Golf – More than ‘a good way to spoil an otherwise excellent walk’?

When PG Wodehouse uttered these words he was alluding to the fact that you do get an excellent walk of about 7 miles when you play golf, but as well as this you play at least 70 golf shots which is also good exercise. When you drive a golf ball you use about 90% of your peak muscular activity, similar to kicking a football or serving a tennis ball. This is why you need to condition your body accordingly.

For city dwellers with a sedentary lifestyle, golf provides an excellent opportunity to get back into a natural environment. Being outside in the elements can invigorate mind, body and soul. It’s not only dogs that get excited about going to large green spaces. We’re animals too, so notice your mood as you move from the city to the country. We have adapted well to urban life but it is great to take us back to where we once lived with nature.

When we play golf we walk about 5 to 8 miles depending how good you are. But the shots you take are a powerful explosion using energy from, Adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the energy system the body uses when fast powerful motion is required like hitting a ball or jumping. This is different from the aerobic energy you use whilst you walk, which requires the fuels water and fat. Your body has natural stores of ATP (created by many chemical reactions) and you can ensure you have plenty with a balanced diet, good quality sleep and a moderate level of fitness.

There is a finite amount of ATP the body can use at any one time. Luckily when you play golf the body has time to replenish the supplies during the period between each shot.

To make sure you have a plentiful supply of energy during a round of golf, make sure you take a savoury snack with you and plenty of water. The easiest options are a wholemeal sandwich, energy bars and nuts. Avoid sweet drinks and very sweet bars until the last few holes otherwise you will feel a spike of energy from the sugar followed by a slump in energy as your body has burned it off. During eighteen holes of golf the average player burns off between 1,000 and 1,500 calories.

Golf is probably one of the most frustrating sports to play badly so you want to give yourself every chance of your optimum performance. Your state of mind is as crucial in golf as in any sport so you should prepare carefully. As your performance often reflects your state of mind, try not to be hung over, as a scatty head will not help you as you visualise the next shot. Do everything you need to feel relaxed leading into the game. You need to be sensitive to the finest details so leave any aggression at the clubhouse.

The best thing is not to take it too seriously. olf can be a great way to unwind and you don’t want to retract from that by becoming stressed about the score. Play with people that you enjoy spending time with and can relax with. And remember not to feel rushed, you’ll just end up taking another shot which will mean the people waiting for you will have to wait longer.

If you have a certain weakness (like a wrist) and you can try to strengthen it so that it is the same strength as your other muscles. Though it is important to keep all the muscles in balance and not have some disproportionately stronger than the others.

The golf swing should be a smooth movement involving 16 muscle groups all over the body. Some are phasic muscles which are more suited to dynamic movements like accelerating the club head and some are tonic muscles which are required for stability and control and react by shortening. There are many tonic muscles used from your neck down to your ankle. The main upper body phasic muscles used are your triceps, pecs, lats and rhomboids and the in the lower body your glutes, quads, adductors and abductors. If you have weaknesses these will lead to injury so it is important to strengthen those areas and correct your swing where necessary.

Flexibility in the upper body and great core strength are the key to hitting the ball further but it’s not all about length. Control is very important and core muscles give the very important stability for the levers working off it.

If you break down the movement of a golf swing you can use cable machines in a gym to build power (strength at speed) to your swing. You should keep some speed in the movement for best results when you are trying to increase power.