Importance of Dynamic Warmup in Golf
Golfers will do just about anything to enhance their performance. From the latest new practice craze to a new driver. Nothing seems too extravagant. Warming up for strenuous activity is not a foreign concept. As a matter of fact, most sports have time for warm up built in prior to competition. However, currently completing a warmup prior to golfing is not common practice outside of the professional golf world. A warmup should not start with your wedge on the range or even swinging a couple of clubs together before you drive off the first Tee box. A warmup starts with your body.
Not only does a warmup prior to your round of golf provide you with the insurance that you are less likely to injure yourself, research has also shown that dynamic warmups are capable of significantly increasing a golfer’s clubhead speed and ball carry. A dynamic warmup will prepare your body for the round of golf by increasing your heart rate, improving mobility throughout your joints and increasing blood flow and flexibility to your muscles. A dynamic warmup specific to golfers is designed to build your mobility and stability, activate the muscles you will use, and get your body ready for the powerful and complex movements of the golf swing. A dynamic warm up should be done at the course just prior to your round of play.
An appropriate warmup should take no more than 5 to 10 minutes. However, a longer warm up may be required if you have a history of golf-related injury, you have decreased mobility (you are stiff and/or have arthritic joints), you are playing in colder temperatures , you have been sitting at work all day and / or you’ve had a long drive to the golf course.
**You should NOT experience any pain during or after performing the exercises. If you do experience pain, you should seek a medical evaluation. **
**This dynamic warm up is NOT designed to treat injuries. If you have an injury, or would like more individualized instruction on preventing injury or improving your performance on the golf course please consult a Titleist Performance Institute Certified Physical Therapist at one of our Spaulding Outpatient Centers. **
Learn more about key stretches you can do as part of your dynamic warmup.