Good Golf.

Have you ever overheard someone in the clubhouse locker room say “I don’t work out because if I bulk up too much I’ll lose my flexibility and my golf swing will suffer”? Or, how about “I play golf so often I don’t need extra conditioning“? Personally, I was never clever enough to come up with excuses like those not to exerciseI’m just plain lazy.

Since the injury rate for recreational golfers is a surprisingly high sixty percent (and even higher for senior players), and because poor conditioning is one of the main ingredients in the recreational golfer’s Recipe for Injury, it makes sense to understand how basic conditioning is an important weapon in the war against golf injuries.

People may have thought that golf fitness pioneer Gary Player had spent too many rounds in the hot sun when he began advocating (decades ago) the importance of fitness for golfers. Golf requires fitness? You bet it does if it is going to be played well and with a minimum of injuries. History has proven Gary to be as accurate as one of his chip shots. Not only has he enjoyed a long, successful and healthy careerbut today’s touring professionals are surrounded by trainers and fitness gurus as well as a caravan of physical therapists.

Okay, so golf doesn’t require the endurance of running a marathon or the brute strength of bench pressing 400 pounds. But, during the two seconds it takes to perform a golf swing we accelerate the club head to speeds of 100 miles an hour or morewhich is pretty macho stuff when you think of it. The golf swing also demands rapid, coordinated movement from many muscle groups and stresses parts of our bodies to near all-out capacity (the spinal and trunk muscles, for example).

Admittedly, no one is maintaining that the gal or guy who plays a few rounds of golf a month needs to hit the gym the same way that Tiger is known for. That said, it is a widely held conviction among golf medicine experts that a flexible and strong body is better protected from the excessive forces of the golf swing than a poorly conditioned body.

The three components to golf fitness are:

Strength

Flexibility

Aerobic conditioning

Strength. In the golf swing, muscle force generates club head speed, and club head speed is what sends the ball flying. What, then, are the key “golf muscles” that we should be concerned with? Well, scientific studies have taught us that there are lots of important golf muscles, some of the most important of which are:

The rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder, both left and right

The scapular stabilizing muscles of the shoulders

The pectoral and latissimus (”pecs” and “lats”) which are key in developing power during the downswing

The spinal and abdominal muscles

The gluteal and hamstring muscles of the hips and thighs

The forearm muscles, which provide a firm grip and stabilize the club head as it impacts the ball

Flexibility. We are all familiar with the red line on the upper portion of our car’s tachometer gauge. It’s there to remind us that if we push the engine beyond its stress tolerance bad things will happen. Our muscles and joints have limits too. If we push them beyond their stress tolerances, bad things (like sprains and strains) will happen.

But flexibility training stretches our muscles, ligaments, and tendons in a controlled, gradual, and progressive way. The net result, over time, is that the golf swing no longer stresses our muscles and joints to their extreme limits of motion. It’s almost as if we nudge that red line on the tachometer farther and farther.

Want to be more like Gary and Tiger? Well, researchers have noted that trunk flexibility is a key difference between the professional golfer and the amateur. Some experts believe that trunk mobility is the most important component of a successful golf conditioning program. Improving trunk and spine flexibility in the recreational golfer will likely result both in improved swing performance and in decreased risk of injury.

Aerobic Conditioning. By definition, an aerobic activity is any exercise that increases the heart rate to 75 percent of a predicted maximum and keeps it there for at least twenty minutes, three times a week. The “target” heart rate varies depending on the athlete’s age. Popular aerobic activities include brisk walking, jogging, biking, and swimming.

Remember, walking a golf course involves schlepping up and down five miles of hill and dale and burns up to 1,000 calories. So, while playing golf won’t get you in shape to climb Mount Everest, it is better for you than sitting around the house. But, if playing golf is the only regular exercise you get, you are likely to feel pretty wiped out by the back nine. This will likely detract from both your performance and your enjoyment of the game.

It is imperative to keep in mind that athletic training should be approached cautiously, and should be individualized for each golfer based on his/her age and the presence of underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure or heart disease. Golfers are advised to consult with their doctor before starting ant vigorous exercise program.

In summary, the ideal conditioning program for the recreational golfer should involve a progression of sport-specific activities designed to develop muscular strength, endurance, flexibility of the muscles and joints used in golf, and overall aerobic fitness. Illustrations of simple golf conditioning exercises that you can do at home are found in Dr. Divot’s Guide to Golf InjuriesA Handbook for Golf Injury Prevention and Treatment.

Larry Foster, M.D., F.A.A.O.S., is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and self-described golf nut. Trained at Columbia University and the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York, Dr. Foster is the author of Dr. Divot’s Guide to Golf InjuriesA Handbook for Golf Injury Prevention and Treatment. Written in a humorous “plain-English” style, Dr. Divot’s Guide teaches the reader how to prevent and treat the most common golf injuries. Visit Dr. Divot’s website at: http://www.doctordivotmd.com. Or call: 1-800-247-6553 ($19.95).

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Have you ever heard one of your golfing buddies mumble, “I wonder if I should take a few golf lessons?” Perhaps you have mumbled that question yourself. As for me, I am of the opinion that there are three times in a golfer’s career where taking lessons from a knowledgable professional can be extremely rewarding and valuable.

Those three setpoints are:

When a person is first learning the game of golf.

When the average player notices a decrease in his game and simply cannot put his finger on the problem.

And third, when an above average player wants to refine or hone his skills to the next higher level.

The first and third groups of players are fairly self-explanatory. A brand new player needs to learn the basics and a professional golf instructor can instill the proper techniques in that new player faster than the player can learn by himself.

The third group, the more advanced player, can hone his skills more quickly with a seasoned instructor than with his buddies, who may not even know what to look for or know how to articulate the next skill level techniques that this type of player is looking for. So, it is that second group that I would like to write about today.

This group, in my opinion, is the largest group of players who could benefit from a few lessons by a golfing instructor. Now the two important parts of the above statement that I made are: “notices a decrease in his game” and “cannot put his finger on the problem”.

Let’s make an assumption here that we are not talking about the occasional bad day. We all have bad days on the course, and those days happen regardless of what our level of play may be. Instead, we are talking about the player who over the course of a few weeks, perhaps a few months, has noticed that no matter what he or she does the scorecard result keeps creeping up and up and up for no apparent reason.

Well, apparent or not, there “is” a reason for this decrease in ability and it might take the trained eye of a reliable and knowledable instructor to pick it out and help you overcome it. In fact, there is a good argument that some players will ONLY improve if they spend some time with an instructor. For these players, the underlying fault will only get worse or at best stay the same until somone knowledgable comes along and points a finger and says: “There’s the problem right there.”

Some people might ask if lessons aren’t expensive. Well, they can be. The price per lesson would, of course, depend on the instructor. But as with most things in life, you can shop around until you find an instructor who fits your budget. Also, keep in mind, that you may only need two or three lessons to identify your problem and get it fixed. And wouldn’t that be worth the cost?

Robert Partain has been an avid golfer for over 40 years. He publishes a golf blog that is updated 4 times a week with golf club information, techniques, and information.

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If you’re looking to play golf on the QLD Sunshine Coast, here’s our recommendations for 2 of the best Golf courses in the region. Actually - these places aren’t just golf “courses” - they are a true destination for the avid golfing nut who also wants to enjoy the ambience of a quality luxury accommodation venue.

1. Hyatt Regency Coolum Golf Course

As the home of the Australian PGA Championship, the golf course of the Hyatt Regency Coolum is rated among the best golf courses in all of Australia. They simply don’t get any better than this. Nowhere else in the Sunshine Coast can you find a golf course that has passed the high expectations and lofty standards of the best golfers in the region and in the world.

Designed by renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr, the 6,263-meter, par-72 course is quite a challenge and features such diverse landscapes as coastal holes close to the Pacific Ocean to fairways that traverse through local bushlands. The climate is near-perfect. In addition, there is a well-stocked Pro Shop, training center, floodlit driving range and chipping greens.

Earlier this year, Australian golfer Geoff Ogilvy, the reigning US Open champion, announced that he will be competing regularly at the Australian PGA Championship starting 2006, which is even more reason to visit the course.

About the venue: Set at the base of Mount Coolum, the Hyatt Regency Coolum resort hotel spans 150 hectares of bushland, rainforest and natural woodlands. It sits across the Pacific Ocean, with two kilometers of pristine beaches in between. There are 324 rooms in all, including low-rise resort suites discreetly tucked away in natural Coolum rainforest as well as exclusive hotel villas on the Ambassadors Club that provide top-flight services and amenities. There are three excellent in-house restaurants: the McKenzie Grill, Fish Tales and Village Square.

Venue awards: The Hyatt Regency Coolum has received the following awards and distinctions: “Winner - Deluxe Accommodation” from Queensland Tourism Awards, 1997.

2. Novotel Twin Waters Golf Course

The golf course for the Novotel Twin Waters Resort is a world-class, 18-hole, par-72 championship golf course. Two of the top golf course architects in the world collaborated on its outstanding design: the five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson and world renowned golf course designer Mike Wolveridge. It is ideal for both golf neophytes and professionals.

Avid golfers will likely detect the British influence on the pristine layout of this course, notably in the generous sprinkling of pot bunkers. Regulars here are especially fond of the eighth green in particular, which is said to strongly resemble the famous St. Andrews Road Hole bunker.

The Twin Waters Golf Course is open to the public. Among its other features are an aquatic driving range and fully-stocked pro shop as well as excellent dining and conference facilities.

About the venue: The Novotel Twin Waters Resort is nestles between two impressive bodies of water, the Maroochy River on the left and the Pacific Ocean and its surf beaches on the right. There are a host of natural attractions within easy reach.

Venue awards: The Novotel Twin Waters Resort has received the following awards and distinctions: “Winner - Deluxe Accommodation” from Sunshine Coast Tourism Awards, 2002; “Finalist - Meetings & Business Tourism” from Queensland Tourism Awards, 2002; and “Finalist - Deluxe Accommodation” from Queensland Tourism Awards, 2002.

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