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.
Developing Your Off-Season Golf Fitness Program
The official off-season for the PGA Tour has arrived as the Tour Championship last at East Lake marked the end of the 2006 season. I know many PGA Tour players at this time of the year begin the process of preparing themselves for the upcoming season. Interviews with Ernie and Retief after the event provided insight on to what these tops players will be working on in the weeks to come.
What aspect of the game Tour players are working upon can be numerous. It could be certain aspects of their golf swing, short game, putting, implementing an off-season golf fitness program, working on the mental side of the game, or even improving their nutrition.
I feel the amateur at this time of the year can take a page out of the tour player's "playbook" and work on their game as well. This week we will begin this process on the golf fitness side of the equation.
Now realize before we move into the "golf fitness side of the equation" -- there are other aspects to a comprehensive golf swing improvement program. I like to say there are, "four golf performance absolutes," that need to be addressed in order for improvement in the game of golf. They are: swing mechanics, golf fitness, the mental side of the game and nutrition.
No one component is more important than another, each requires attention and certain components may require more attention than others depending upon the strengths and weaknesses of your game.
The first step as it is with all the golf performance absolutes is an assessment. We need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your golf game physically. The first step in this process is a review of last season. Ask yourself these questions about how you physically played last year: did you feel fatigued after a round? Did you have any lower back tight injuries? Were you able to make a full shoulder turn? Were there compensations in your swing because of your body? Was your driving distance adequate? How about the accuracy of your shots?
Once these questions have been answered we can develop a list of goals for your off-season program. These goals may be to improve your flexibility, strengthen your lower back or increase the power of your body. Ultimately these goals should be individualized to what you would like to achieve in the coming months.
Once our goals are set it is time to assess the body. An assessment of the body will give us the information we need to determine what needs to be focused upon "physically" this off-season. Four areas of the body require assessment in relation to the golf swing and they are: flexibility, balance, strength and power. Each one of these components are critical in the execution and improvement of your golf game.
What is the best and most efficient way to assess these components of your body? I found it to be the utilization of exercises. For example lets utilize the Rotational Hamstring Flexibility Exercise we have discussed in previous articles to assess your flexibility.
Perform the exercise as described in the article but use "check points" to determine flexibility issues. The first check point is: are you able to extend your arms straight overhead; secondly, where do you feel the stretch when reaching towards your toes; third, are you able to create a full shoulder rotation in the exercise; and finally how close are you able to reach your hands to the floor?
Answers to these questions will give us a good idea of what flexibility exercises are required within your off-season golf fitness program. Next week we will discuss the results of your flexibility assessment and move into the additional categories of your golf fitness assessment.
Previous blog entries:
11/02/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part V
10/25/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part IV
10/18/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part III
10/11/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part II
10/04/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part I
09/28/06 Speed in Your Power Golf Exercises
08/15/06 Develop Strength the "Right Way" for Your Golf Swing
08/08/06 Want to Maintain the Angles in Your Golf Swing?
08/01/06 Utilize Strength Training to Maintain Your Spine Angle
07/24/06 Strength in Your Core to Drive the Golf Ball Farther
07/11/06 Use Progression to Keep Improving Your Golf Swing
07/04/06 Dynamic Balance Exercises
06/27/06 Two Types of Balance are Key to Your Golf Swing
06/20/06 Balance in Your Golf Swing Leads to More Power
06/13/06 Getting Yourself Ready for a Round of Golf
06/06/06 Joint Range of Motion and a Fluid Golf Swing
05/29/06 Flexibility Exercises to Help with Those Tight Muscles
05/23/06 Guidelines for Your Golf Flexibility Program
05/16/06 Assess Your Flexibility First
05/09/06 Better Golf Exercises to Improve Your Swing
05/02/06 Developing a Repeatable Golf Swing and Your Body
04/26/06 Increasing the Clubhead Speed in Your Golf Swing
04/18/06 How To Prepare for Your Round
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
