14 Simple Golf Exercises You Must Try

To excel in any sport, the core has to be strong. Without strength and flexibility in the butt, back, and hips, you can’t become a powerful and impeccable golfer. To achieve your dreams, first, achieve body and golf fitness which is a necessity.

There are plenty of golf exercises that will improve your lower back strength and range of motion. Here are 14 easy golf exercises to try at home.

14 Easy Golf Exercises to Try

1. Walk Forward with Mini-Bands

1.1. How to Walk Forward with Mini-Bands

• Take two mini bands and wear them around your legs. Keep one above the knee and the other around your ankles
• Walk forward and then backward in small steps
• Do 10 steps in each direction.
• Repeat at least two more sets

1.2. How It Works for Your Body

In some golf exercises, you can use stretch bands. These stretch bands let you move yet keep the base stable and strengthen and activate your glutes.

Related: Check out amazing physical therapy exercises for the knee here

2. Walk Sideways with Mini-Bands

2.1. How to Walk Sideways with Mini-Bands

• Take the mini bands and place one above the knee and the other around your ankles
• Keep the back straight and walk sideways in small steps
• Your elbows should move backward when the same side leg moves forward
• Your legs and back should be in a straight line
• In each set, do 5-10 steps in each direction

2.2. How It Works for Your Body

Among all the golf exercises here, mini bands are used for sideways movement, which activates the leg muscles and increases their strength.

3. Hip Cross-Overs

3.1. How to Do Hip Cross-Over

• Lie down facing up
• Put your hands on each side and bend your bones
• Keep your feet apart, wider than your shoulder width
• Fix your heels on the ground
• With your bent knee, twist your left leg towards your right leg such that it touches the ground while keeping your upper part as steady as possible
• Do the same with your right leg
• Do at least 1 set of 6 reps

3.2. How It Works for Your Body

It is one of the golf exercise mats that stimulate the hip and lower back muscles and strengthen the muscles around them. It is good for your abdominal muscles and brings about core stability.

4. Glute Bridges

4.1. How to Do Glute Bridges

• Lie down with your face up and arms at your sides
• Bend your knee as you did during hip crossovers
• Take the support of your heels while keeping your toes up
• Now squeeze your hips and thrust them upward such that your body from hip to chest looks like a slope in a straight line
• Do at least 10 reps for each set

4.2,. How It Works for Your Body

Glute Bridges is one of the golf exercises that acts on lower back hamstrings, hips, and abdominal muscles and strengthens them. 

Related: Read about the 9 fittest golfers on the PGA tour here

5. Inverted Hamstrings

5.1. How To Do Inverted Hamstrings

• Stand on the ground and extend your arms in the opposite direction
• First, get on your left leg, bend your body forward, and extend your right leg behind you so that your legs and body in this bent position make a straight line
• Feel your hamstrings stretched, then change your position and extend your left leg behind you
• Do 6 reps for each set and each leg

5.2. How It Works for Your Body

Well, the hamstrings are an important part of swings. It supports your entire body weight and maintains flexibility. So among all golf exercises, choose this one to give the right amount of strength and flexibility to your hamstrings.

6. Quad Rocking

6.1. How To Do Quad Rocking

• Get on all four, keep your hands in front of your shoulder blades
• Your knees must be under your hips
• Maintain a natural curve around your lower back
• Now, move your hips back slowly and feel your pelvis stretched
• Return to the starting position and then again move backward
• Do 10 reps for each set

6.2. How It Works for Your Body

The hips might get sore while playing or remaining in a single position. Doing this golf exercise will mobilize and activate the circulation in your hips and relieve stress.

7. World’s Greatest Stretch

The world’s greatest stretch is an all-in-one stretch. It lengthens almost every muscle in a single stretch and increases the flexibility of the body muscles.

7.1. How To Do World’s Greatest Stretch

• First, stand normally with your hands on your sides
• Go for a lunge with your left foot forward and keep the knee of your back foot above the ground
• Place your right arm on the ground and lean onto it.
• Rotate your left arm and lift it upward along with your chest. Take a moment and get the urn
• Change your positions and repeat the same steps
• Do 3 reps for each set and each side

7.2. How It Works for Your Body

As the name says, it is a stretching of almost all the muscles. It stretches the legs, hips, lower back, hamstrings, abdominal muscles, and biceps. Do it as a warm-up before you go to a golf game.

8. Lateral Squat

It’s similar to a regular squat. The only difference in the lateral squat is that you have to do it on one side at a time.

8.1. How To Do Lateral Squats

• Stand at ease with your feet shoulder-width apart
• Shift your weight on the right hip and bend your right knee
• Check out your left leg. It should be straight and lie flat on the floor
• Return to your starting position and bend the left leg this time by shifting your weight to the left hip and repeat the same
• Do at least 6 reps for each set

8.2. How It Works for Your Body

This is one of the golf exercises that help strengthen the lower part of the body, including the hamstrings, butts, glutes, and groins. It also increases the core strength of the body and brings power and speed to your golf swing.

9. Backward Lunge with Tilt

It’s an adaptation to regular lunge with a little twist.

9.1. How To Do Backward Lunge with Tilt

• Place your right foot backward in a lunge posture, as seen in the video, while keeping the left leg folded at the knee.
• Lift your right hand upward and tilt your chest to the left
• Shift to, the other leg and repeat the same
• Do 6 reps each set for each leg

9.2. How It Works for Your Body

When you play golf, your body must be flexible and ready for each swing. This is one of the golf exercises that help activate the muscles of your side torso, hip flexures, and groin area and protect your body from any shock or Jerk.

10. Knee Hugs

10.1. How To Do Knee Hugs

• Stand normally with your hands by your side
• Hold the right knee in your hand and bring it close to your chest while squatting down on your left leg.
• Again, hold the left knee and pull it close to your chest while squatting on the right leg.
• Squat as much as your body allows. Forcing your body can invite other complications.
• Do 6 reps for each set and each leg.

10.2. How It Works for Your Body

Knee Hugging is a fundamental warm-up exercise. It stretches the glutes¹, and hamstrings, and maintains posture while you play.

11. Doorstep Lunge

11.1. How To Do Doorstep Lunge

• Stand normally and let your hands meet in front of your chest.
• Take your left foot backward such that it is right behind your right foot at a distance of 3 feet.
• Then get into a squat position², switch sides, and repeat the squat.
• Do at least 6 reps for each set and each leg.

11.2. How It Works for Your Body

It activates the hip muscles and hamstrings and helps the golfer gain clubhead speed and flexibility while swinging.

12. T-Hip Rotations

12.1. How To Do T-Hip Rotations

• Get the support of a chair by holding it with your left hand and bending forward
• Lift your right leg so that it is in line with your body. Your legs must make an angle of 90 degrees forming a T shape with your body.
• Stretch your right hip towards the ceiling until you feel a stretch in the left hip muscles. Let your right hand support the weight of your hips.
• Pause for a moment and then switch your position
• Do 6 reps for each leg

12.2. How It Works for Your Body

It helps the golfer by activating the hip muscles and adductors³. Of all the golf exercises, this one specifically increases the flexibility and strength of the golfer and increases golf performance.

13. 1 Arm 1 Leg Romanian Deadlift

13.1. How To Do 1 Arm 1 Leg Romanian Deadlift

• Take a dumbbell or a medicine ball with one hand and stretch the leg on that side backward. Let the other leg support your entire body weight.
• Tilt forward while keeping your back and knees straight
• Return to the initial position
• Repeat the same by switching sides
• Do 6 reps for each set and each leg

13.2. How It Works for Your Body

This is one of the golf exercises that help build strength and power in the glutes and hamstrings⁴. It prepares the golfer for explosive movement and prevents body shock.

14. 1 Arm 2 Leg Deadlift

14.1. How To Do 1 Arm 2 Leg Deadlift

• Use a platform to put dumbells of preferred weights in front of you
• Place one of your hands behind your back and lift the dumbbell with one arm while taking a squat position
• Stand up and repeat it with your other hand
• Do 6 reps for each set and hand

14.2. How It Works

The squat is a core-building exercise, and if you add weight to it, you will get better results. For golfers, it will strengthen their core and hip muscles.

Takeaway

The above-stated golf exercises will help you improve your short games and do perfect swings. So include these workouts in your daily exercise sessions, training programs, and swing to stand out in your golf club.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What part of your body do you use most in golf?

The upper body part is, mostly, used for playing golf which includes the chest, back, forearms, and buttocks. However, lower body strength is also very important for maintaining good posture.

2. What muscles help you hit the golf ball farther?

The glutes, hip flexors, and quadriceps are the muscles responsible for making a good posture and giving strength for playing golf better.

3. Do strong arms help in golf?

Yes! Strong arms do help in golf. Keeping strong arms helps in developing acceleration and giving speed to hit the golf ball.

4. Should you eat before or after golf?

You should eat a proper healthy meal at least 1 hour before the golf. It will help in giving energy and maintaining blood sugar levels during the game.

5. Should I drink coffee before golf?

Yes, you should drink coffee before golf as it provides more concentration and energy for the golf match. However, do not consume too much caffeine as it can cause anxiety and disrupt in playing golf.

Edited by Nwachukwu Favour ( nurse)

1. Trentesaux, Coralie, et al. “From gut to glutes: The critical role of niche signals in the maintenance and renewal of adult stem cells.” Current opinion in cell biology 63 (2020): 88-101. ↩︎
2. Zawadka, Magdalena, et al. “How are squat timing and kinematics in the sagittal plane related to squat depth?.” Journal of sports science & medicine 19.3 (2020): 500. ↩︎
3. Markovic, Goran, et al. “Adductor muscles strength and strength asymmetry as risk factors for groin injuries among professional soccer players: A prospective study.” International journal of environmental research and public health 17.14 (2020): 4946. ↩︎
4. Danielsson, Adam, et al. “The mechanism of hamstring injuries–a systematic review.” BMC musculoskeletal disorders 21 (2020): 1-21. ↩︎

Last Updated on March 30, 2024 by Suchi