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What Muscles Help Hit Farther In Golf?

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What Muscles Help Hit Farther In Golf?

Golfers often seem to look for ways to hit longer and accurate shots. The length of the shot depends on the speed you can generate with the clubhead. Improving your physical conditioning will impact your golf swing.

So, how do you improve? It’s simple, working out the muscles you need while playing golf.

Deltoids, forearms, legs, back, chest, and core muscles all have a considerable effect on how far you can hit a ball. Focus on these muscles and flexibility to add power and provide consistency to your game.

Deltoids

The deltoid is a shoulder muscle that helps to create a powerful swing while keeping you under control. Backswing requires shoulder mobility and strength, and this is where force production is at its peak. Strengthening deltoids will increase joint stability and reduce the risk for injury.

Exercises to strengthen shoulder muscles:

  • Lateral raises
  • Wall slides
  • I’s, Y’s, and T’s
  • Plank walks
  • Mini band wall walks

Core muscles

Core muscles are the engine that provides balance, torque, and rotation in the golf swing. Strengthening the core helps to prevent lower back injury. Many amateur and pro golfers face this injury.

Players who learn to initiate a golf shot from their core find more consistency in their game. Because most of your power comes from it and a weak core not just becomes a source of injury but also affects your swing.

The importance of core muscles

Oblique: This muscle contracts during the golf swing, rotates your body, and stabilizes the spine laterally.

Rectus abdominis or abdominals: it is a six-pack muscle, which improves stability and balance throughout the golf swing.

Train your core with these exercises:

  • Planks
  • Landmine hip to hip rotations
  • Woodchoppers or cable rotations
  • Russian twists
  • Medicine ball rotational throws

Golf Resource: Foy Golf Academy Practice System + Practice Plans

Forearms

A strong forearm is a key for having a good grip, which means you can transmit the force created by all significant muscles into the club and the golf ball.

Conditioning your forearm strength, mobility, and endurance also helps prevent chronic repetitive movement injuries such as golfer’s elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Forearm strengthening exercises:

  • Wrist extension and flexion
  • Bicep curl
  • Pronation and supination
  • Chair dips
  • Gripping
  • Reverse fly
  • Lateral raise

Legs

Every golf swing needs stability, and strong legs are the foundation of creating a great golf shot. Quadriceps, abductors, glutes, adductors, and hamstrings are the muscles of the lower body.

Adductors and abductors: These muscles act to maintain and stabilize balance throughout the swing movement.

Glutes and Hamstrings: Glutes and hamstrings help maintain proper body posture and keep you in place throughout the golf swing. Training these muscles also prevents lower back injury.

Quadriceps: This muscle helps to turn your hips smoothly and generate power through the ball.

Strengthening leg muscles assist a golfer in creating a controlled swing.

Legs strengthening exercises

  • Single leg glute bridges
  • Reverse lunges
  • Single leg squats
  • Single leg deadlifts

Back

The back plays a crucial role while hitting the golf ball as it maintains the body posture. Strengthening the upper back helps keep you in shape, while the lower back supports the rotational movement.

Upper back: Training the upper back will result in an erect spine. This essential element helps ease rotation throughout the swing. Untrained upper back leads to a less uniform backswing and reduces the ability to follow through.

Lower back: The erector spinae is a lower back muscle that needs more focus, and if you don’t pay attention to this, you will pay the price.

Back strengthening exercises

  • T-spine rotations
  • Pull-ups
  • Reverse fly’s
  • Bent over rows
  • Back extensions
  • Deadlifts

Read: Best Back Exercises with Instructions

Chest

The chest muscle or pectoralis major is vital for rotational movement and smooth golf swing. It also plays a key role during the downswing and follow-through. Strong chest muscles mean a better rotation of shoulders and arms, leading to hitting a ball farther.

Chest strengthening exercises

  • Incline flies
  • Alternate shoulder flies
  • Flat chest press
  • Rotational chest opener exercise
  • Modified push-ups

Read: Best Chest Exercises with Instruction

Additional FAQ

How does flexibility impact my golf game?

Poor flexibility hinders your golf swing, which results in low power and inconsistency. More importantly, it can further lead to serious injury.

An accurate and powerful swing requires flexibility of certain levels. When your range of motion increases, you can hit the ball farther with less effort. You have to find flexibility exercises that work for you.

Choose something that focuses on the major muscles used while playing golf like the glutes, hamstrings, hip mobility, chest, shoulders, core, upper and lower back.

Stretching 15 minutes before a game can significantly improve your golf swing and scorecard.

Why can’t you hit the golf ball far?

Here are some reasons that limit you from hitting the golf ball far:

  • Forcing the swing
  • Poor tempo
  • Tension at address
  • Weak legs
  • Lack of flexibility