The Ultimate Plateau Buster!

It happens to every athlete. Every golfer. At every level. The dreaded “plateau.” For golfers, it’s the point where lessons and extra time at the driving range stop yielding any significant return. Where you ask yourself why all the advice you’re getting on TV shows, books, magazines and online seems to work for everybody except you. And for many golfers, it’s more than not just making gains, it appears that they’ve actually gone backwards. While it’s true a simple adjustment or swing trigger may get you back to where you were, rarely do these quick fixes produce significant improvements from baseline ability.

What now??????

Simply put, it’s time to crank up the performance of your “golf body.” Years of research have proven that when you correctly (golf-specific) improve flexibility, stability, balance, strength and power, you can play at a super high level, provided, of course, you’re willing to put in the practice time as well.

And here’s the interesting and unexpected result of golf fitness training. Most weekend golfers I know look at the pros and think “I wish I were born with that genetic talent.” Here’s the very good news.

Dr. Michael Yessis, the legendary biochemist and trainer, who has worked with NFL teams such as the Rams an Raiders as well as individual-sports athletes including Evander Holyfield, and many more, says…

“I have worked with many athletes who are good but not genetically gifted to be great. With effective training, they became equal to and in some cases superior to the genetically gifted athlete. The key was to fully develop and perfect their technique of execution of the skills involved and to develop the physical abilities as they relate to the skill technique.”

Think about that for a moment.

What the celebrated Dr./trainer is saying is that natural talent is defined by “being born with certain attributes, like strength and flexibility, that develop early due to genetics.” But his point is that these` exact same attributes can be developed through proper training. With some dedication and will power thrown in.

Here’s how training for the “development and perfection of skills” translates to golf:

FLEXIBILITY

The ability to achieve the necessary “positions” required in the full swing (static).

STABILITY/BALANCE/STRENGTH

The skill to perfectly execute the full swing, through all the positions (dynamic).

POWER

The capability of maximizing the efficiency of the full swing for distance (additive)

It’s probably a good idea to mention aerobic conditioning too. Meaning you could play 36 holes at, or near, full capacity. Gary Player was/is a big proponent of aerobic training, which accounts for his enduring success.

Let’s look at each element of your “golf-specific” training. (NOTE: At the end of this article, we have links to Driven’s official “Golf Fitness Test” along with specific exercises designed for your current ability level.)

FLEXIBILITY: The starting point

The golf swing is both multi-plane and multi-directional. A great swing is one where your joints must perform at near maximum ranges. Now you don’t have to be super flexible, but you must be flexible enough. If your flexibility is compromised, there’s no way you’ll ever play at a high level. Plus, you risk injury.

Lack of flexibility is one of the biggest causes of frustration. For example, your golf instructor might tell

you about specific “angles” he/she wants you to attain. Or show you a position he wants your club to move through. You try harder and harder. But still get the same result. That’s frustrating.

But is a feeling that can evaporate with a few weeks of golf-specific training for flexibility and mobility.

As you’ll see in our flexibility exercises, they’re designed specifically for golf. Common stretching exercises won’t work. That’s because the golf swing demands ranges of motion you won’t experience in daily life.

STABILITY / BALANCE / STRENGTH: Putting it into action

Stability means being able to “control” force through the full range of motion. The best way of understanding stability is to consider what instability looks like. Imaging hitting a tee shot on a slippery patch of ice. No energy. No transfer of power. Zero efficiency. You get the picture!

Stability training involves mostly the lower body, especially the hips. Exercises for stability are aimed at both “generating-force muscle” and “resisting-force muscle.” Developing “force-resistance” muscles may not be sexy, but it’s one of the keys to stability.

Balance focuses on those small, but vitally important, muscles. These almost “invisible” muscles are the ones that make those tiny, unseen adjustments to your swing when you have side hill lies, shots out of the rough, or awkward stance shots.

Basically, balance means the sum of adjustments your body makes to maintain your center of gravity over a stable base. Balance training encompasses both muscular training and brain-sensor awareness.

Strength means generating force. But keep in mind, gym strength (pumping iron) means something different than golf strength (multiple plane movement coupled with The proper sequence). That equates to functional strength, as opposed to raw strength.

POWER Putting the exclamation point on your game!

Today’s golf requires explosive power. That means training, in a highly specific way, for power.

I know many people who use the words “Power” and “Strength” almost interchangeably. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, they are related, but they serve two distinct purposes and are trained for two independent ways. The mathematical formula for power is: Power = Strength (work)/Time or P=S/T. Power is generated when you compress all the strength (force) you can generate into a smaller time unit.

For example, you are strong if you can move 200 pounds of bricks 20 yards. It could take a few minutes. But if you can throw those 200 pounds of bricks, and they land a second later, you are powerful.

In golf, that means taking all of the training skills you’ve developed (flexibility, stability, balance and strength) then taking that solid fluid swing and compressing it into a fraction of a second. The faster it happens, the more power you generate, the more distance you achieve. Power is what gives 5’ 8”, 145 pound Justin Thomas the ability to drive the ball 320 yards.

That should give you an overview, or blueprint, for what your training should look like.