On The Tee with Hank Johnson

YOUR OFF SEASON PROGRAM
Dealing with injuries and conditioning
Third segment in a series
Do you have any nagging injuries that need to be dealt with?
As we model the tour players use of the off season, one area to consider is any nagging injuries that you might be dealing with. Club level players tend to forget about aches and pains until the next time they play. They just take a few ADVIL and keep going.
Most golf injuries are from “repetitive use” and /or “overuse”. The problem with ignoring them over a long period of time is that they almost always get worse.
If you have one of these nagging aches and pains you should see a physician to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan which will probably include a course of physical therapy. Most common injury sites are the shoulders, elbows, wrist, hips, knees and ankles. Lower back problems are usually more significant and certainly need the attention of a physician if they persist for any length of time at all.
Once you are pain free
The off season provides an opportunity to improve physical conditioning, particularly strength and flexibly. Any general conditioning program will help your golf game. As long as you keep the resistance (weights) low and the number of repetitions high there really are no exercises that are bad for golf. Most golfers have more success when they work with a personal trainer. That just provides structure and accountability which most of us need.
Golf, on the surface doesn’t appear to be physically demanding but if you tend to tire near the end on your round, it will certainly affect your performance. Your off season training program should include a cardio element to improve you endurance. Again, a personal trainer can guide you in this area as well.
You should also ask your trainer to help you improve your balance. There are a number of things that work quite well and balance is a critical element of an effective golf swing.
Gains in the speed of your swing through the ball can be made but you need some form of feedback. You not only need to know the amount of speed, you also need to know where along the arc of the swing the speed occurred. The best device to use for speed development is a launch monitor like TRACKMAN. Use of this type of unit will let you monitor other impact conditions like club head path and clubface alignment while you work on speed.