Pilates for Golfers

A threesome of Benefits:
• More POWER
• More DISTANCE
• More PLAY
Big powerful swings come from explosive trunk rotation. Trunk rotation comes from flexibility and mobility in the player’s shoulders, hips and spine. Not to mention a strong core – your abdominal, lower back, glute and pelvic floor muscles. The upper body, back and shoulder muscles are also supported by a strong core allowing them to go through the full range of motion required for that big powerful swing.
Deanna Zenger, Executive Director of Hole-in-One Pilates International TM, notes that the best golfers have strong, stable lower bodies and flexible, mobile upper bodies. Their swings progress from the lower body to the trunk, the shoulders and lastly the arms. Amateurs, who lack strength and flexibility in those areas, compensate by using their arms, which is a primary cause of slicing.
People struggle really hard at golf and don’t better because they don’t address the physical side. Golf is an athletic sport that requires physical conditioning. Most golfers just can’t do what a good swing requires them to do.
MORE DISTANCE
Pilates is different than traditional fitness methods like weight training and cardio. While these are valuable training tools, brute strength and cardio stamina do not translate into success for a golfer as much as core strength, overall stamina, flexibility (especially in the hips) and range of motion all of which result in more yards with lower handicaps.
All age groups have different concerns, but everyone wants more power for greater distance. To get more power muscle flexibility is essential for both the backswing and follow through. If there is a restriction, the golfer will compensate, creating a risk of injury. A flexible upper body is what creates the fast clubhead speed for long drives that we all envy.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FLEXIBILITY AND CLUB HEAD SPEED
Graph
MORE PLAY with less injury and pain
In 2004, 44% of PGA golfers who dropped out of an event did so due to back pain. –American Journal of Sports Medicine.
PILATES HAS BEEN PROVEN TO:
• Improve posture/improves rotation/more powerful drives
• Increase strength and flexibility/faster clubhead speed/longer drives
• Improved balance and coordination/improved swing dynamics
• Identify and strengthen your core/hitting the ball with more force
• Define and improve muscle tone/stabilises the pelvis and hips for straighter drives
• Reduce or eliminate back pain/more play with less or no pain
• Increase energy levels/18 holes of stamina
Fact is, successful golfers need to keep hitting big, accurate, powerful drives right through to the 18th hole. Building core strength through Pilates gives you the ability to create power over and over again and will keep your strokes and you from losing steam before you hit the clubhouse.