5 Physical Preparation Elements for Golf Players

Golf is currently one of the sports that continues to grow nonstop. However, golf players aren't necessarily becoming more physically prepared, which is key to unlocking their full potential. 
5 Physical Preparation Elements for Golf Players

Last update: 13 March, 2020

In golf, and as with all sports, physical preparation plays a prominent role in an athlete’s performance. In order for any golf player to unlock their full potential, they must stay in good physical shape.

So, if you practice this sport, keeping a certain level of fitness will allow you to deal with possible imbalances while executing technical movements, and at the same time, protect your back and muscles to avoid injuries.

In this article, we’ll go over the physical preparation elements to play golf, and also the most common injuries that may result from poor training.

The three basic golf player physical demands

When analyzing the activity of golf players, it’s necessary to put special attention to three fundamental factors that can improve physical performance. If even one of these factors is not in proper function, the athlete’s potential will notably decrease.

  • Physical: golf isn’t a particularly physically demanding sport, but when it comes to strength and neuromuscular coordination, it can be challenging. It’s fundamental that the muscles involved in each swing have good synergy to achieve optimal results.
  • Psychological: as in many individual sports, the psychological factor is key. Being able to focus, having self-confidence, and doing self-assessment is incredibly important to face difficulties during a game or a competition.
  • Technical: in golf, technical skills such as precision while swinging, can be crucial to stand out among rivals.

What should you pay attention to?

As we mentioned, being in good physical shape will allow golf players to show all the potential they have. For that, it’s of utmost importance to mention a few key points:

  • Flexibility work is important.
A man swinging, with physical preparation for golf.
  • General strength work is incredibly helpful: pay special attention to working your core and rotator cuffs. Also, it’s essential to strengthen both hip and lower body muscles. And finally, you should work your arm muscles as well, since they’re key to performing a good swing.
  • Although it’s not as important as the last two points, it could be helpful to build cardiovascular endurance
  • And last but not least, try to improve your neuromuscular coordination.

Five physical preparation elements for golf players

  1. Having great functional movement capacity, which allows you to make stable swings during a competition.
  2. Having proper posture control. This is essential to achieve the perfect body alignment that makes you hit the ball in the most efficient way possible.
  3. Maintaining flexibility, to prevent injuries or movements that would compromise your swing.
  4. Achieving good stability, to help you be aware of your posture when playing for long periods of time.
  5. Having excellent coordination, in order to apply as much strength as possible when required.

Golf injuries due to poor physical preparation

As with many other sports, being in poor physical shape can lead to injuries. Nowadays, the number of people playing golf has increased, as has the number of injuries due to bad training.

In many cases, injuries can be the result of a specific physical condition, such as:

  • Lower back problems: it’s very common in both beginners and professional players. Lower back problems often come from a lack of core strength.
  • Shoulder joint lesions: the most common injuries in this joint tend to be discomfort in the acromioclavicular joint, glenohumeral joint subluxations and tendonitis in the rotator cuffs. If not taken care of, these can turn into chronic lesions.
A man playing golf.
  • Elbow problems, which can turn into epicondylitis.
  • Trauma or impact lesions: this type of injury usually affects younger players, and aren’t very common.

Conclusions

Golf is definitely a sport that more and more people have begun to play. Mostly due to how accessible it’s become. However, this increase in players also comes with poor physical preparation for such a complex sport. The lack of training then results in a series of pathologies that could be easily avoided. 

Therefore, it’s essential to approach your golf preparation from the three aforementioned aspects: physical, psychological, and technical. That’s the only way you’ll achieve your full potential in this discipline, without risking injuring yourself.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


    • Doan, B. K., Newton, R. U., Kwon, Y. H., & Kraemer, W. J. (2006). Effects of physical conditioning on intercollegiate golfer performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research / National Strength & Conditioning Association, 20(1), 62- 72.
    • Gordon, B. S., Moir, G. L., Davis, S. E., Witmer, C. A., & Cummings, D. M. (2009). An investigation into the relationship of flexibility, power, and strength to club head speed in male golfers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research / National Strength & Conditioning Association, 23(5), 1606-1610.

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.