If I were to get the opportunity to write a golf driver tip for a magazine, I’d say something against the norm.  Something teaching instructors wouldn’t want to hear.  Do you want to know what it is?  It’s not some quick fix, because they never work long-term.  The “only” thing that works long-term is working on you.

Your body has a current level of physical ability.  I don’t care how many balls you hit at the range; how many lessons you take; and what driver you’re swinging.  Hitting the ball further takes an increase in clubhead speed.  Period.  So hitting more balls or taking more lessons won’t improve this.

The only thing that can improve clubhead speed is strengthening your core rotational strength and flexibility.  Your core is the engine to your swing.  A weak or inflexible core will not give you the results you are looking for.

The golf swing a turn back and a turn through.  Isn’t that about as simple as you can make it?  If that’s true, why wouldn’t you improve your body’s ability to rotate quicker and more powerfully?  This is the ticket to longer drives!

There are many simple, yet effective core rotational exercises you can do in your home, or even office to greatly improve your clubhead speed and driving distance.

Do you want an easy one you can do right in your chair?

Cross your arms in front of your chest.  Sit up tall and erect.  With a fixed head position, rotate to the right and left slowly.  See how far you can go.  Do this without stopping.  As you feel a loosening of the core, start to rotate faster and faster.  Do this 20 or 30 times when you think about it and I guarantee you’ll feel it.

Since time is such a valuable commodity, you’ve got to get creative.  I’ve put together a complete section of my manual that covers simples stretches and exercises you can do right in your chair in your office.  You can’t get more convenient than that.

I hope I didn’t disappoint you with this golf driver tip.

These are some of the many concerns amateur golfers have whenever the idea of a golf coach is suggested to them. Genuine concerns but mostly outdated because the modern game has changed a lot and continue to change.

One of the most distinct changes witnessed in the game is the wide acceptance of golf coaches, exercises and muscle conditioning programs in a sport that has for generations been viewed as a leisure sport with no room for any sort of exercising or muscle strengthening programs.

Has your golf game been getting just a little too frustrating in recent times? Have you been suffering many more humiliating defeats than is the case ordinarily?

Then there is the increasing possibility that you are playing against people who are involved in exercise programs and have a personal golf coach who has been helping them work on improvements in their game.

How can you possibly compete with a golfer who has such a huge advantage over you? How can you ever hope to enjoy your game of golf the way you used to in the days when a golf coach was a strange and uncommon phrase in the game?

Probably the biggest advantage of having a golf coach is that they are able to specifically work on your weaknesses using golf specific exercise programs to strengthen the muscles that are critical for you to play a good round of golf.

A golf coach will also help you avoid some of the common but painful and disruptive injuries of the game like the golfer elbow. They will help you avoid them by getting you to warm up properly before a round of gold and do stretches that will help you tone up to tip-top condition for your game.

What’s more, is that there is no age limit in the golfers opting to get a golf coach to help them with their physicals. Even senior citizens are able to successfully implement the exercise programs into their game. In fact some have been able to get rid of nagging back injuries for good.

Do seriously consider engaging a golf coach.

To achieve a better golf swing, a golfer needs to realize just how physically demanding it is on the human body.  You are swing an object (golf club) at up to 100 mph.  This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles.

If these tissues of the body are weak, tight or brittle they will rupture and eliminate you from playing golf indefinitely.  If it doesn’t, your performance will pay the price.  The outcome either way is not what you want…but will happen without an emphasis on strengthening these areas.

Along with strengthening comes stretching.  Stretching muscles to attain a better golf swing is common among most golfers.  Although it is common, most golfers don’t stretch.  Why?  Because it is viewed as ‘work’.  But if it were viewed as a form of golf improvement it would be a different story.

Swing mechanics cannot be improved if your golf specific strength and flexibility are ignored.  It is an impossibility, unless you compensate for this lack of capabilities in your golf swing.  Teaching pros are now starting to realize there is a definite connection between golf swing mechanics and fitness.

But that’s where the BIG gap is.  Between instruction and physical fitness.  This is the ultimate combination for total golf performance and I have been preaching it for several years now.  When your physical capabilities are improved, your golf swing mechanics become much easier to achieve.

The next time you visit your teaching pro, to achieve a better golf swing, you’ll be able to do what he/she wants and the desired outcome will be achieved.  This outcome is inevitable when you get your body moving better.  Your golf swing mechanics fall into place.

It will only be a matter of time when all golfers will approach their golf improvement this way.  It’s the only way that will warrant lasting results and ultimately a better golf swing.

Actually a bad golfer ignores or is unaware of what has to be the single most important aspect of the golf swing. This is the setup or positioning before the swing.

It does not matter how good your swing is and how much correct technique you have used. If you do not pay attention to your swing, you are a bad golfer and it will clearly show when you have hit the ball.

All great golfers are aware of how important the setup is and you can be sure that many bad golfers are not. If you setup correctly for a shot, chances are extremely high that you will hit a good shot. So important is your setup that even if you swing poorly in a good setup position, you are bound to at least hit a reasonable shot.

A good setup will enable you achieve a good posture and the sort of balance that will help you maintain balance and inevitably control throughout the shot.

The correct setup comes with correct training and even more important; exercising and conditioning of the muscles you use in your entire body for the swing. A bad golfer will more often than not be the sort of person who does not do golf-specific exercises aimed at improving their golf. The result is that they will not even be able to tell the difference between a good setup position and a bad one, simply because they will tend to feel uncomfortable in both.

It is amazing but true that all it takes to move you swiftly to the ranks of a good golfer from amongst the majority of bad golfers is a simple exercise routine, most of which you can even do from your office while you work.

Many traits and abilities go into the makings of a Major champion. Not the least of which is fitness and conditioning for their task at hand. While professional golfers are the envy of many, these people must adhere to a regimen few are willing to take on. As we watch the rounds, it all looks so easy. Yet, behind the scenes…

Today’s professional golfer, more than ever before, must concentrate on something other than simply technique and skill. The new golf technologies claim much of the increased distance, control and power now available to golfers. New technology is really only a small portion of the emerging changes in play.

Almost every professional golfer today spends more time conditioning their body for golf than ever before. They realize the competition is tough and that in order to maintain consistently controlled and powerful golf swings their body must be strengthened and flexible. Their time is well spent on functional strength and flexibility conditioning for the body. The goal of functional exercises for golf is to mimic the actual demands on the body of the golf swing. This approach helps accomplish two things at once 1) improve the targeted muscle group’s strength and flexibility and 2) condition the neuromuscular system with movements exactly like those required on the course.

All golfers would do well to learn from the pros in the area of fitness and conditioning. The golf swing is a complex movement, requiring much from the body. Regularly performing strength and conditioning exercises can produce a more flexible and stronger musculoskeletal system. As higher levels of fitness are accomplished, you can generate more power with less effort. This translates to a smoother swing with greater club head speed, thus lower scores result. Fitness for golf is rapidly becoming the norm; start today to ensure many years of rewarding play on the course.

How you structure your golf fitness program is essential to your overall performance on and off the course. Here are some ways you can ensure you are getting the most out of training program while utilizing the strength of your core as a building block for success.

Specific to golf – Get rid of the traditional gym machines which focus on isolating specific muscle groups and require no stabilization work by additional muscle groups. Integrate some old and new fitness tools which allow you to move your body in a more functional setting. These include cable machines, fitness balls, medicine balls, balance disks, traditional dumbbells and don’t forget about the power of using your own bodyweight.

Increase Core Stability – More efficient movement creates more efficient power. Golfers maintain an athletic posture over long periods of time and require both trunk and core stabilization and endurance. By increasing your strength and endurance in the core region of your body, you provide both a solid base of support for rotation in addition to the proper transfer of power throughout the body.

Vary your Planes of Motion – A golf fitness program will have varying planes of motion as part of your weekly strength routine. Planes of movement include front to back motions, left to right and rotational exercises. Some good examples include multi-directional lunges and medicine ball wood chops.

Integrate Multiple Elements into Each Exercise – Each weekly workout should address all of the important elements for golf including flexibility, core development, balance, strength and power. Integrated training techniques will develop your skills in each of these areas and produce a whole new level of play. Examples of integration include a 5 minute dynamic warm up, roughly 30 minute strength routine, followed by 10 to 15 minutes of stretches. Each workout can be broken down into strength development for several weeks, core stabilization for several weeks, and power development as you move into peak season.

Progress from Simple to Complex – Begin your exercise program by mastering the simplest forms of exercises first. Progress your golf training design to increase in complexity as your body grows and develops and as you learn proper stabilization of your core region. An example of progression for the legs may be to perform two leg ball squats prior to performing the one leg version.

Before any golfer, pro or otherwise, picks up a club, they look at the capability of their body versus the requirements of the swing. Utilize these 5 tips to create a golf specific program that brings out the best in you and the best in your golf game. Make this golf season your most productive yet!

Flexibility:

Have you ever rushed to the golf course, quickly stepped up to the tee and felt stiff when you swung your golf club? Warming up your muscles can help relieve stiffness, but it is better to be more proactive in your approach. Therefore, it is essential to stretch on a regular basis. This allows you to increase and maintain your flexibility. You only need a small investment of your time in order to see significant gains in your range of motion.

Strength:

Have you incorporated strength training into your exercise routine? Many golfers are tempted to swing as hard as possible when hitting the golf ball. There are several adverse side effects of doing this. Your muscles may not be physically prepared for the intense strain and you may become injured. Increasing strength will enable your body to tackle the demands of the golf swing and prepare it for the action ahead.

Endurance:

Do you lose your intensity or feel tired after a few holes? If so, then focus on your endurance. At first glance, golf may not appear to be a game in which aerobic fitness is necessary. However, golfers that walk the course can walk nearly five miles over the course of 18 holes. Try to work in 20-45 minutes, 3-5 days per week of cardiovascular activity.

Nutrition:

Your body needs the proper fuel to work efficiently. Common sense dictates that loading up on junk food is a bad idea. So what exactly should you eat? An optimal sports nutrition menu plan will include high quality carbohydrates, lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and plenty of water.

Mental Toughness:

Are you still thinking about the drive you sliced on the first hole as you set up to tee off at the second hole? This negative thought pattern will adversely affect your game. How you perceive the situation affects each shot. One way to increase your mental toughness is not to relive missed shots. Visualize a good shot to help erase the missed shot from your mind.

Take these five facts into account and you’ll likely see better results with your game. It will take some time to make these activities a habit, but will be well worth the effort.

Still there are very few people who can claim to have had their games improved by a golf instruction video. So here are three tips to help you ensure that you reap maximum fruits from every golf instruction video that you ever get to watch.

1) Watch the golf instruction video several times

Some people watch golf instruction videos to try and get a single Magic formula that will revolutionize their game. They do not realize that the valuable nuggets in these videos are hidden in the many small things you need to do which add up to a great improvement in your game.

This is why it is very important to watch the video several times. At least twice.

2) Get webcam shots of yourself playing and compare your posture and positioning to what you see in the golf instruction video

It may not be very easy to tell what is wrong with your golf swing for example or how to correct it without taking a very close look at your game.

The best way to do this is to get somebody else to take webcam shots of you on the course as you play. When you watch these alongside the golf instruction videos, it will be very easy for you to tell where your problem areas are and what you need to do to correct them.

3) Do golf-specific exercises to condition your body and muscles

Thirdly you will need your body and the relevant muscles to co-operate with our mind as you try to implement what you have seen on the golf instruction video.

One of the most effective ways of doing this is by getting involved in a golf-specific exercise program to tone and strengthen all the ‘golf muscles’ in your body. This way, they’ll be nothing to stop you from reaping maximum benefits from every golf instruction video you watch.