Golf Strength Training: Upper And Lower Body Exercises

In the ongoing quest for more power and distance in their golf game, many amateurs would look to make swing changes after frantically searching for common faults. This isn't always the best place to start however, and instead golfers could try to improve their muscle mass and strength to generate that power.

In the golf strength training videos below, strength and conditioning coach Jamie Greaves shares three excellent exercises to help you feel stronger in your swing...

Golf Strength Training: Introduction

Golf strength training is something all golfers can add to their preparations, and the results could really help their performance on the course. 

In the videos, I offer variations of each exercise for all ability levels – including beginner, intermediate and advanced. What’s more, many of these exercises can be performed in the comfort of your own home, making it as easy as possible for training to become part of your routine.

Horizontal Push 

The horizontal push pattern helps to improve upper body muscle mass, strength and power. This upper body exercise correlates perfectly to swing speed, and is a very popular activity at all levels of the game.

In this video, I show you how a simple press up (beginner), a dumbbell bench press (intermediate) and Swiss bar bench press (advanced) can help you to get more power in your golf swing.

Horizontal Pull

The horizontal pull is another great pattern that helps to develop upper body muscles mass, strength, power and stability. This movement will improve the function of the shoulder blade and contribute to the overall health of the shoulders. 

In this video, I demonstrate how to perform a banded low row and a seal row. The barbell bent over row is also a great alternative for those in the advanced group. Improving your strength will allow you to create a more athletic position, reducing the risk of common faults such as cutting across the ball.

The risk of injuries is also greatly reduced, especially when adding lower back exercises to your fitness regime.

Single Leg

Single leg exercises are a great complement to two-footed exercises. As well as increasing lower body muscle mass, strength and power, they help to create more stability in the golf swing. Golf squat exercises are also a good idea to improve your lower body strength. If you can develop this you should be in a better position to use the ground for power in your golf swing. Watch the video above for three different variations: a 90/90 split squat, single leg deadlift assisted and lateral lunge with plate reach.