Golf Muscles Need To Be Strong And Flexible To Produce More Power In Your Golf Swing

Is there such a thing as golf muscles? The golf swing uses every major muscle in the body, but there are KEY golf muscles that can be trained to ignite more power in your golf swing.

Higher Level Of Clubhead And Golf Swing Speed

These golf muscles play a critical role in increasing clubhead speed that will be delivered into the ball at impact. The dream of most golfers is to hit it farther, and yet only a few work on their body’s to achieve this. Your body (current strength and flexibility) dictates how far you’ll hit your drives.

Training these golf muscles to achieve more power in your golf swing is much different than going into a gym and lifting heavy weights or using the machines. Golf is dynamic; is on your feet; involves balance, coordination, stability and body awareness; none of which can be achieved by training on machines.

Gain More “Feel” And Control In Your Golf Swing

Many golfers have a fear of lifting weights because they think it will cause them to bulk up, lose flexibility and not have any “feel” in their golf swing or short game. None of the above is true if you participate in a golf specific strength and flexibility program. You will actually have an improved level of feel and control in golf your swing due to training your golf muscles specific to your swing mechanics.

A successful golf training program should incorporate movements that challenge the same exact positions you’re in during your golf swing. These positions are unique in that they are in golf posture, with several key golf muscles involved. Let’s cover a couple of the golf muscle groups.

Hamstrings For Improved Golf Posture

Your hamstrings serve several different roles in your golf swing. They are the most important muscles to maintaining your golf posture. If you have ever heard your golf pro tell you, “you are coming out of your swing or posture”, I can tell you, your hamstrings are most likely very restricted and weak.

Get in your golf posture right now, and reach back behind the back of your upper leg. Do you feel the tightness? This tells you that when your hip joint is in flexion, the hamstrings stretch. If your hamstrings are tight, you will have a very difficult time staying in this uncomfortable position (golf posture).

If your hamstrings are weak, they will send a message to your brain during your golf swing that they can’t hold this position and need to get out of it. This is one of the most commo occurrences in amateur golfers.

Core Golf Muscles Generate Maximum Power

The core has become very popular in all athletic training programs and it has now reached amateur golfers. This area covers your abdominals mainly and can even go into your hip flexors and glutes. But mainly think of your core as your abdominal area.

When you try to make a full backswing and can’t, this is your core rotational flexibility that is inefficient. If you don’t work on this from a training standpoint, you will never achieve a full backswing without creating a high level of tension, which will rob you of clubhead speed.

With a stronger, more flexible core, you will be able to rotate fully on the backswing with minimal tension, creating maximum torque. This loaded position is ideal for generating high levels of clubhead speed without swinging harder. So many golfers think that swinging harder will create more distance. This is actually the opposite of what happens. Swinging harder creates muscular tension. Tense muscles react slower, not faster.

Quadricep Muscles For Better Stability

The quadriceps or the upper thigh area is involved 100% of the time in your golf swing. Whenever there is knee flexion the quadriceps are under tension and firing. It is critical in your golf swing to maintain the same knee flexion you had at address throughout your swing. Many golfers cannot physically do this because their quads are too weak.

When your quads are weak, they also send a message to your brain telling it to get out of that uncomfortable position causing the legs to straighten. This is one of the most common swing faults with amateur golfers, especially on the backswing. This is a swing fault that is purely a “physical issue”, not a mechanical one that entails more lessons.

Strengthening your quads will enable you to hold that knee flex for long periods of time, whether it be hitting balls on the practice range, or playing 18 holes of golf. This straightening of the legs and coming out of your posture on your backswing will not happen if you focus on some simple quad exercises that require minimal equipment.

Other Golf Muscles Are Important Too

There are several smaller muscle groups in the upper body such as the upper lat muscles, rotator cuffs in the shoulders and even the chest that can add more power to your swing, but in this article I wanted to keep it simple and cover the main ones.

By: Mike Pedersen

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