Today, both fans and the media agree that golf requires a level of "physical exertion and coordination" and that the athletes who participate are gifted with agility, stamina, and/or strength to attain the highest levels of accomplishment.
That being said, Golf Digest recently featured a gallery of LPGA golfer fitness photos as well as ways in which the ladies stay in shape and ready to perform on the course.
From Bosu and kettle balls to weights, this is not the LPGA of old - these golfers are serious about their workouts!
Fifth-ranking LPGA golfer, Lexi Thompson, believes in using Bosu Balls because these exercises, "help build the strength so you can swing within yourself. A lot of amateurs over-swing because they're not strong enough to stay in control."
Both Cheyenne Woods and Michelle Wie are proponents of flexibility and endurance being two key performance enhancers for men or women. Wie even goes so far as to train for twenty minutes with an elastic band around her legs. Coach David Leadbetter believes that the more resistance between upper and lower body, the longer she'll hit the ball.
Coach David Leadbetter maintains that Wie is trying to build up resistance between her lower and upper body. The more separation — or torque — between lower and upper body, the longer she’ll hit the ball.
Dave Phillips and Dr. Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Institute both agree that women should build their lower body. "If a woman can get a really strong lower body, she can develop speed just as quick as a man."
Bernhard Langer says that fruits and vegetables keep him in prime condition, that eating the right snacks on course is essential to keeping the blood sugar elevated and that the one thing he does every day is stretch his body.
Gary Player, at seventy-nine years old, is probably one of the earliest proponents of exercise and has ten rules for a fit body. "The secret is commitment. It cannot be a fad. Even if your exercise program is small, you must make it a part of your life.
What exercises do you do just for golf? Let us know on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on our Golf for Beginners blog.
Read our previous golf blog: 5 Golf Tips for Practicing Without and Instructor
video: article.wn.com
photo: StayFitCentral.com