Training Camp For Snowed In Golfers

It makes perfect sense. Snow on Ground...No Golf!

However, if you are snowed in and you think of it as having the opportunity to make a Lemon Snow Cone from a Lemon...it takes on a whole new meaning.

For those of you not having chosen to live in year round sunny Florida, California, Arizona and the like, winter is a time for hibernation, clubs collecting dust in the garage and watching lots of TV sports...like football, basketball and golf (being played in the non-hibernating parts of the country).

If you are serious about golf, you should look at the winter season as a sort of "Training Camp" for the upcoming season starting in the Spring. We won't call it Spring Training because technically you are not training in the spring. Moving on...

Here are some easy tips for you to get started so as to be ready to perform your best in the coming golf season. Over the next few weeks we will be covering Balance, Power, Strength, Flexibility and Rotation.

This week: Balance 

Many amateur golfers can't even stand up straight on one foot for more than a few seconds. Here you see PGA and Champions Tour player Tom Pernice in the PGA Tour Fitness Trailer not only balancing on one foot, but performing an entire movement pattern simulating a full golf swing.

 

Notice how far Tom rotates his shoulders both in the backswing and follow through. He even turns his head on the follow through...still balancing on just one foot. Now, that's body control folks.
A key to performing this exercise well is to focus on one point on the floor while standing straight up on one leg with your hands hanging off to your sides. Then when you get comfortable in that position, start to lower yourself into a golf posture placing your hands in front of you simulating holding a club. When you can go from straight to a golf posture several times, add the swing. I can tell you this, if you try to do the complete movement pattern right off the bat, you may be very frustrated. This exercise will not only challenge your balance, but work every stabilizing muscle in your lower body. Take your time with this and it will pay off for you. Oh, one more thing, do it on the other leg too!

Coach Joey D - 3 Cone Balance Drill

Place three cones, plastic cups, sneakers...anything that you can reach to and touch on the floor that is about 4" - 6"above the floor. Balancing on one foot, reach down and touch the objects just as you see Joey performing the drill. Notice that Joey's head is still as if in a golf swing posture, even though he is rotating to both sides while still on one foot. Try to complete 3 full sets from start to finish...then build up to 10 sets. Your mind and body will work hard on these.

In the next post we will show some easy exercises to help develop more Power.

Ken Pierce, GolfGym
www.golfgym.com