Ahhh … The weather is finally turning.  I know you’re existed to get back out to the course.  Before you start pounding golf balls like you did last season … stop!

If you go out to the range this early in the season and hit a ton of balls or play more than 18 holes, you’re just asking for trouble.  Think about it, you’ve just taken a long break over the winter.  This means your body is a little weaker and a little tighter. You can’t just go out there like you did at the end of the season last year.  If you do, you could end up tearing something or doing some serious damage which will put you out of commission for a while.

The thing is, you may feel okay after that first bucket or after playing 18 holes (I know I did last week when I hit a bucket). Instead of grabbing a second bucket or playing another 9 holes, I want you to go home and relax.  As much as you think you’re feeling okay, I can guarantee you’re going to feel it later in the evening.

What I want you to do is gradually build up your strength, flexibility and stamina over the next month. Once you’re feeling 100%, I want you to seriously think about incorporating some stretching into your routine so you are always feeling your best.  Below I’ve outlined what you should do based on how tight you normally feel:

If You’re Not Tight At All

If you don’t feel tight you’re either very lucky, you’re a kid or you already do a stretching program.  Great!  If you’re naturally very limber or you’re a kid you should still do some stretching just too keep feeling the way you do.  If you’ve already incorporated stretching into your routine, you’re probably never going to stop doing it because you know how good it is for your swing.  Congrats!

If You’re A Little Tight

If you have good range of motion (can turn your shoulders 90 degrees without a problem) but you still feel a little tight I want you to develop a stretching program that you do before you go to play or practice.

What this entails is about a 15 – 30 min. routine that you do at home in the morning. At minimum, you do this routine on the day you’re going to play golf.  Better still, you should be doing this routine everyday regardless of whether you are playing or not.

After you get to the course, just before you’re about to tee off or practice, I want you to do a few more light stretches just to make sure you’re still loose.

Here’s a great device you can bring to the course with you: Golf Stretcher

If You’re Super Tight

If you’re someone who feels super tight (cannot turn your shoulders even close to 90 degrees) then you definitely have to get into stretching.  For you, seeking a professional Golf Fitness Instructor is going to be your best option.  This will increase your range of motion and allow you to develop a lot more power in your swing.

I personally recommend:  Body Balance for Performance “The Golf Fitness Experts”

Body Balance was founded by Dr. Paul Callaway from the work he did with Tour Players. I’ve had first hand experience with Body Balance when I lived in Kansas City.  They first measured my range of motion (which was very poor 68 degrees) and within a few weeks I was close to 90 degrees. I received all sorts of take home stretches that have allowed me to keep working on my range of motion to this day.

Currently, they have 34 Body Balance Centers across the United States.  Anyone can get complementary time with Body Balance for Performance “The Golf Fitness Experts” by going to www.fitgolf.com and clicking on “Get Started”

If you don’t have a body balance in your area, I would recommend looking for a TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor www.mytpi.com in your area.  Just type this in a Google search:

TPI Certified Instructor _________your city here___________ .

If you don’t have the time or the budget to see a Golf Fitness Instructor in person, I suggest you take a look at one of the courses below:

Mike Pederson – Perform Better Golf

Roger Fredericks Golf Flexibilty DVD

Golf Gym – Home Golf Fitness

Strolf for Golf

Conclusion

I know you may not recognize the importance of stretching at first.  It’s not until you actually take the steps and start doing it that you realize that you should have incorporated a stretching routine into your game a long time ago.  Please make the effort and get stretching.  You really will be glad you did!

All the best,

Paul Wilson
Creator – Swing Machine Golf

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