as opposed to individual instruction. Being able to review any part of a particular lesson or the entire lesson, helps to improve learning and retention through repetition of the lessons learned.

Another major benefit to using instructional golf training programs is being able to take advantage of the unique technologies of production that can be applied to instruction. Golf training programs can utilize many helpful presentation techniques to enhance explanations and present the information more effectively. It is common to see golf videos that use modern presentation techniques to teach the fundamentals of golf.