Please check with your Health Care Professional prior to using these exercises.
To accomplish the polished skill of golf and to improve golf swing flexibility, it is imperative that you follow a routine set of stretches every day and notice a drastic different in how you play golf to-the-mark. A simple golf stretching practice will guide your golf game and is considered one of the easiest workouts to improve golf game, and thus, improve golf swing mechanics. A golf player can play excellently and, at the same time, inculcate the ability to maintain a rigorous training process to acquire the required strength and flexibility to perform well on the field.
Since a golf swing uses four tempos, namely the backswing, downswing, ball strike and finally, the follow-through, a golfer has to generate that much flexibility to utilize the core muscle strength to main proper posture and swaying of the golf club. Following are the kinds of muscle strength used for different golf swing mechanics:
=> For maintaining the correct posture while the swing, the hamstring muscles play an important role in helping golfers of it.
=> The quadriceps aid golfers for keeping their knees flexed.
=> The upper back muscles are exhausted during the backswing. They also play an important part to sustain an erect spine during rotation.
=> The shoulder muscles are used to generate speed and to protect the upper body and keep it stable.
=> For controlling the club and supporting the wrist during the action, the forearm muscles are vital.
=> And, finally, the most important focus during any golf stretching practice is the fingers and wrists muscles.
It is important to understand that while practicing simple steps to improve golf swing flexibility can help you become a better golfer, if and when these stretches are carried out incorrectly, they can do more harm than good causing detrimental muscle damages to ligaments and joint. If at any time during the stretching exercise you experience discomfort or unusual pain, take a breather or stop immediately.
You’ll be surprised to know how simple these seven stretches are with such longstanding benefits.
1.) Place your right leg over and across the left leg, keeping the left hand on the right knee on the ground. Turn your entire body posture towards the left up to when the right arm reaches the shoulder height. Once you reach this position, on inhale, rotate your right shoulder, keeping your elbows bent and hand towards your head. And finally, on exhale, bring your right hand to the waist, and rotate the right shoulder. With this external and then internal rotation of the right shoulder you will improve your hip flexibility, thus influencing your backswing and correcting other swing mistakes. This motion is referred to as a “Dynamic Twist”.
2.) For a spinal rotation stretch, lie down with your back on the ground and your arms spread straight on each side of your body. Next, lift your legs and keep your toes pointing straight up and bend your knees, keeping it parallel to the ground. On inhale, sway both your legs towards the right side keeping the knees locked and shoulders pressed down on the ground. On exhale, use your oblique muscle strength to get your legs back to the starting position when the knees where parallel to the ground. You can practice this 10-20 times on each side to increase flexibility in the spine, shoulders and the hips.
3.) Keep your feet at shoulder-width in distance and make use of a golf club for balance in your right-hand only to swing forward and backward in smooth uniformity with your left leg, as far as possible in both the directions. Then, in smooth coordination, swing the left leg sideways, keeping the same strength and motion. This stretching exercise will loosen your hip mobility that’s vital for the backswing and downswing as well as generate more strength and increase swing distance.
4.) Keep your shoulder and back pressing on the ground, with your knees positioned close to your body and hip-width apart. On inhale, sway both your knees towards the right side and return to the starting position when you exhale. It is imperative that you keep consistent motion on both the sides to benefit most from this stretching exercise as it helps increase flexibility in the quads, oblique muscles, and the hips.
5.) Pressing shoulders and back to the ground, wrap any cloth or towel around the right foot, keeping both legs straight on the ground, and slowly lift right leg in the air. Ensure that your left hip is pressed down on the ground, with your left arm spread sideways. With your right-hand holding on to that towel, slowly move your right leg to the right and hold for 5 breaths. Do this same motion with your left hand and left leg and hold for 5 breaths. This stretch improves the flexibility of the inner thighs, spine, specs and glutes as well as generates the required swing power and speed.
6.) Drop down into the correct lunge position (right-leg forward) and hold the club with your right-hand for balance to extend your left-hand over your head sideways to the right, naturally stretching the side muscles including your oblique and hip muscles. Hold for a few breaths and switch over to the other side with your left-leg forward and club in the left-hand in a lunge position.
7.) It is an extremely simple yet effective stretch to release the groin muscles and the hips. It’s an important stretch as it also focuses on the flexibility of the lumbar spine which is one of the most common injury spots for golfers. All you have to do is press your shoulders and back to the ground and bend your knees to form a “diamond” position with your feet pressed together. Ensure that your back is pressed down on the ground, and your knees are spread wide apart, only to let your feet mirror each other where the soles of your feet meet. You’ll soon feel a soothing stretch in the groin.