The 8 best golf courses for a smoother swing
Plagued by stiff shoulders and general tension while playing golf? You need to warm up for golf with good stretches, my friend! Stretching is an important part of any sport, and despite the low intensity of golf, it’s no different.
These are the 8 best golf courses:
- Stretch behind the shoulder (shoulders)
- Standing Oblique Twists (Obliques)
- Standing Extensions (back)
- Toe touches (hamstrings and calves)
- Standing Quad Stretch (Quads)
- arm circles (shoulders)
- Wrist flexor stretch (wrist and elbow)
- Low lunge (hips, quads, groin)
So prepare properly before hitting balls like there is no tomorrow and do some golf drills before playing. Without them there is a risk of injury.
Ideally, you should stretch all of your muscles before playing. Read on to learn our favorites, which muscles work them, and how to do them properly.
The 8 best courses for golf
1. Behind the shoulder stretch (shoulders)
Type: Passive
This is a great exercise to release those tensions Shoulders and prepare them for a swing. We recommend using either a golf club or a wooden dowel to aid in stretching.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Hold both ends of your golf club in front of your body with an overhand grip
- Move the racquet up and over your head. Try not to bend your elbows.
- Move the racquet back as far as possible
2. Standing Oblique Twists (Obliques)
Type: Dynamic
Hold onto your golf club for our next exercise: the standing oblique twist. This exercise mostly targets the obliques, although you should also feel a good stretch in your abs, back, and lats.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Place your golf club so that it rests on your trapezius muscle and grasp both ends of your club
- Rotate 90 degrees to the right until you feel a good stretch (be careful not to move too fast or you may overstretch)
- Return to center and rotate left about 90 degrees to stretch the other side.
3. Standing Extensions (Back)
Type: Passive
Standing extensions are a great way to tone your back return Work.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Position your hands in the cross
- Push your hips forward and arch your back
4. Toe touches (hamstrings and calves)
Type: Passive
Everyone has touched toes at some point – because they are a great stretch! You always feel a good tension in the hamstrings and calves. Although we’re going to cover standing toe touches here, you can do them seated if you prefer.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Bend forward while keeping your legs straight and try to touch your toes
Top tip: If touching your toes is too easy, you can try grabbing your calves and bringing your torso closer to your legs.
5. Standing Quad Stretch (Quads)
Type: Passive
The standing quadriceps stretch, like toe touch, is another staple when it comes to general stretches in exercise.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- While balancing on one foot, grab your opposite ankle and pull it back until it’s behind your buttocks
- Keep your bent knee in line with your straight leg
- Tighten your abdominal muscles to prevent pelvic tilt
- Switch to your other leg and repeat the same sequence
6. Arm circles (shoulders)
Type: Dynamic
Arm circles are my favorite form of dynamic stretching and I do them before almost every sport. They are great at getting the blood pumping through your arms and working out your arms Shoulders.
More specifically, they target yours rotator cuff, a common place to get injured, so arm circles are great to incorporate into your warm-up routine. They also target those Biceps and triceps to a much lesser extent.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Start with your arms in line with your shoulders and make small counter-clockwise circular motions
- Gradually increase the circumference of the circle until your hands overlap
- Repeat in the opposite direction with clockwise twists
7. Wrist flexor stretch (wrist and elbow)
Type: Passive
This track is kind of a two-for-one deal. While it’s most obvious that the stretch targets your wrists, it’s also one of the best golf stretches for fighting a golfer’s elbow. So do yourself a favor and get started!
- While sitting or standing, keep one arm straight in front of you
- Raise your fingers like you’re telling someone to stop
- With the other hand, pull your fingers back for a better stretch
- Switch the roles of your arms and straighten the other side
8. Low lunge (hips, quads, groin)
Type: Passive
As golfers, we know how involved our hips are in executing a swing, so they need a good warm-up. Our choice of hip stretch is the low lunge. It gives you a great stretch in the hips and works a variety of other key muscles such as: Quads, groin and back.
- Assume a standard lunge position with your right leg forward and drop your left knee to the floor
- Your right knee should be bent and over your right foot
- Push your hips down
- Raise your arms overhead and stretch back as far as is comfortable
- Switch legs and straighten the other side.
Continue reading: How to Practice Golf at Home – 6 steps to practice at home
The Importance of Stretching
While some people may feel that pre-golf stretches are a bit of a waste of time, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Stretching has several benefits, the main one being it helps prevent injuries.
Since many of us don’t warm up properly, we go to golf cold. Our muscles aren’t fully primed for activity, let alone the explosive movement of a golf swing. As you should know, this is a recipe for disaster, and you’re asking for trouble.
By stretching, you gradually relax your muscles. You are then primed for golf moves and far less likely to hit. Which brings me to the second benefit, and that is golf flexibility. By stretching the muscles as much as possible, we increase the range of motion of our joints.
This gives you more control over your pull and allows you to rotate your body a bit more, which can lead to performance improvements.
The Different Types of Golf Flexibility Exercises
All courses for golf can fit into three categories. Here is some information about each type.
Passive
Passive stretching involves holding a position with the help of an external force. Usually this means you or a partner holding a limb in place to stretch.
Active
Active stretching is the same as passive stretching, except there’s no outside force to help — your muscles must hold the positions independently.
Dynamic
Dynamic stretching adds movement to the mix. You move your body repeatedly so that your muscles go from a relaxed position to a full stretch.
Continue reading: How to Increase Clubhead Speed: A 12-Step Guide
Tips for golf courses
While stretching improves performance and reduces the risk of injury, poor stretching can do the opposite, causing you to stretch the right way.
First things first, you shouldn’t go into the stretch cold. This is because it increases the likelihood of a muscle being pulled or torn. Before stretching, you should first warm up slightly to get your circulation going.
Current research suggests how long you should hold your stretches Hold stretches for 15-30 seconds with 2-4 reps. You won’t reap the benefits if you’re impatient and don’t keep the stretch to its full length. You can increase the dynamic stretches a bit since your muscles aren’t under constant tension.
Finally, a quick word about how much pressure you should be applying for your golf stretches. Make sure you only hold the stretches to the point where you feel a good stretch. At most, stretches should be a little uncomfortable when it gets to the pain point because you’re stretching your muscles too far.
frequently asked Questions
Does Stretching Help Your Golf Swing?
Stretching will certainly help your golf swing. It loosens up your muscles and makes your joints more fluid. This promotes a smooth swing and reduces the risk of injury.
Stretching can also help increase your flexibility when playing golf, which can improve the quality of your shots.
What are dynamic stretches for golfers?
Golfers can consider incorporating many great dynamic exercises into their golf stretching routine. These include:
- Standing oblique twists
- arm circles
- Kick with straight legs
- knees to chest
Final Thoughts
Too many people neglect golf courses, and ultimately many of those people will pay the price. So do the smart thing and take 5-10 minutes before a round to properly warm up and stretch your muscles.
Not only does this prevent injury, but it also loosens up your muscles, which feels great. Over time, repeated stretching also increases the range of motion in your joints. This allows you to build more potential energy in your golf swing, resulting in a small increase in yardage.
