Sharpen the Saw

There are a lot of factors that contribute to playing well. Technique is always looked on as the most important one, but maybe an even more important and often overlooked ingredient is the strength, flexibility, and balance of your muscles and joints. Getting your body ready for golf will take a slight investment in time (who has that?), but any time spent should be looked at as an investment in proficiency. Let's not be like the lumberjack in Franklin Covey's book the "7 Habits of Highly Successful People", who struggled mightily to cut down a tree with his dull saw, but was too busy to sharpen it. The key to making proper use of the time you do commit is, having the insight to truly make it beneficial. It needs to be golf specific, and you need to know what the key factors and best exercises for golfers are.

Simply put, going to the gym and doing traditional weight training exercises may be hurting your chances for low scores rather than improving them, while increasing your risk of injury. Like with all things, knowledge is power. The good news is that in the current age where information is often free and readily available, it will be quite easy to get started "sharpening the saw". You can talk to a qualified fitness professional or simply visit golf related exercise web sites like www.mytpi.com. It is a free site listing hundreds of golf exercises all explained thoroughly using video, which have been proven to work in the real world by countless PGA and LPGA Players. If that site doesn't excite you, then Google "free golf exercises" and over 29 million results pop up. My advice would be to pick a few that value flexibility across your back, hips, and shoulders, as well as developing your "core" strength. As always, if you would like specific advice, contact the Golf Academy, and let's have a great season! - James