Golf Stretches: #5 Drills to Improve Flexibility | Reduce Injuries
Golf is a physically demanding sport that takes a great deal of flexibility, strength, balance, skill and coordination. The core to developing your skills as a golfer rely primarily on your flexibility and strength. To promote fluid movements throughout your swing, you must have flexibility in your neck, shoulders, back, hips, knees and ankles. Poor flexibility will cause performance to suffer because you’ll lack proper posture and balance, resulting in inconsistent performance and incorrect weight distribution.
This golf swing training aid features easy drills to promote your flexibility. While at home, in the office, or before you hit the gym, use these drills to increase your flexibility and improve your golf swing by maintaining your spine angle and activating the right muscles.
Stretch Hip Flexor Muscles
To activate your hip flexors and maintain your spine angle, lay down on your right side and bring your left leg out in front of you at a 90 degree angle. Focus on lifting your left leg by using the muscles in the back of your hip while ensuring your knee and ankle constantly come up and down together. Slowly bring the leg back down and complete three sets of ten on both sides. For maximum flexibility, raise your leg at different angles to extend a wider range of orbital motion.
Deep Core Flexibility
Core muscles tend to get tight in golfers, and our deep core stretch will help develop a powerful and supple core for longer, straighter drives. Take a driver and place it behind your shoulders while standing with your feet shoulder-length apart. Keep your entire body facing forward to maintain your body’s alignment while your knees are slightly flexed. Square your hips while you rotate your shoulders back until you feel a slight strain, then tilt down on the axis of your body’s current position to stretch the core muscles. Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
Band No-Money
The next 3 drills will help fix your posture. First is this series of flexibility drills is the Band-No-Money drill, which will help open up your chest muscles and activate your back muscles for increased flexibility and better posture. Hold a thin elastic band with your palms up and shoulders back while keeping your elbows tucked close to your rib cage. Bring your palms away from your body 15 times.
Band Pull Apart
Hold an elastic band with your hands placed shoulder-width apart at shoulder height. Place your palms facing down while keeping your elbows straight, then slowly bring your arms apart. Repeat 15 times to open the chest muscles to increase back and shoulder flexibility.
Pec Stretch
Stand sideways while placing your right hand on a wall or door jam. Keep your elbow at a 90 degree angle while you step forward and twist away from the wall. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch to the left side of your body to open up your upper chest and shoulder muscles.
Once you improve your flexibility, the other vital components to golf will fall into place. As your spine angle improves and becomes consistent, you’ll have correct weight distribution, more golf power to promote your swing and increased accuracy to benefit all aspects of your golf performance.
