Strength and Power are a Driving Force in Golf

Golf has seen a surge in popularity and strength training programmes are an important part of how golfers improve their game.

Introduction

Golf has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years. It is estimated that in the US alone, golf reached approximately 108 million people whether playing, watching, or reading about it (Stachura, 2021). Globally, tens of millions of people in over 130 countries participate in playing golf at some level each year. And in 2016, golf made its official debut in the Olympics (Sheehan et al., 2022).

As golf continues to gain global exposure, it is anticipated that it will grow in popularity. With more people getting involved at earlier ages, there will be more golfers looking for ways to improve their game. It’s likely the level of competition will increase as well. The ability to improve performance, whether competing or just playing for leisure, is always of importance.

In recent years, golfers have begun to focus on participating in various strength training programmes as a means to improve their game. When we typically think of activities that require total body strength and power, golf is usually not at the top of the list. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Research has shown that an effective swing is made up of a variety of factors including proper mechanics, mental aspects, and strength and power. In fact, a golfer’s hitting performance is correlated to their strength and power regardless of their level of play (Alvarez et al.,2012; Ehlert et al., 2020; Lewis et al., 2016; Oranchuk et al., 2020; Sheehan et al., 2022).

Understanding strength and power for golf

Simplistically, strength is the ability to produce force. Power is how fast it can be done. In other words, power has an element of speed. Typically, those with greater strength have the ability to produce more power (Taber et al., 2016). Strength and power directly influence a golf swing. This is an important concept for golfers because how fast they can swing their club, often termed clubhead speed (CHS), is highly correlated to their overall performance (Alvarez et al.,2012; Ehlert et al., 2020; Lewis et al., 2016 Oranchuk et al., 2020; Sheehan et al., 2022; Torres-Ronda et al., 2011; Uthoff et al., 2021).

Clubhead Speed (CHS)

Clubhead speed is also a major influencer of how far the ball will travel. Faster CHS can lead to longer drive distances (Torres-Ronda et al., 2011; Uthoff et al., 2021). In elite golfers, driving distance is related to the average score. With no change in accuracy, a 17-meter increase in distance has been shown to result in a 0.75-2.2 stroke improvement per 18 hole round (Ehlert et al., 2020; Torres-Ronda et al., 2011). Ultimately, CHS has a major impact on a golfer’s handicap. Regardless of age or how often they play, golfers with lower handicaps often have a faster CHS.

Strength and power assessments for golf

Another factor showing the importance of strength and power for golfers is seen in the correlation of a number of common performance assessments to golf performance. The 1RM squat and 1RM bench press are two strength-based assessments that have been shown to correlate to golf performance. When strength improvements were made in these lifts, golfers had a large improvement in ball speed (Alvarez et al.,2012; Oranchuk et al., 2020). The power clean, a weightlifting movement commonly used to facilitate maximal power, has also been indentified as having a strong significant relationship with CHS as well (Oranchuk et al., 2020).

Jumping and throwing assessments have also been shown to significantly correlate to CHS (Alvarez et al.,2012; Lewis et al., 2016; Oranchuk et al., 2020; Read et al., 2013). Jumping assessments such as a squat jump, which is a jump from a parallel squat position held for 4-seconds prior to the jump (only a concentric motion), and countermovement jumps on two legs and single legs for right and left side (typical jump with eccentric to concentric motion, or plyometric) have been used the most throughout research and training.

Throwing assessments included medicine ball throws from a seated and standing position. Seated throws are a concentric-only motion with the ball starting against the chest and being pushed out as far as possible. Standing throws consist of rotating back and then immediately rotating forward (plyometric) throwing the ball as far and as accurate as possible (Alvarez et al.,2012; Lewis et al., 2016; Oranchuk et al., 2020; Read et al., 2013).

Interestingly, it was shown in two separate studies that the squat jump and seated medicine ball throw had the strongest correlation to CHS in both amateur and professional golfers (Lewis et al., 2016; Read et al., 2013). The uniqueness of this finding is that these assessments are concentric-only motions rather than using an eccentric loading phase before exploding, which is more of a plyometric motion. This suggests that CHS speed may be more influenced by the ability of the golfer to produce force in the fastest amount of time rather than through a rapid plyometric response (Lewis et al., 2016; Read et al., 2013).

Rate of force development in golf

Producing force as fast as possible is known as the rate of force development (RFD). This is in essence where strength and power come together for the common cause. It has been suggested that RFD is the most important factor for achieving successful performance-based outcomes in most sports (Taber et al., 2016). Maximal strength plays a significant factor in generating force. Even though a golf swing takes less time (approximately 200-290 milliseconds) (Read et al., 2013; Wells et al., 2009) than it takes to produce maximal force (approximately 300 milliseconds), greater strength levels allow for greater sub-maximal force to be developed and applied (Taber et al., 2016).

The greater and faster a force is applied during the golf swing (especially the down swing) results in a greater power output. Higher power outputs result in the potential for increased CHS and driving distance. This is where strength training becomes so vital for golf performance. One of the key benefits of strength training, especially certain forms such as weightlifting, powerlifting, and complex training (weights and plyometrics), is its ability to increase RFD (Alvarez et al.,2012; Ehlert et al., 2020; Lewis et al., 2016; Oranchuk et al., 2020; Sheehan et al., 2022; Torres-Ronda et al., 2011; Taber et al., 2016; Uthoff et al., 2021).

Conclusion

With a resurgence in the popularity of golf, more people than ever before are taking a swing. This is great news for increasing the global physical activity level, and having more people involved in golf can seemingly influence the level of competition. This will likely promote the need and desire for golfers to seek out proven strategies to improve their golf game. Fortunately, strength training in its many forms has been shown to have a significant effect on golf performance as well as numerous other performance measures. It has been well established that strength training improves strength, power, and RFD, which are all distinctly linked to better golf and health. So, whether playing golf for sport or life, strength training is a driving force for better performance.

References

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