Golf strength training is essential for correct golf posture to prevent injury due to unnatural twisting and movements of the body during a golf swing.

Proper golf strength training to the body muscle group can help maintain good golf posture throughout your swing and thus, producing repeatable swing with less miss hits. Golf strength training takes the power of your muscles while a correct golf posture can withstand the twisting of the torso, pressure and stress of the upper and lower back.

It takes more than a mechanically correct golf swing with your golf club set to avoid injury and the mechanics that make a golf swing work involve several major muscle groups working together which include the back, the shoulders, the hips and legs. Golf strength training to these groups is very important prior to playing golf.

With golf strength training, you will gain more power by strengthening the key muscle groups you use when swinging your club. These include:

• Abdominal (stomach muscles)
• Lower back
• Lat muscle (latissimus dorsi – upper back under each arm)
• Quadriceps (thigh muscles)
• Right / Left Deltoid (shoulder muscle)
• Hamstrings (tendons in the back of your leg).

Golf posture

From the time you begin your address to the moment you come in contact with the ball, your posture must withstand the torque of your golf swing in order to prevail. Let’s examine how these muscles work to produce power with golf strength training.

1. Addresses - as a player addresses the ball, proper flex in the knees can alleviate some of this stress, but not all. At address, the lower back muscles support the upper torso weight as it is angled forward to the ball. If your body is in shape with golf strength training, this posture will come with ease, but if you have any extra “fluffy cushioning” on your stomach, you will feel the urge to lean forward. This will not only pull you out of your posture, but it will also put a large amount of pressure on your lower back.
    
2. Backswing - as the club is taken away to top position, the back twists and with good posture, it is still responsible for holding the head and shoulders steady and upright. As the swing proceeds downward, and then into the follow-thru, the arms transition around the torso, causing the back to twist in the opposite direction. Without proper golf strength training, this unusual motion can cause strain to an unprepared lower back.
    
3. Downswing – following the backswing, lot of tension will be felt up the entire left or right side of your back lat muscles. Your lat muscles play a major role in producing power for your downswing; therefore with golf strength training, the stronger they are the longer your drive. As always, your abdominals and hamstrings need to support the torque of your swing, because if left to be controlled by the movement of your spine, your posture will be thrown off balance, while your body is in the process of completing the golf swing.

TIP: Squats and lunges, are a great way for your quadriceps and hamstrings, as well as your gluteals, hip flexors and calf muscles to produce a stable base to your golf swing.