Golf Performance Training #1 - Injuries

Young, old, professional or amateur: we should all be hitting the gym if we want longevity in the game of golf.

Think of Golf Performance Training as an insurance policy for your body - pay your premiums now, by way of working out, and your body will pay you back over time with less injuries, pain and better golf.

At a minimum a good training programme is a long term robustness strategy.

One of my favourite quotes in this field is, 'Athletes who avoid training will be rewarded with fragility'. It's true.

If we neglect our body, eventually it will break down. Often, an injury is not caused by one specific movement at one time. It is a build up of tension that eventually the body says, 'that's it I give up', like the straw that breaks the camels back.

Let's dive deep into golf specific injuries and how to avoid them.

80% of golf injuries are over-use related. What does this mean?

They are caused by repetitive movement and excessive overloading of muscles, tendons, and joints. They are not acute injuries, as mentioned, which happen suddenly, but occur over time due to small stresses. Over-use injuries are common in a lot of sports, but golf, in particular, is largely one motion (the swing) the entire time. Research shows that over half of these injuries can be reduced by strength training.

The most commonly injured area is the lower back. This should be no suprise due to the constant load and rotation. Our back loves to bend forwards and backwards (flexion & extension). And it loves to rotate...but, it doesn't enjoy doing those two movements at the same time. However, this is the golf swing - slight flexion/leaning over, with a lot of rotation, often done at high speed. This has a shearing effect on our lower back vertabral discs, which can cause huge pain and limited movement.

How can we help our back deal with the load and reduce injury risk? Core strength is key. The stronger our core muscles - stomach, mid and lower back - the more load we can take over time. Exercises like a palof press, plank, side plank are your go-to's here. My Instagram page (@sotowellness) has videos on these.

We want to work on anti-rotation movements which increase stability. Anti-rotation would be holding a strong, neutral position, with something trying to disrupt us - a band, a cable, a weight. If a golf player does hundreds and thousands of swings, rotating through one movement, is more rotation needed in the gym? Recall 80% of injuries in golf are over-use related!

Strengthening our hip muscles should be next on our list. Stronger hip muscles take pressure off the lower back and add stability. If we have good stability we can be smoother in transition, and use the ground for improved swing mechanics too. Our main hip muscles are the glute max, glute med and glute min. Exercises such as a hip bridge, banded walks and hip circles are ideal here. A video will be uploaded on my Youtube (@iaingrey) and Instagram (@sotowellness) on February 15th with these.

With good core and hip strength, we can reduce the risk of many injuries, so these two areas should be our main focus.

Mobility also plays a key role in injury prevention. Mobile hips, plus upper and lower back are key to reducing injury as well.

With my golf specific personal training clients in Sotogrande, I do a full assessment to check ranges of motion, flexibility, mobility and strength. That way, we aren't guessing. We know exactly what we need to work on.

These assessments are available as a one-off so you can see what, if any, restrictions you have or may face in future.

I hope this blog helps you overcome any injuries you may have. I also hope it will start some of you on a journey into training specifically for golf, or your chosen sport.

Please leave any comments or questions! Iain