What does productive golf strength training look like?
The best things in life are simple in nature. Simplicity should be the cornerstone of an effective golf strength training program. Due to the demands of the game you cannot destroy your energy reserves in the gym by crushing your body and nervous system by doing the latest and greatest bro science magazine workout promoted by a druggie. If you smash out your nervous system good luck playing golf! There has to be a better way to enjoy the benefits strength training can provide to your golf game.
If you’ve read my book Golf Strength Training, you undoubtably understand the vital importance of keeping it simple in the gym. You’ve learned my concept of the “Build & Tune” philosophy. If you haven’t read my book yet, let me give you a quick summary.
The idea is a common sense idea that I learned the hard way by following traditional high volume strength training and watching my golf game go to pot many years ago when I was in high school. If you prioritize your golf scoring ability, I’d highly recommend grabbing a copy of my book and getting the finer details of my philosophy and following the programs in the book. Undoubtably, you will benefit big time. Disclaimer: I am compensated about 1/2 of the value of a ProV1 golf ball if you buy a copy :-)
The “Build & Tune” philosophy is very simple and agrees with common sense. My argument is there is no way to mimic the golf swing in the gym. A golf swing is a highly coordinated endeavor that culminates in a club head speed that can easily reach excesses of 100 miles per hour.
Being in the gym nearly everyday of my life as a fitness professional, I can guarantee you that there is no equipment that mimics a blast shot out of the bunker or a 15 foot putt for birdie. Likewise for swinging a driver at maximum speed.
So the idea is simply that you will work hard in the gym to BUILD a stronger, more powerful body that can stabilize itself well while powering movement. For this to work your training in the gym must be extremely selective following an abbreviated, yet intense program. There is a hidden principle that most miss when it comes to proper training.
It is that you can either workout long, or you can workout hard, but you cannot do both.
As a golfer, you simply cannot afford hours and hours in the gym, rather, you need that time to practice so this approach is the golden ticket for you.
Utilizing this approach you will get much stronger and become much more powerful quite quickly while minimizing your risk of overtraining syndrome. This is a win-win for a golfer, because it allows sufficient time to practice the sport of golf. Practicing and playing the actual game of golf is how you TUNE your new, stronger self into a more powerful golfer.
Golf, by its very nature, is extremely complicated. To play well you must be able to hit a variety of shots with each club from all conditions. Not to forget to mention the game within the game: putting. So the idea culminates in this manner: You BUILD your body into a stronger, more powerful version of itself in the gym. Then you TUNE your new body on the practice ground and by playing the game of golf. BUILD & TUNE your way to longer drives and better ball striking due to better stability and enhanced power.
The Lower Body: Hogan’s Secret?
Being from North Texas, I cannot help myself from studying Ben Hogan. When it comes to ball striking Mr. Hogan is hard to beat. To think that he won so many titles and at the same time spent time fighting for our Country in World War II and then suffering a major setback after getting in a horrible car accident getting hit by a Greyhound bus. Right before the bus hit them, he moved himself in front of his wife saving her life while he suffered massive injuries.
Remarkably, he rehabs himself and comes back from this to win multiple major titles. Mr. Hogan’s toughness is unmatched in my opinion. If you ever wondered what would happen if somebody obsessed over the golf swing for most of their life and they wrote about it check out his book: 5 Lessons which I highly recommend. I believe that book can change a golfer big time, however, I would warn a newbie that Mr. Hogan early in his career suffered from a score-wrecking duck hook. So his approach was to eliminate hooking the ball and play a controllable power fade shot. So if you currently banana slice the ball into the next zip code take that into consideration and make your adjustments from the concepts.
Many have speculated on various “secrets” Mr. Hogan may have had. Of course the weak grip, cupped left wrist, etc are hot topics. I do not wish to speculate on somebody’s secrets, but by observing Mr. Hogan's swing on YouTube, you will see that his body shape sports a bigger lower body than upper body. A lower body bias build if you will. This build combined with a wide stance gave him incredible stability to support his enormously powerful swing.
Big glutes and strong legs will help you stay more “centered” in your golf swing and will prevent one of Harry Hacker’s favorite moves of swaying the upper body. If you want to hit the ball far and solidly you must use your legs from the ground up to generate power. I like to feel like my feet have “roots” growing into ground and you drive through the ground to generate power starting with the legs.
Power transfers through your legs and hips to shoulders to arms to hands to club shaft to club head to finally into the golf ball. This power builds on itself and compounds. Most poor golfers do the opposite and violently turn shoulders forward first and lose all power and hit big slices that put the squirrels in grave danger.
Obviously with a right handed golfer, during the backswing the weight loads on the inside of the right foot then the weight shifts towards the left when you begin shifting hips laterally towards target before rotating them around. I do not wish to give a swing lesson here, but my point is that the lower body is very active in sound golf swings and stability plays a massive role.
Mr. Hogan used his lower body superbly well and this is why he could hit the ball so far even though he was a small man. For this reason, I believe your golf strength training should bias the lower body's development.
Bigger and stronger glutes and legs (heavier lower body) will lower your center of gravity and help you stay more centered even on your biggest swings. Imagine the opposite, a massive chest and shoulders with bird legs. The buff bird would look good in baggy pants, but would have trouble making birdies indeed because their center of gravity is very high and would be susceptible to Harry Hacker's swing wrecking swaying. Therefore, sound golf strength training should have ample glute and leg work and bias development in the lower body. Could that be a Mr. Hogan secret?
A Very Simple Golf Strength Training Approach
In my book, I promote a golf strength training approach that utilizes compound movements done at a high intensity using abbreviated programs. Of course, I would want you to follow that approach if you are serious about incorporating a full spectrum golf strength training program. However, maybe you just want to dip your toes into the water with a very simple beginner program. Here we use three moves and one device: a kettlebell.
If you have never done these moves, I would strongly recommend finding a reputable personal trainer in your area to teach you how to do these correctly. It’s a great investment versus going at it alone and hurting yourself. Always, be smart using any weights and stay within in your capabilities. If you can add these three moves into your weekly routine they can help you improve your posture, stability, and power in your golf swing. Without further ado.
Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebell Goblet Squats
Bodyweight or Kettlebell Windmills (NEW! Not in book)
Don’t let the simplicity fool you! Simple is good, remember? On the Swings and Squats stick with rep ranges of 10 to 20. Windmills being a very coordinated movement requiring much focus are best for 3-5 reps per side. 3 to 5 sets of these movements once or twice per week is just right for a busy golfer.
Conclusion
If you enjoy these movements and want to dive in deeper to golf strength training grab a copy of my book here. If you have read my book and want to add in Windmills you can add them in Session #1 of Baseline Strength Training and Session #1 of Power Up Training. Do 3 sets of 3 reps per side. Please see the video below for a proper demonstration of the Windmill. Seek help of a qualified trainer to learn the movement, you’ll be glad you did.
I hope you have extracted something of value from this article and my wish is that it inspires you to take action and enjoy the benefits of adding strength training to your golfing plan. Strength, stability, flexibility, and power never go out of style! If you are new to golf I’d highly recommend spending time mastering the fundamentals of your swing either by yourself or by seeking help from a golf instructor. You don’t want to have a 100 dollar body with a 10 cent swing! (Paraphrasing Louie Simmons RIP)
Thank you for reading!
Beau
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