A Quick 5-min Golf Warmup to Add More Yards
Last Update: June 18, 2023
Golfers will benefit from a quick 5-minute golf warmup, even if they are short on time. Many amateur golfers get too excited about their tee time so they arrive on the golf course without doing a golf warmup. It will add more yards to your and make it more enjoyable too.
Sometimes, if they've planned well, the extent of preparing to hit a round of 18 holes is going to the driving range. Our advice is to do a brief physical warmup and then practice hitting golf balls.
Ben Langdown
The Science Behind a Golf Warm-Up
"The majority of golfers seem to forget is that golf is similar to sprinting in that it is a very explosive action which culminates in a lot of force travelling through the body over a very short period of time."
A golf warmup is designed to get your joints, nervous system and muscles limber and primed to hit the links. It will also get your mind ready to play.
Static Stretching Versus Dynamic Stretching for Golf
A static stretch lasts thirty seconds to a minute. It is the type of stretch many golfers do before they hit the first tee. However, current research shows that holding a stretch before activity decreases power and strength.
Do you want to hit the ball further or shorter? To hit it further the body, including the nervous system needs to be ready to swing the club with force, precision and speed. This combination is power. Ben Langdown goes deeper into the science behind a golf warmup in his article on My TPI.
Dynamic stretching before golf gets you limber and frees up your swing. This type of stretching is done slowly to begin and gradually increases in speed. It warms up the muscles fascia to be elastic, increases synovial joint fluid in the joints, raises the heart rate and prepares your neuromuscular system (coordination) to play.
Try This 5-minute Dynamic Golf Warmup
Use the following five movement-based golf stretches to get you feeling loose and ready early instead of waiting until the 9th hole to get into the swing of things.
Hint: you only need to do each exercise until you feel “loose” and free to move.
Start each warm-up with long slow breaths and small slow movements, then work towards faster and larger movements. Pay attention to each side.
Notice if you find one side or one direction tighter, then focus on getting the tight areas feeling loose and moving with minimal restrictions.
1. Hip Rotations
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Imagine you have a hula hoop around your waist. Rotate your pelvis in a clockwise circle until it feels loose, then switch directions.
2. Overhead Reach
Still with your feet wide, reach one hand overhead to the sky and then to the other side. Make sure to feel this stretch on the side. Continue by reaching on the diagonal to the opposite side, making a circle until you reach your starting side. Repeat several times until loose, then change sides.
3. Tee Torso Rotations
Hinge at your waist as if you were going to hit the ball. Now swing your arms side to side. As you progress, try to reach your arm to the side, then up to the sky.
When done correctly, one shoulder will be down to the ground vertically with the hand almost touching, the other reaching towards the sky with your chest facing the side. The rotation comes from the hips and rib cage.
4. Leg Swings
We move in spiral and diagonal patterns. Do you remember kicking a ball as a child? Stand on one leg and use your golf club for support if you need to. Start with the swinging leg bent and be loose from the hip.
Moving from the hip, make figure eights. Gradually make these swings larger and faster; the upper body will move. Your leg will move in front and behind you in spirals and diagonals, and your foot will point in many directions.
5. Arm Swings
To really be loose and free in the shoulders, we need to swing the arms. Start by slowly swinging your arms at your sides, forward and back. Make this movement larger as you gradually go faster, and are breathing faster.
Swing your arms back and forward, reaching as far as you can — even over-head. Do the same thing by crossing your arms, then reaching to the sides. Move from the ground to the ground to reaching overhead and out. Your shoulders should feel easy to move when you are finished.
Increase Your Club Head Speed with a Golf Warmup
Your breathing rate will increase as each stretch quickens and the movements become larger. When done properly, you will feel warm, and more limber and your heart rate will be higher. Your mind will also be ready to play golf.
Do these dynamic (with movement) stretches until you feel loose.
Following through with the above golf warm-up routine will boost clubhead speed, ball speed and yards off the tee. Try this five-minute quick golf warmup before your next golf game. We invite you to then let us know how you played.
References: Ann and Chris Frederick, Stretch to Win, Human Kinetics. To get stretched by a professional or to learn these stretches contact us about Fascial Stretch Therapy.
