Your Golf Game

Getting to the Core of the Problem with
Your Golf Game


Just about everything you do during golf practice and/or a game involves the core region
of your body.

Hitting a long drive off the tee, iron shots, pitch shots and blasting out of the bunker and
even putting. Heck, even picking up the ball in the cup takes strength in your core region.

So, it would make sense then that many of your struggles in golf originate in the
weaknesses in the core of your body.

How do you fix it? Well, there's no magic core strength pill or patch. It takes some good,
old-fashioned flexibility training and exercise. Now, Im not talking about hitting the gym
every day of the week and pumping iron like some of those puffed up body builders. This
is simple stuff you can do right in your home or office; just minutes a day, maybe 15 to
20 minutes, that's it.

I already do my sit-ups every day!

Different types of core exercises exist. Many of you are probably familiar with exercises
such as the sit-up, which is an exercise that can be used to train the core. If you have
read any of our other articles, read our manual Your Body and Your Swing or watched
the DVD, you are well aware of what the word core means and its relation to the golf
swing.

Let us do a quick review for your benefit and introduce the types of core exercises to
perform for a better golf swing.

The core is an anatomical region of the body. It can generally be defined as the region of
your body between the hips and chest. It encompasses numerous muscle groups on the
front, side, and backside of the body. In general the core consists of the muscles that
make up your abdominals, lower back, obliques, and hips.

The core region is important to the golf swing for many reasons. The core is essentially
called the engine of the body. It is the area that drives the body for most any human
movement including your golf swing. It is primarily responsible for the capacities of:
balance, stability, and power development within the body. For these capacities to occur
efficiently it is necessary to train the core for improved performance.

Core Training for the Golfer

Many of us correlate core training to only the abdominal section of the body. In order to
develop the core correctly, we must train all areas of the core equally. This means to
address the obliques, hips, and lower back with the same number of exercises and
repetitions as you do for the commonly trained abdominal region.

A quick note from experience: More times than not, most golfers have imbalances in the
core region. This means that certain muscles or muscle groups are weaker than others.
To improve your performance on the golf course, you need to have a balanced core for
optimal strength, endurance and power. Keeping this thought in mind, many times the
lower back region is weaker than the abdominals (an imbalanced core). Picture the
golfer picking up his ball from the cup. We've all seen them, creaking as they go down,
maybe a quiet groan as if no one hears it. If this is the case, additional attention/exercises
are needed for the lower back to bring it up to speed, so to speak, in level with the
abdominals.

Moving forward, knowing that we must train the entire core and create balance between
all the muscles, it is time to discuss what type of exercises to utilize in training the core
region. To develop the core region for golf you will want to perform exercises in the
following categories: stability (balance), strength, endurance, and power. All four of
these categories are necessary for an optimal swing. Leaving one of the categories listed
above out of your training program is like building a boat with a hole in it. It wont work!

Let us define the differing training categories of a golf specific core program to help you
better understand the purpose behind each category. The categories of core training that
are incorporated in golf training are: 1) stability (balance) training, 2) strength training,
3) endurance training, and 4) power training.

Balance and Stability

Stabilization exercises are exercises that give the body the ability to have better balance.
A large portion of your balance capability is directly related to the core region of the
body. If you are unable to maintain your balance throughout the golf swing, the efficiency
of the swing, contact with the ball, and club head speed will suffer. For example, when
you swing your driver and are not able to maintain that perfect finished position of
swing, the problem may be related to your balance capacities throughout the entire
swing.

Balance training develops the integration of your neural and muscular systems, your
brain and your body. Improvement in the functioning of these two systems of the body
and integration of these two systems will result in a better swing. Follow the logic and it
will all make sense. If you improve the ability of your body to balance, then the ability to
maintain balance within your golf swing will become easier.

Strength

The golf swing requires that certain body parts remain in a stable position while other
body parts are moving. To perform a powerful golf swing, the body must have the
strength and flexibility to perform these actions simultaneously.

In order to perform the above activity it is required to develop the strength parameters of
the core. If you have a weak core then the ability to maintain a posture, keep a posture,
and perform this over a period of time will be compromised. To repeat, the core region
of the body is involved in the stabilization process of the body. To improve this
capacity, we must train the body to be more efficient at stabilizing itself during the golf
swing. Strength exercises develop and improve this capacity within your body for the
purpose of improving your golf swing.

Endurance

The golf swing is a repetitive movement performed by the body. You are doing the same
activity over and over. An efficient golf swing and good scores require that you perform
the same swing on the 18th hole as you do on the 1st hole. If you are unable to do this
then the mechanics of your swing will suffer, as will your scores. To eliminate this
situation it is necessary to develop the endurance capacities of the core region.
Endurance exercises allow the body to perform the same activity over and over without
getting fatigued. As a result of the golf swing being a repetitive athletic movement,
endurance training will enhance the ability to maintain your optimal swing mechanics
over an extended period of time.

Power

Power Exercises are geared towards improving the power outputs of the body. Training
for power gives you the opportunity to hit the ball farther. The core region of the body is
directly related to torque development in the golf swing. Power can also be defined as
torque (rotational power) when discussing the golf swing. In order to create high
amounts of club head speed, your body has to create large amounts of torque. If you want
to create greater power in your golf swing you must include power exercises in your
core training program.

If you are really serious about improving your game, start at the core of the problem!

In this article we have described the core and how to train the core specifically for the
improvement of your golf game. A few points to keep in mind from this article: 1) the
core is a region of the body that includes all muscles from your hips to your chest, 2) you
must develop the capacities of stability, strength, endurance, and power within the core
for a benefit in your game, and 3) the development of the core must be balanced in terms
of all muscles involved and in all the training components (equal amounts of stability,
strength, endurance, and power) within the core. For more information of golf specific
training please look at our website www.BioForceGolf.com

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today.
He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has
made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques
available to amateur golfers on the website www.bioforcegolf.com. Check out his
manual and DVD, Your Body & Your Swing,
(www.bioforcegolf.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=93 ) on
BioForceGolf.com. To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com.

About the Author
Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today.
He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has
made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques
available to amateur golfers on the website www.bioforcegolf.com.