What Exercises Are Good for Golfers?

The short answer is that there is no single best exercise for every golfer.

Good golf training usually develops a combination of strength, power, movement options and the physical capacity to practise and play without your performance fading. The exact exercises should then be matched to the golfer in front of us: their body, training history, goals, available equipment and the demands of their game.

That is more useful than simply collecting exercises that look like a golf swing.

What does a golfer need from physical training?

A golf swing is a fast, coordinated movement. A round of golf also asks you to walk, repeatedly produce shots and maintain concentration and movement quality for several hours.

Physical training can therefore support different parts of your game:

• Strength gives you a larger physical foundation from which to produce and control force.

• Power helps you express force quickly.

• Mobility gives you movement options where a genuine restriction exists.

• Stability and coordination help you control force and position.

• General physical capacity helps you tolerate practice, training and the demands of a round.

Improving these qualities does not automatically produce better golf. It expands what may be physically available to you. You still need to convert that capacity into golf skill and performance.

At Macro Golf, we describe this as part of your Current Ability. Physical Capability is one contributor to the golf you have available. Current Performance is how much of that ability you can access and express when you play.

Strength exercises for golfers

Golfers do not need a completely separate collection of “golf exercises.” The fundamental human movement patterns are a very good place to begin.

Squat

Squat variations develop lower-body strength and the ability to produce force through the ground.

Depending on the golfer, appropriate options might include:

• Goblet squats

• Split squats

• Front squats

• Back squats

• Leg press variations

The barbell back squat is not compulsory. It is one option among many. The best choice is the variation that the golfer can perform well, progress safely and fit into the rest of their training.

Hinge

Hinge exercises strengthen the hips and the muscles on the back of the body.

Examples include:

• Romanian deadlifts

• Trap-bar deadlifts

• Kettlebell deadlifts

• Hip thrusts

• Cable pull-throughs

Again, the movement pattern matters more than forcing everyone to use the same exercise.

Lunge and single-leg work

Golf is played from the ground up, and the two sides of the body do not always perform identical jobs. Single-leg and split-stance exercises can develop strength, control and tolerance in each leg.

Useful options include:

• Reverse lunges

• Split squats

• Step-ups

• Lateral lunges

• Single-leg Romanian deadlifts

Push, pull and carry

Upper-body strength also matters. A balanced programme will usually include pushing, pulling and carrying rather than focusing only on the legs and “core.”

Examples include:

• Dumbbell bench press

• Press-ups

• Landmine press

• Cable or dumbbell rows

• Pull-ups or pulldowns

• Farmer's carries

• Suitcase carries

Exercise selection should account for the golfer's shoulders, back, training experience and individual movement options.

Research supports the broader principle that progressive resistance training can improve physical qualities relevant to golf. In one randomized study, both traditional and golf-specific resistance programmes improved measures of physical and golf performance. Another controlled trial found that an eight-week strength-and-power programme improved clubhead speed in experienced golfers. (Hegedus et al.; Oranchuk et al.)

Power exercises for golfers

Strength is the ability to produce force. Power is the ability to express force quickly.

Because the golf swing happens quickly, golfers may benefit from exercises performed with speed and intent. These do not have to look exactly like a swing.

Common options include:

• Box jumps

• Broad jumps

• Squat jumps

• Medicine-ball throws

• Medicine-ball slams

• Kettlebell swings

• Lighter resistance exercises performed explosively

Medicine-ball throws are particularly useful because they allow golfers to produce force rapidly in different directions without trying to slow the movement down at the end.

Research has found relationships between clubhead speed and physical power measures such as squat-jump height and seated medicine-ball throw distance. Combined resistance and plyometric training has also been shown to improve clubhead speed in golfers. (Lewis; Fletcher and Hartwell)

That does not mean every golfer should immediately start jumping or throwing heavy medicine balls. The exercise, load, volume and landing demands still need to suit the individual.

If speed training is your main interest, you may also find our article Do Golf Speed Sticks Work? useful.

Rotation—and resisting rotation

The golf swing involves rotation, but that does not mean every core exercise should involve repeatedly twisting under load.

A useful programme may train both:

• The ability to create and coordinate rotational force.

• The ability to resist unwanted movement and transfer force between the lower and upper body.

Exercises might include:

• Cable rotations

• Medicine-ball rotational throws

• Pallof presses

• Chops and lifts

• Dead bugs

• Side planks

• Loaded carries

The aim is not to make your gym exercise look identical to your swing. It is to develop qualities that can support the swing while keeping the actual skill of swinging a golf club specific to golf practice.

Mobility exercises for golfers

Mobility matters when a genuine restriction reduces the movement options available to the golfer or changes how they can complete a task.

But more mobility is not automatically better, and every golfer does not need the same stretching routine.

One golfer may benefit from improving hip rotation. Another may need more ankle movement, upper-back movement or shoulder capacity. Another may already have plenty of range and benefit more from strength and control within it.

That is why assessment matters. Rather than assuming a golfer is “tight” because their swing looks a certain way, we can establish what movement is actually available and whether it is relevant to the problem they are trying to solve.

Mobility work might include:

• Hip rotation drills

• Ankle mobility exercises

• Thoracic rotation exercises

• Shoulder mobility work

• Strength exercises performed through an appropriate range of motion

The exercise should follow the finding—not the other way around.

What about balance and stability?

Balance and stability can be trained, but making every exercise unstable is not necessarily the best way to do it.

Standing on a wobble board may make an exercise feel more “golf specific,” yet the unstable surface can also reduce the force you are able to produce. Sometimes that trade-off is useful. Often, golfers will gain more by developing strength on a stable surface and using separate exercises when balance is the specific target.

The question is always: what quality are we trying to improve, and will this exercise actually improve it?

Do golfers need cardiovascular training?

A golfer does not need the endurance profile of a marathon runner, but general fitness still matters.

A round may last four hours or more. Better physical capacity can help a golfer tolerate walking, practise more consistently and maintain their routines later in the round.

Depending on the person, that could involve:

• Regular walking

• Cycling or rowing

• Low-intensity aerobic training

• Shorter interval sessions

• Circuits that complement rather than compromise strength and power work

The appropriate amount depends on the golfer's health, schedule, playing demands and other training.

What does “golf-specific” training really mean?

An exercise does not become useful merely because it is performed in a golf stance or while holding something shaped like a club.

Good golf training is specific when it develops a quality the golfer needs and helps them apply that quality to their game.

Sometimes that means heavy lower-body strength work. Sometimes it means jumping, throwing or improving a relevant range of motion. Sometimes it means building enough physical capacity to practise without fading. The transfer to golf then happens through golf practice, not by turning every gym exercise into an imitation swing.

How should you choose your exercises?

Before choosing a programme, ask:

1. What am I trying to improve—strength, speed, mobility, tolerance, general fitness or something else?

2. What is currently limiting me?

3. What training experience do I have?

4. Are pain, injury or medical issues affecting the decision?

5. What equipment, time and coaching support are available?

6. How will this training fit around my golf practice and playing schedule?

Two golfers with the same handicap may need very different programmes. Their bodies, movement patterns, injury histories and performance problems may have very little in common.

This is why we use the idea of a Blueprint: the evolving picture of how you play, what you have available and what may help you progress. Your exercise programme should match that picture rather than being copied from somebody else's.

The best exercises are the ones that match the golfer

Squats, hinges, lunges, pushes, pulls, carries, jumps and throws can all be valuable for golfers. Mobility and conditioning can also be important.

But the list is not the programme.

The real work is deciding which qualities matter for you, selecting exercises you can perform and progress, and fitting them into a plan that supports rather than competes with your golf.

Your swing. Your Blueprint. Your Match Up.

If you want to understand more about the different factors influencing your golf, complete the free Macro Golf Match-Up Audit.