Exercises for the Golf Swing

By: Bob Boldt


Here are some general tips on getting ready to play a round of golf.

1. Stretching: General stretching will enhance getting the big muscles loosened up and assist with swinging a golf club.

2. Hip Rotation: Put the butt end of the club against your stomach with the club parallel to the ground. Turn your back to the hole and then turn to face the hole. The club will make a 180-degree turn, which is how you want your body to turn when hitting the golf ball. The speed you acquire with the body going from the start of the 180-degree to the end of the 180-degree circle will dictate how long you will hit the ball.

3. Grippers: The only part of your body that touches the club is your hands. Two rubber grippers squeezed 50 to 100 times a day will provide added strength for releasing the club head at impact. Use both hands equally for best results. This can be done while watching your favorite TV programs!

4. Lead Doughnut: This is a weight ring that you put on the end of your club that slides down the shaft and rests on the club head. It provides great exercise for added rotation of the body and club head at impact.

5. Cross-Hand Drill: This is a great drill for the correct start of your backswing and upper body rotation. Drop your right hand straight down, cross your left hand over the top of your right hand. Take your arms back as if you are going to start your backswing. You will feel the proper stretching of your arms, upper torso and stomach muscles. This technique is what you should feel with a fundamentally correct takeaway.

6. Baseball Drill: This is an excellent way to feel how the body turns. Simply hold the club parallel to the ground similar to a baseball bat and swing the club the same way you would swing a baseball bat, turning the body back and following through as if you were hitting a home run. This is exactly how your body turns hitting the golf ball. Unfortunately, in the golf swing you must turn from a crouched position at address and through impact to an upright position facing the target in the follow-through.

Bob Boldt turned 77 in September 2014. Married for 31 years to Patricia, the father of two – including two sons, Rob and Jason, who are golf professionals and excellent players – played on the PGA and Champions tours for dozens of years, earning multiple victories in his amateur and professional careers.

Boldt, who attended Cal and became the Bears’ men’s golf coach, is a long-time native of Northern California and currently the director of golf at Vintners Golf Club in Yountville, where he is one of state’s most recognized golf instructors. He received the Northern California PGA Section Junior Golf Leader Award in 1999.