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Many people mistakenly think stretching is a way to warm up before golf because, if you are like most of us, you were taught the importance of warm up calisthenics back in grade school, and you have pretty much the same routine ever since. Exercise science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that regular old stretching not only can be a waste of time, but also can be bad for you. Holding a static stretch for 20 to 30 seconds can weaken your muscles if you have not prepared them beforehand. You actually should warm up muscles, tendons and joints before your stretch. You need to warm up before your warm up.
The New Way to Warm Up
To update your warm up routine in 2009, you need to follow this sequence: first, raise your body temperature to increase your blood flow, which brings needed oxygen to muscles, tendons and joints. Second, only when muscles are warm do you do stretches to increase your range of motion in muscles that mimic the movements you are going to be doing for the rest of the day.
To raise your body’s temperature, a warm up should begin with an aerobic activity such as walking, knee raises, jogging in place or jumping jacks. For younger players, the ideal is to break a sweat; for older golfers it is to become slightly winded. The aerobic portion of your warm up should take only 2 to 3 minutes, just enough to literally warm up your body.
Start your warm up routine by doing some sort of aerobic activity such as knee raises.
A Simulated Swing Stretch
For stretching to be beneficial to your game, you should simulate the golf swing as much as possible. Doing stretches that mimic the golf swing will prepare the muscles for the motions that you will be doing for the next 4 to 5 hours.
Here is an example of a golf specific stretch to loosen up muscles in your back, core, shoulders, arms and even legs before you play.
Take your normal golf stance and hold the club horizontally in front of you with your left palm facing down on the shaft by the clubhead (if you are a right-handed golfer), and your right palm facing up near the grip.
Turn back as if you were making a golf swing. Be conscious that you are in your golf posture: stay bent over and watch an imaginary ball on the ground.
Extend your arms and hold this position for 20 seconds. You should feel a nice stretch in your shoulders, back and legs.
Slowly follow through and hold your finish for 20 seconds.
Repeat this exercise for 2 to 3 repetitions. You should be warmed up and ready to play
