We are pleased to announce that Sean Cochran, a nationally renowned golf fitness instructor and the personal golf fitness trainer to 2005 PGA Champion Phil Mickelson, has joined PGA.com as a fitness advisor. Cochran, who also has served as strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres major league baseball teams, will write a weekly fitness blog that will appear exclusively on PGA.com. He'll update it a couple of times a week, telling you about how to achieve better fitness, life on the road -- and in the gym -- with Lefty, plus answer your questions about fitness and how it can help you play better golf. More of Cochran's articles and his acclaimed fitness aids are available at his web site, www.bioforcegolf.com.
How To Prepare for Your Round
The first major of the year was just two weeks ago at Augusta National. Every player in the field was working on their game in some way, shape, or form. Some tour players take the week off before a major as did Jack Nicklaus. Others played in the BellSouth Classic just up road from Augusta in Duluth, Ga., the week before the Masters.
Phil Mickelson was one of those players at the TPC of Sugarloaf, and he had a pretty good week. He won the tournament by 13 shots, hit the ball great, and obviously found the tournment great preparation for the Masters. He has publicly stated the course, greens, and course layout at the BellSouth prepare him for Augusta.
Regardless of what the preparation plan used by the players for Masters week, the point to recognize is each and every one of them has a plan, preparing them for Augusta in hopes of slipping on the green jacket.
The amateur can gain some great information from how Tour players prepare for upcoming events and even a single round of golf. Unseen to the public the preparation for a round of golf by most Tour players begins well before you see them on the practice range.
It begins with a pre-event program to prepare the body to swing a golf club. Such a program can consists of a series of exercises and drills to get the body ready to play. This type of program usually consists of some light aerobic and flexibility exercise. The goal of these exercises is to elevate the core temperature of the body, get blood flowing to the muscles, stretch the body, and stimulate the nervous system.
This type of program can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes to complete. So if you are finding your golf swing a little "stiff" and "choppy" on the first few holes, maybe take a page out of the "Tour players handbook" and implement a pre-event preparation program.
Previous blog entries:
04/17/06 Swing Faults are Not Really Swing Faults
03/27/06 You can improve balance in your swing
03/24/06 Improve Your Flexibility and See Results in Your Swing
03/20/06 Your Body is the Foundation of Improving Your Golf Swing
