Best Mobility Exercises for Golf Game Success

Golf is one of the few sports where the lowest score wins. Shooting under par begins with a good golf swing. This type of swing requires a maximum range of motion throughout the movement. Thus, your level of flexibility can impact your game, and your final score.

How Optimal Mobility Improves Your Golf Game

A 2015 study looked at the swing of 15 professional golfers. Researchers noted that hip rotation was at its greatest during the first portion of the downswing. The second half of the downswing relied more heavily on the lumbar spine. (1)

Imagine what would happen if the player’s hip flexor muscles or lower spine lacked mobility. Would they be able to support a powerful golf swing? Probably not. They may not even be able to use proper golf swing form. Limitations in spine or hip mobility might prevent them from starting in the right position.

Mobility in the upper body is important in golf too. The rotator cuff—the muscles and tendons surrounding the shoulder—must be able to fully support the entire swing motion. An inflexible elbow joint can reduce swing speed and force. For this reason, maximum golf fitness involves flexibility exercise. 

Lack of Mobility Can Increase Golf Injury Risk

Engaging in flexibility training can also decrease a player’s risk of injury while on the course. Research reveals that restricted internal hip rotation and excessive stress on the spine are often to blame for golf injuries. Thus, improving flexibility in these areas can keep players out of pain and on the course. (2)

Upper body injuries related to mobility include shoulder impingement, rotator cuff issues, and golfer’s elbow. The first two can cause pain in and around the shoulder blade. The third creates pain and discomfort in the elbow and forearm. All result in feeling more stiff and weak.

Stretching exercises can increase mobility and, therefore, reduce injury risk. However, strength training plays a role as well. A strong muscle is able to fully support the adjoining joint. It can also keep that joint from hyperextending.

For example, during thoracic spine rotation, the external oblique and rectus abdominis muscles are used. The latissimus dorsi and internal obliques are activated too. Creating an exercise program that strengthens each of these muscles helps support thoracic spine mobility.

Tests for Assessing Golf Mobility Status

The first step to creating a golf exercise routine that maximizes mobility is doing a thorough assessment. This assessment helps identify upper and lower body joints that could benefit from a stretching program. It also creates a baseline for assessing the player’s future progress. Here are three tests to consider.

Shoulder Mobility Test

A good assessment for shoulder mobility is the zipper stretch. To do it, reach one hand over your shoulder and to the top of your back, as if pulling a zipper up the back of a dress or shirt. Take the other hand and reach up from your lower back. Try to bring the two hands as close together as possible, touching fingers if you can. The further the hands are apart, the lower the shoulder mobility.

Lumbar Mobility Test

Remember that the lumbar spine supports the final part of the downswing. Thus, it must be flexible enough to follow through. A sit and reach test helps determine the amount of mobility in this area. This involves sitting on the floor with legs extended in front of you. Bend forward at the hip and reach for the toes. Hold for two seconds before sitting back upright. The closer your hands get to your toes, the greater your lower spine mobility.

Thoracic Mobility Test

Since the thoracic spine helps power the golf swing, testing its mobility is important as well. The seated trunk rotation test is one option. During this test, the shoulder blades are locked to limit movement to the thoracic spine. A wooden dowel or rod is rested across the front of the shoulders with the arms in a “W” and the hands resting on the bar. Keeping an upright spine, the upper body is rotated as far as possible to the right and then to left. Thoracic rotation less than 45 degrees signifies that mobility in this area may be limited.

Best Mobility Exercises for Golf

Oftentimes, mobility limitations are caused by tight muscles. If this is the case, here are a few exercises to include in the player’s golf stretch program:

• Shoulder stretch. Stand with shoulders relaxed. Raise the right arm to shoulder height and reach across the chest, resting the right hand on the left shoulder. Place the left hand on the right elbow and pull it gently. Hold the stretch for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

• Middle back stretch. Some yoga poses help stretch the middle back while also improving strength. The Cat/Cow is one. Starting position is on the hands and knees. While looking up, tilt the pelvis forward, curving your spine downward. Hold for a few seconds. Next, look down and tilt your pelvis back, curving your spine upward, and hold.

• Lower back stretch. A good stretch for the lower spine is a knee-to-chest stretch. This involves lying on your back with legs fulling extended. Bend your right knee, bringing it toward the chest. Grab the knee and gently pull. Repeat on the other side. This stretch also helps stretch the hips and thighs. Another variation is to lift both knees at the same time and hug them to the chest.

• Hip stretch. If the hip extensors are tense, a kneeling stretch is helpful. To do it, kneel on the right knee while keeping the left knee bent at 90 degrees. The spine is in an upright position, shoulders back and down, and your hands are resting on your right thigh. Slowly, lean forward at the hips without allowing them to rotate. Hold for 30 seconds.

Do each of these stretches regularly to keep the muscles and soft tissues more flexible. Be sure to warm up first so as not to cause injury. Performing them at the end of a cardio or strength training session is best. Also, don’t stretch past mild to moderate discomfort. 

How to Create a Complete Golf Flexibility Program

The best exercises to include in a golf workout aimed at improving mobility depend in part on which areas of the body are most limited. Those joints will benefit from regular stretching most. 

The surrounding muscle groups also benefit from being strengthened. That said, incorporating exercises aimed at other joints and muscles keeps the entire body limber and strong. This minimizes the risk that an injury will occur as a result of an incomplete exercise routine.

It may also be helpful to incorporate additional remedies aimed at improving flexibility. For example, a foam roller can be used to help relax and elongate tight muscle. Use the roller on the thigh, hamstrings, and calf muscles to ease tension surrounding the knee joint. This allows for a smoother golf swing while protecting the knee. The roller can also be used on the muscles around the hips, providing a more powerful swing movement.

While golf relies heavily on the hip, back, and shoulder, other joints are also involved. The elbow allows for a strong swing and the knees and ankles enable good follow-through form. Creating an exercise program that both strengthens and stretches all of these areas can help improve the player’s golf game.

ISSA’s Corrective Exercise Specialist Certification teaches many ways to help clients overcome various movement limitations. This can be helpful whether playing golf or another sport.

References

1. Mun, F., Suh, S.W., Park, HJ. et al. Kinematic relationship between rotation of lumbar spine and hip joints during golf swing in professional golfers. BioMed Eng OnLine 14, 41 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12938-015-0041-5

2. Lindsay, D. M., & Vandervoort, A. A. (2014). Golf-related low back pain: a review of causative factors and prevention strategies. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, 5(4), e24289. https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.24289