I’ve done a fair amount of research preparing for this golf fitness series and one of the definitive things I’ve discovered is that going to the gym and performing a “generic” workout won’t have a substantial impact on your game. I say substantial impact because, obviously if you workout frequently your overall physical fitness will improve which will have some impact on a round of golf.

As with many sports, performance improvement will really come from a workout that’s tailored towards the muscle groups predominantly used in the execution of that sport. Furthermore, which I’ll discuss later, the workout has to mimic how the muscle will be used. For example, if you’re a long distance runner, training your muscles for short bursts of speed would not be the ideal regime, it’ll help somewhat, but it wouldn’t have nearly the impact that an endurance workout would.

But, I digress..

Below are the muscle groups one needs to focus on if they’re looking to improve their golf game. If there are any that I’ve missed or some that you don’t believe should be there, please leave a comment!

Like I’ve mentioned before, this is new and uncharted territory for me and I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject, just passing on what I’ve learned.

The muscles used in the golf swing..

Chest – increased swing speed and power through acceleration.

• lower pectorals
• upper pectorals

Back – improved posture, ease of rotation, power through acceleration.

• latissimus dorsi (mid back)
• trapezius (upper back)
• rhomboids (upper back)
• erectors (lower back)

Lower Body – maintenance of golf posture, knee flex and injury prevention.

• abductors (hips)
• adductors (inner thigh)
• hamstrings (back of thigh)
• quadraceps (front of thigh)
• gluteals (buttocks)
• hip flexors

Shoulder – consistent swing plane and control of the club throughout the swing.

• deltoids
• rotator cuffs

Trunk – core muscles for faster turn and stored torque.

• internal obliques
• external obliques

Arms – stronger impact position.
-forearms (flexors and extensors)
-triceps
-biceps

Below are some fantastic images I found on SportManiac.com that help illustrate how the muscles are used throughout the swing. There’s also a really great video of a golf swing and the muscles used on their website, so definitely check out the link.

Take Away

Forward Swing

Acceleration

Early Follow Through

Late Follow Through

Hopefully you’ll be able to find something useful in this post that will give you a better understanding of the golf swing and which muscles you need to focus on if you’re looking to improve your golf game via golf fitness.

-Dave