Do you perform a golf warm-up before you play a round? If you don't, you're in good company. A recent survey in Australia found that fewer than 4% of players performed a golf warm-up.
The most common reasons given for not warming up were:
- Don't need to (40%)
- Don't have enough time (30%)
- Can't be bothered (30%)
Why is this important? According to the researchers, golfers frequently present to emergency departments and sports medicine clinics with sprains, overuse injuries, as well as more traumatic acute injuries.
Furthermore, amateurs tend to have less well-conditioned bodies than professionals, and therefore place greater stress on their musculoskeletal systems during the swing.
Warming up properly will not only reduce your chances of injury, but also improve your performance - someone who is properly warmed-up is much more likely to hit to their maximum distance than a player who hasn't warmed up.
Recommendations for correct warm-up would include:
- Aerobic exercise to raise body temperature
- Stretching the hands, wrists, forearms shoulders, lower back, chest, trunk, hamstrings and groin.
- A series of golf swings with progressive increases in the range of movement and power.
