1. Fitness
Over the last 20-25 years the explosion in "our" knowledge about how the body works during the golf swing has been amazing. When I was a junior player, the concept of "working out" for better golf was laughable (except for the one and only Gary Player). In fact, the "wisdom" of the day suggested working out and weight training were potentially detrimental to your game. "It will ruin your touch" was the commonly held belief. And of course, on numerous occasions people engaged me in the debate over whether golfers are even athletes at all.
As a collegian, some of that "conventional wisdom" began to change and my college golf coach even tried to implement a fitness program for our team. Unfortunately, she enlisted the schools' football team strength training coach to develop and oversee it. He was very well versed in how to create bigger, stronger linemen but clearly not equipped to deal with ten 19 year old women who wanted... well, we weren't quite sure what we were doing in the weight room at that point!

Today's technology and research have catapulted us out of those "dark ages" and give us the opportunity to better use our most important piece of equipment our body. Regardless of whether you are trying to be a tour player or simply want to play 9 with a friend once a week, there are things you can do to both improve your ability to hit the ball better or farther and prevent injuries. I really enjoy working as a teacher with qualified fitness professionals on behalf of my students. The synergy between good golf instruction and proper body mechanics is dynamic and powerful. If you aren't already doing some exercise, I strongly encourage you to work with a qualified fitness professional to help you get started. We can all find some time in our day (even if it's 15 minutes) to do something which could make a difference. If you have an injury, see a doctor or physical therapist who can prescribe appropriate activities for recovery. If you already are exercising on a regular basis, congratulations. Make sure you are doing the right things so you are using your time efficiently (this means creating both flexibility and strength). Good fitness and good golf are inextricably linked - get used to it - golfers are athletes!!!!!
 

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