Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
How many times have you headed straight for the range or first tee, give yourself a quick practice swing and then attempted to rip into your first shot of the day? Too many times I'm guessing.
The truth is that you're are not optimising your performance and not fully protecting yourself from injury when you skip the all important golf specific warm-up.
Why warm up?
Specially designed drills focusing on the three key areas I like to call the 'golf muscles' - shoulders, hips and core - will open up your body to allow more freedom of movement which may result in more power off the tee.
A concise and targeted sequence of movements will increase blood flow to the working muscles allowing them to work more efficiently and loosen the body as a whole unit to protect against over-stretching and possible injury.
This practice (approximately two minutes) would then precede any ball striking on the range before heading off to the first tee 'warm'.
Which exercises are best?
Dynamic, flowing movements mimicking the swing and repetitive movements/drills targeting the 'golf muscles' are a smarter choice than simply stretching a muscle for a set amount of time.
Static stretching or holding stretches (although a great tool for flexibility) are not ideal for any warm-up leading to an explosive activity as it relaxes the muscles which need to be stimulated.
A simple example would be to use shoulder circles (dynamic) instead of a held shoulder stretch (static).
There are literally hundreds of drills you can use and they are simple to learn and easy to execute. By employing this simple, short measure you can stay injury free and get your round off to a flying start right from the first shot!
The Royal Golf Academy's PGA Professionals are more than happy to advise you on this essential aspect of the game and show you exercises to address you specific warm-up needs.
