A Golf Warm-Up that Helps You Play Better

Living Well

Written by: Marvin Nixon, Personal Trainer, Toronto Athletic Club 

Whether you are playing eighteen holes or heading to the driving range, priming your body to move before teeing up will allow you to find your best swing and play your best that day. In the last golf article, we discovered why a warm-up is beneficial for your game. A quick prep session can reduce the risk of injury and soreness and help you hit further and more on target. Today you will learn a movement prep routine that you can perform at home before heading to the course or before you tee off. 

The Body Rotates So The Club Can Swing With Accuracy and Power  

A golfer’s body has three main centers of rotation. Your hips, your shoulders and thoracic spine, and your neck, aka cervical spine. Rotation at the thoracic spine and neck allows for a back swing that loads up with power. Rotation, especially lead hip internal rotation, helps bring the club head back to the ball with accuracy that allows for precise shot making. This routine will focus on the hips with some shoulder prep so that you can bring your most accurate shots to your game.  

The Routine 

This movement prep and warm-up should take about ten minutes to complete and can be performed at home before you head to the course or on the driving range. This should allow you plenty of time to hit the range for some specific swing practice to help you find what shots are showing up at the course with you. This routine is one round of 10 movements. Perfect movement is not required; the goal is to start moving as best you can. For a demonstration, you can follow the video here.  

• Hip Rotations (10 each side) 
• Moving your full body over your hips prepares you for the swing 
• Hip Swings (10 each leg, side to side & front to back) 
• Hip flexion and extension can help prevent swing characteristics such as standing up away from the ball (early extension) 
• Toe Touches (10) 
• Hip flexion prepares your body for golf posture across all of your clubs 
• Hip Wipers (10 each way) 
• Hip Rotation is key to proper swing form 
• Long Sit Hip Rotation (10 each leg) 
• Hip internal rotation allows your body to sequence properly 
• Leg Swing with Hip Rotation 
• Hip internal rotation brings the club face back to the ball  
• Reverse Lunge with Rotation & Side Bend (10 each leg) 
• Allows the body to stack and tilt in the downswing 
• Single Leg Hip Hinge with "airplane" hip openers (10 each leg) 
• Primes the glute muscles to rotate the hip 
• Hip Hinge to Power Hop (2 each leg) 
• Wakes up glute power for longer drives 
• Full Body Golf Swings (6 each direction) 
• Brings the movements to your swing 

This ten-minute routine can help you play great starting on the first tee and feel great on the eighteenth green. If you would like to find out more about your body through the TPI movement assessment and develop a pre-golf routine that will help your body provide a powerful and accurate swing reach out to Marv at mnixon@torontoathleticclub.com.