The best strength exercises for golfers are the same as the best strength exercises for any other athlete. However, I thought it would be a good idea to update this post to reflect my own training as a 56 year old.
While the golf swing is a complex movement pattern, building overall strength for the golfer is done the same way a football player or hockey player will build strength… with compound exercises that hit multiple muscle groups.
The five best exercises for building overall strength are as follows:
- Barbell Squat
- Deadlift
- Bench Press
- Overhead Press
- Chin ups
These exercises combine to hit all of the key muscles used in the golf swing.
The beauty of these exercises is that you can also build strength very quickly when done with the proper training program.
The issue for some of us older golfers, however, is the wear and tear we’ve accumulated during our lifetimes. Some of these exercises may not be suitable for all of us.
Anyhow, let’s have a look at each of these, and provide a few alternatives.
Barbell Squat – King of the best strength exercises for golfers
The barbell squat is the “king of exercises” according to strength trainer, Dr. Jonothon Sullivan, author of The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40.
The squat incorporates the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, lower back and core.
The squat done properly is more of a hip exercise, than just a quad exercise, and we all know how much the hips are engaged in the golf swing!
Given how much power in the golf swing is generated from use of the ground, imagine how much distance you can add by being able to squat 300 pounds or more?
With all this said, the barbell squat is not suitable for people who may have back issues.
I personally have struggled with this exercise due to an issue I’ve had with my lower back for nearly twenty years that causes a disc to herniate now and then.
Therefore, a good alternative to barbell squats is the Bulgarian Split Squat. This is a single leg squat that puts virtually no pressure on your back. You can see how to do it here… Bulgarian Split Squat.
Deadlift
While the squat is the king of all strength training exercises, the deadlift is not far behind.
In fact, for golfers, the deadlift may just be the most important exercise you can train.
The deadlift works the calves, hamstrings, quads, glutes, lower back, core, lats, shoulders and forearms. All of these muscle groups are critical to the golf swing.
It is the one exercise that you can lift the most weight with. The world record for a deadlift is now over 1,100 pounds!
The deadlift can also be a little problematic for anyone with back issues. However, you can still train this in other ways, such as with rack pulls, which limit the range of motion. You can also do straight leg deadlifts with dumbbells to limit the overall loading on the back.
Bench Press
While we typically don’t see many golfers with massive chests, at one time Tiger Woods could bench press 300 pounds. And, you’ll see more of the long drive competitors with big chests now as well.
The bench press is another compound exercise that works multiple muscle groups, and it is the one upper body lift in which you can lift the most weight.
The bench press works the muscles of the chest, front of shoulder, upper back, triceps, and forearms.
There is no good replacement for the bench press, and most people should be able to do it, unless they have some shoulder issues.
Pushups can be an alternative, but understand that it is hard to load them with weight. Once you are capable of doing a certain number of pushups, eventually, you are just improving your muscle endurance by doing more.
Overhead Press
The shoulders are clearly engaged in the golf swing, and nothing works the shoulders better than the overhead barbell press.
Do you think Tiger Woods got those shoulders from doing lateral raises?
Not only does it work the shoulders, it hits the upper and lower back along with the triceps.
This is actually a pretty difficult movement to master. My preference now is a seated dumbbell press.
Chinups
Last, but not least, is the bodyweight chinup.
Unfortunately, most people can’t do one, so they may have to progress to the chinup through other exercises such as lat pulldowns or bodyweight rows.
Ultimately, you’ll want to be able to do chinups, as they are another great compound exercise that hits the lats, upper back, biceps, forearms and core.
Again, these are all key muscle groups used in the golf swing.
For me, my elbows don’t particularly like chinups. I still do them about once per week, but you can easily swap out this exercise in favor of lat pulldowns.
You can also change your grip on the lat pulldowns to mimic chinups and pullups, widen or narrow your grip, or change the angle how you sit to hit the lats from different angles.
Plank
Another great exercise is the plank, which works your core.
While you can load this exercise with weight eventually, that will probably never be necessary. Work your way up to holding it for a minute, then begin doing multiple sets with one minute rest in between.
Final Thoughts – The best strength exercises for golfers
You may have noticed that there is no fancy equipment used in these exercises. No balance balls, medicine balls, bosu balls, bands, etc.
Just good old fashioned barbells, or dumbbells can be used as well.
These are also not golf specific exercises. But, they are the absolute best strength exercises for golfers, and anyone else who wants to increase their general overall strength.
If you want the ability to generate far more power in your golf swing, then build strength with these basic compound movements, or the alternatives I provided.
Now, get to work!
