There aren't many people who actually get excited about golf training exercises. The idea of pain, sweating and repetitive movements sounds like a nightmare, not something good for you. However, golfers really should take care of their most important tools, their bodies. No matter how advanced the rest of your equipment, if your body isn't in good shape, you'll never perform to your potential. You probably have hundreds of excuses why you don't exercise, but bottom line, you need to improve your strength, flexibility, balance and endurance to not only play better, but also feel better, period.

Golf Training Exercises

    You don't have to work out twice a day, or even every day to gain the benefits of golf training exercises. Just exercising a few times a week is a good start. As you get in better shape, you can increase your golf training time. The key, regardless of how much you train, is focusing on the skills necessary to play well. For golf, those skills happen to be strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. To get started, you just need to know the basics about each of those attributes. We'll provide the basics, but it's up to you to provide the effort and self discipline to do them.

Strength Golf Training

    The best type of strength training for golf is "Cross-Specific Training," ("Develop Strength the 'Right Way' for Your Golf Swing"). That means you should do strength-training exercises that work golf-specific motions. It's really simple; just do golf motions, such as the backswing or downswing, while lifting. For example, you can hold a medicine ball with your arms outstretched and rotate side to side. That'll work out your arms, shoulders and torso while imitating the coiling motion of a golf swing. "Cross-Specific Training" will have a direct effect on your performance, unlike standard weightlifting programs. So, always try to integrate golf motions into your strength training.

Flexibility Golf Training

    Flexibility is vital to performing a great swing. Good flexibility will increase your range of motion, resulting in longer, straighter shots (Roberts). Not to mention that being flexible reduces your chance of injury. To enjoy those benefits, incorporate a simple stretching routine before and after your workouts (Blackburn). Focus on your arms, torso, back and legs because you utilize them the most while golfing.  It only takes a few minutes to increase your flexibility, and with all the benefits, why wouldn't you do  some stretches?

Balance Golf Training

    Your body must gracefully coordinate every muscle during a swing. Your legs, arms and torso must work together to execute the precise motion. If any part of your body strays out of place, you're doomed to being a duffer. But with proper balance, your entire body will work together, perfectly poised. You can achieve that balance through dynamic balance golf training drills ("Dynamic Balance Exercises"). Dynamic balance simply means that you are balanced while moving. One drill you can do is the "side-to-side stabilization hop." All you do is hop laterally back and forth from one foot to another ("Dynamic Balance Exercises"). Just pause two seconds while balancing on each leg before jumping to the other side. If you do several sets of 10 to 15 hops, you'll be balancing better in no time.

Endurance Golf Training Exercises

    Although most golfers won't be running marathons any time soon, they still need good endurance to play well. If you are in good shape, you'll be able to go a whole round without tiring and be able to play day after day, which you'll need if you ever plan a week-long golf vacation. Besides the discomfort of being worn down, not having endurance will hurt your performance. It's hard to play well when you're huffing and puffing, not to mention how the wheezing messes up your concentration. The easiest way to start building endurance is by walking. Whether you start a walking workout routine or just pass on the cart when you play, every little bit helps. Eventually, as you build up more endurance, you can advance onto harder exercises like jogging or biking.

    Golf Training is incredibly important for you to play well and live a healthy life. The better shape you're in, the better you'll play and the better your body will feel. Even if you just start out with a few hours a week, do something to take care of the most important piece of equipment you'll ever have.