Golf Tips, Lessons and Strategies | Golf Muscles You Must Develop

Those who don’t actually play golf have trouble calling golfers athletes. They look at some of the finest players, and see that they aren’t exactly in the kind of condition that we associate with great athletic feats. In addition, they rarely have big biceps, or other outward appearances that we would expect. That’s because the golfer uses a different set of muscles.

In golf, the muscles that matter the most live in your abdomen. And not just your stomach muscles, but the muscles in your inner abdomen, once you can’t even see, or even know that you have. In particular, the muscle known a the transverse abdominal muscle, which sits just below your internal oblique muscle. Its job, in a nutshell, is to compress the ribs, and other innards, which in turn, provides stability to your pelvis and spine. A healthy and strong transverse abdominal muscle will provide support and balance to your posture and swing, which is the most critical element of good play. If you cannot trust your body to stay straight on the ball, then your swing has little hope.

Luckily, not only is it an easy muscle to strengthen, it’s also an easy muscle to use in every day life. The abdominal muscles that one normally thinks of, the so-called six-pack abs, are created through crunches, leg raises, or other normal work on the belly. The transverse is exercised simply through deep, controlled body movement called a vacuum stretch, which is very similar to just breathing in. It is a component of the Yoga position the “cat stretch” which can be done on all fours, or standing up.

To perform the stretch, you stand up straight (or on all fours for the Yoga version) and draw your belly button up and in towards the spine. You can do this while reaching overhead, or while holding onto weights. The goal is to increase how far you can draw it in, and the duration you do so. Both of these are measures to determine how strong your muscles are getting, the more you can bring it up and in, and the longer you can hold it, the better range of motion and the better stability the muscles can impart. This is the active method of stretching it. The passive way is to draw in your belly button, and simply tie a string around your abdomen with about ¾ to 1 inch of slack from this position. This will force you to keep the muscles drawn in for long periods of time.

The next time you look at golfers, notice that it’s the muscles you don’t see that are making the difference. Washboard abs, big arms and the like may add some distance to shots, but what really matters in golf is stability. And that comes from much deeper inside.

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