Even if you are an avid fan of golf, it is possible that you haven ’t heard of golf fitness evaluation. And if you have, it may not have elicited the most enthusiastic response from you.
After all, evaluations include facing your weaknesses as well as strengths. Yet their importance to designing a fitness program specific to you and your sport cannot be overlooked.
Nobody has ever died from taking this set of tests, so there is no need to get scared of having to take a golf fitness evaluation. And anyone subjected to a golf fitness evaluation stands a better chance of improving his or her golf swing.
The details of your particular body mechanics that a golf fitness evaluation furnishes will serve as valuable inputs for the design of a fitness training program that leads to optimal outcomes for your swing. The traits often tested are: strength, flexibility, coordination, stability and balance. We touch on a few of them here.
Golf-Specific Strength Assessment
Strength is measured in terms of the amount of power you pack behind controlled hits on the golf ball for the duration of 18 holes. The muscles tested in this part of the golf fitness evaluation include your abdominals, hamstrings, quadriceps, as well as areas of the shoulders involved in the overhead swinging of a golf club.
Golf-Specific Flexibility Assessment
Flexibility is the range of your swing’s motion. In this portion of the golf fitness evaluation, the key body areas or muscles assessed are the hamstrings, the trunk (or core) and shoulders. The trunk is tested for rotational range. The shoulders are included because of their part in golf swing consistency.
Flexibility has become a buzzword for golfers, especially among those who are getting on in years, as it is one of the golfer’s assets most susceptible to decline with age, along with strength.
Understanding your specific limitations in this area will help give you the assurance that the stretching exercises you are practicing are the appropriate ones.
Golf-Specific Balance Assessment
Though strength and flexibility seem most crucial for an effective swing, a golfer’s balance cannot be ignored either. Without it you can’t be consistent with your swings, nor have much power behind them.
Many amateur golfers’ tendency to " swing out of their shoes" that result in mishits or out-of-bounds shots, can be attributed to a lack of balance.
One test in this part of the golf fitness evaluation involves exercises performed on one leg. The ability to maintain balance while making forward, backward, and lateral motions is assessed.
A golf fitness evaluation provides necessary information and ultimately saves time when designing a training program that will be helpful to your game and your health. With it you get closer to your best golf swing ever!
For more up to date Golf Swing Tips information into the latest trends in Golf Fitness Training, Exercises, Stretches And Tips, read the Perform Better Golf Blog, published daily by Mike Pedersen.
About the Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness trainers and golf conditioning experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Manual, and founder of several online golf fitness and exercise websites.
Check out his golf exercise dvds, training programs, and workout products, and his new and proven Golf Fitness System, specifically designed to improve golf specific strength, flexibility, coordination, and overall golf swing mechanics!
