Golf is surprisingly hard on the body. In fact, the forces involved are larger than most people realise. The average force of impact between a club head and ball is around 6,000 to 8,000 newtons—that’s equivalent to the weight of 600 to 800 kilograms.
To create this, the club head accelerates to 160 km/h in just 0.2 seconds during the downswing. That requires the body to generate a lot of force.
It’s estimated that amateur golfers use about 90% of their maximal strength to hit a golf ball. This effort is repeated around 50 times during a round, and often 300 or more times during a practice session. To put that into perspective: in the gym, using 90% of your maximal strength is equivalent to lifting a 4-rep max (4RM) weight—a load you could only lift four times. Loads like this are respected in the gym, so it baffles me why golfers don’t respect the demands of the golf swing in the same way.
If you’re playing golf regularly with a spare tyre around your waist and a body that hasn’t exercised in a while, you’re really running the gauntlet.
John Daly isn’t a role model here—obviously. He once admitted that the only reason he doesn’t lift weights is because the health club doesn’t let him smoke there, and he’d get sick after working out.
Injuries to the back, shoulders, and elbows are the most common consequences of not preparing your body for golf. In some cases, these injuries can keep you off the course for months.
If you’re playing two or more rounds per week, or hitting more than 200 balls a week, you should seriously consider starting a golf conditioning program. Studies show that injury risk increases significantly with that level of activity.
I recommend at least two—ideally three—gym sessions per week focused on golf-specific training. This type of program should:
-
Increase your rotational strength
-
Condition your muscles, tendons, and bones
-
Support your body through the repetitive impacts, high rotational forces, and weight shifts involved in the golf swing
At the Kaizen Centre, we regularly help golfers repair, strengthen, and prepare their bodies for the demands of the game.
Give us a call—we’d love to help you improve your golf body.
Leave a Reply