Weight Training For Golf

A Central Feature Of A Golfer’s Training Regime

Golf is no more merely a game of skill and finesse. It is now widely accepted that weight training plays a central role in the modern golfer's quest for excellence.  But how important is it to the amateur enthusiast?

The Impact of Weight Training on the Professional Game

The very nature of golf has undergone quite a few changes ever since players such as Tiger Woods have revolutionized the sport through combining skill with strength, turning it into a very different game – a game of skill and finesse. Such an amazing golfer as Tiger Woods has added 20 pounds weight after completing a full year of weight training and these shows in his strong and muscular frame, and this added muscle has helped him raise his level of golf to a plane where par-5s have become a distant memory.

What does Weight Training Offer the Golfer?

Weight training for golfers can take the form of strength training, which athletic-type lifting can help to increase driving distance through added power in the swing, provide more control and consistency, improve stamina to help play the final 9 holes, because strong muscles are able to resist fatigue more than weak muscles can, and finally, develop the coordination between mind and body to help execute complex golfing skills, especially those required when playing championship golf.

The Golfer's Power Zone

A mechanical analysis of the driving swing reveals that the torso's rotational power stems from the body’s power zone.  This is made up of large muscle groups around the hips, buttocks, thighs, lower back and abdominals. Weight training for golf can reasonably be expected to focus on this power zone through utilization of athletic-type lifts. This use of strength training will help shore up the golfer’s power zone with the result that there will be a noticeable increase in driving distance and overall control for every aspect of the game, from the tee till the green. In contrast, bodybuilding and machine training are very limited in their ability to optimize forceful might in the power zone.

The Emergence of Vergence

Besides improving the power zone through weight training for golf, sports vision training is used to improve and train the eyes. One such program is known as VERGENCE, sometimes called Fusion Flexibility. VERGENCE allows the golfer to rapidly and accurately fuse two images emanating from the eyes into a single image that consists of both convergence, (far to near) and divergence (near to far.) This allows the eyes to work as one to keep this ‘oneness,’ whatever be the direction of the gaze. This is important because any deficiency or slowness or slackness in locking on to an object may result in double vision and poor timing. Any golf training that incorporates improving the eye coordination is important for better golfing abilities.