Keep Your Golf Swing in Shape All Year with a Golf Fitness Program

Some PGA Tour players have been playing for a couple of weeks in Hawaii and California. Others like Vijay and Ernie have been playing on the European Tour. Regardless of how many tournaments the pros have played this year, they have been working on their games for more time than most of us realize. Make no mistake about it: in golf - or baseball, football, basketball or any other pro sport - there is no longer an off-season.

So while this may be the first official shot of the season for some, the training process to get ready to make that shot has been quietly going on for months.

The amateur can learn a great deal from the professional golfer. Many parts of the world it is not possible to play golf year around, but there are ways to keep your golf game in shape all year long. Professionals know how to do it and so can you.

Realistically, there is very little time to take a break and do absolutely nothing for professional golfers. While every pro is different, there is a generic blueprint most will follow. After the pro finishes his last golf tournament, they take a little break. A few weeks off to give the body and mind a little rest. Every pro athlete needs that time to just recharge and give the body - both physically as well as mentally - time to recover. The PGA Tour season is one of the longest in sports and even though they may not play every week, it's very taxing on the body and the time off is essential to ensure positive results when we begin training for the next season.

I would recommend the same recipe for the amateur. Regardless if you are able to play year around or not, take a period of at least 2 weeks to put the golf clubs in the closet. The break away from the game will do wonders. You may even find after you return you are playing better golf and shooting lower scores.

Following the rest time - and like I said, it's longer for some, shorter for others - its time for the tour player to begin ramping up for the next season by physically improving the parameters of the body for the upcoming year. Just like any other golfer - from the Sunday hacker to the scratch golfer to the club pro - the professional golfer will work on trying to increase flexibility, balance, strength, endurance and power.

The amateur during this time of the year (usually the winter when snow is on the ground) can implement a golf fitness program. A golf fitness program will entail developing the physical capacities of the body around the golf swing. The program will look to develop flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, and power in relation to the golf swing. This is the first step for the amateur to keeping their golf swing in shape all year long.

The amateur during this time of year can also implement swing drills into their training program. The professional may or may not incorporate swing drills into their program at this time year. But for the amateur I recommend it, why? This is the time of year in addition to developing the body for the golf swing. The amateur can work on swing faults that hindered their scores the previous season.

The swing drills can be simply performing "mirror drills" to work on posture and the phases of the golf swing.

You should start putting drills this time of the year. If you are lucky enough to live in a region you can play golf year around, a couple short sessions at the range every week is a good idea. I would recommend the range sessions be kept short and focused on fixing the "problem" areas in your golf swing. The important point is the off-season is a time the amateur can take advantage of working on both their bodies and their golf swing

Professionally when the PGA Tour season approaches, we begin what is essentially the preseason. This is when the player starts to practice the fundamental mechanics of the sport. If it's a golfer, he's on the range working on his swing, if it's a pitcher, he's throwing getting ready for spring training. Physically, we're still training the body, but we tone it down while the player fine tunes his game. But make no mistake about it, even though working on the golf game is 75 percent of the focus of this pre-season training program, we're still working on the basics of flexibility, balance, strength, endurance and power training.

The pre-season for the amateur marks the time of year when the snow is beginning to melt and the "itch" to play golf comes around. I would suggest the amateur follow a similar program as the professional during this time of year. Start spending more time at the range. Working on all aspects of your golf game. Continue with your golf fitness program, but you may want to back off it a little as a result of the increased practice time. Again, keep in mind the body swings the golf club and we must keep the body in shape to do so.

The pre-season program of increased golf practice and a little less golf fitness continues with the professional golfer until their first tournament. This marks the point when we shift to an in-season golf fitness program. The golf fitness exercises don't stop, but we back off on the intensity. The program doesn't change much. We're still focused on flexibility, balance, strength, endurance and power, but the amount or volume of work is much less to accommodate the physical and mental strain of competition.

Four days of tournament play can take a toll on the body. As a result, we must back off on the amount of golf fitness training. The amateur during the golf season is probably in a little different of a situation. They are probably not playing 4 competitive rounds of golf per week plus practice. At most, they may be playing 2-3 rounds per week with a couple practice sessions. As a result of the lower volumes of golf they can spend a little more amount of time with their golf fitness program.

Essentially, the amateur can pretty much stick to pre-season volume of golf fitness training unless they are playing quite a bit. Just make sure the right balance of golf fitness training is in place in relation to your golf practice and playing. This is necessary so that you do not physically over-tax the body. Bottom line if you are looking to keep your golf game in shape and improving year around, I recommend following what the pros do; take a break at the end of the season, implement a golf fitness program, work on your swing faults during the winter, increase your practice time at the range before the season, and during the season keep a good balance of playing, practicing, and working out.

About the Author

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2005 PGA & 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. To learn more about Sean and his golf fitness programs go to http://www.seancochran.com

Golf Conditioning- Being in Shape For a Better Score

Golf conditioning is the training of golf related muscles for improving your game of golf. Golf training is one approach that can greatly improve any restriction that may occur during the golf swing in regards to golf posture. Proper preparation is a great way to: increase driving distance & club speed, improve focus and concentration,and prevent and rehabilitate injuries to enhance sport specific-movements. This will increase strength, speed and power. Physical conditioning is even more beneficial when it is started during the winter months to prepare the body for the stresses it will endure during the golf season. Golf conditioning is about strength and flexibility, which is no longer reserved for a select few.

Golf exercise is a physically challenging program that uses most of the muscles in the body. It combines strength training, but in a way that won't bulk you up or affect your swing. Golf posture is critical to golf swing consistency and efficiency. Conditioning specific for golf will not result in muscle gain which could alter your swing mechanics. Golf conditioning is intended to help a golfer perform better on the course by evaluating the biomechanics, flexibility, and strength of the golfer in relation to the physical movements of the body during the swing. Golf conditioning is the training of golf related muscles to improve the game of golf.

Fitness for golf is prevalent at every level. Fitness is a state of the human body that allows it to function up to its full potential. Fitness can also determine the overall health of all the organs. Search out a fitness professional or golf conditioning specialist to design a golf specific program and you will play better than you ever imagined. It puts a whole new light on golfing and on what is needed for complete fitness information about golf conditioning. The information about golf conditioning will focus on improving golf mechanics through the creation of a complete program.

In conjunction with a stretching program, strength training will improve flexibility, not hinder it. How many times have you heard a teaching pro say you need to improve your golf posture, but didn't give you any golf conditioning drills to achieve that goal. You will quickly notice an improvement in your ability to maintain an erect spine angle. When you improve functional strength, you have more control and balance, which will improve your feel.

Comprehensive golf conditioning is an individualized program designed to improve your golf game by strengthening your body through a range of golf specific options. A conditioning coach will design a program to help you improve your performance on the golf course. This program will improve your golf game and your overall health and well-being. Most golfers continually strive to improve even when they are playing at the top of their game.

Golf Conditioning or golf fitness refers to performing exercises that are designed specifically to improve muscle groups and parts of the body most required when golfing. Exercises for golfers may seem like an oxymoron, but I'm here to tell you they are most definitely not. Exercises such as good mornings, and rows are excellent to strengthen hip flexion and back extension.

The golf swing is such an unusual motion that yes, you can do traditional exercises, but you also need to do exercises that will cross over into different planes. A good golf conditioning program includes exercises that increase the core stability, increase muscular strength, improve flexibility, balance and coordination. And a well developed program should not only focus on taking care of improving the obvious needs of golf, but should also include exercises that target specific muscular imbalances, lack of range of motion, cardiovascular endurance, and a little weight loss if necessary.

Golf conditioning is one approach that can greatly improve any restriction that may occur during the golf swing in regards to golf posture. This physical training is a form of strength and conditioning designed specifically to improve your efficiency and effectiveness as it relates to your Golf Swing.

Golf Conditioning is not just for the pro's, it's beneficial for players of all levels of ability helping to improve your game and to prolong your playing days. This is a gradual process, always keeping technique and competition as the ultimate goal. Golf conditioning is exploding, and a lot of trainers, therapists and even chiropractors are jumping on the bandwagon. Golf conditioning is extremely important to all golfers, including you, and becomes more so the older you get. Planing out a proper routine with or without help could greatly enhance your game and your score.

Andre Arnett is a wanna- be middle handicap golfer who loves to be out with his sticks. To see other good articles, questions and answers about your golf game go to http://beginnergolferguide.info and share your golfing experience with others.