The Perfect Golf Pre-Round Stretching Routine

July 16, 2009 by James Brown
Filed under Golf

By spending just five minutes doing the following six stretches before you start a round of golf, you’ll be able to gain an edge on your buddies and consistently save a few strokes on those opening holes.

A nice side benefit of this routine is that it will help protect you from injuries as well. Just one caveat before starting this routine: spend about 5 minutes walking before you start doing it. This will help raise your body temperature and avoid some of the damage that can result from stretching cold muscles.

Rotate The Neck

Turn your head to the right, looking as far over your shoulders as possible. Take your left hand and gently push it against the left side of your face. Hold for about 15 seconds, then switch sides.

What this does is stimulate the actual neck movement in a correct swing – left shoulder to chin in your backswing, and right shoulder to chin in your follow-through.

Side Bend

Stand with your feet set shoulder width apart, and raise the right arm above your head. While keeping your knees slightly flexed, lean to your left and move your left hand down the outside of your thigh to just above your need.

You should feel a good stretch (yet comfortable) along the right side of your trunk. Hold for 15 seconds and repeat for the other side. The side bend helps to reduce the risk of muscle strain in your rib cage and trunk.

Shoulder Stretch

Reach across your body and grab the back of your right elbow with your left hand. Pull that arm across your body and under your chin as far as you can and hold. Repeat with the other arm.

This stretch will increase the flexibility in the back of your shoulders. Your left shoulder stretches as you rotate through the shot. Stretching each shoulder will improve your distance.

Chest

Clasp your hands behind your back and raise your arms up and out. Inhale to increase the stretch. This stretches your chest and the front of your shoulders, which improves your overall range of motion.

Forward Bend

Gently bend forward at the waist until you are able to grasp your ankles, bending your knees as necessary. Relax your neck and arms as you slowly bend forward at the hips. Now hold onto your ankles as you slowly straighten out the knees, until you can feel a good stretch in the back of both legs.

Hold this for about 15 seconds, then slowly stand, bending your knees as you straighten your trunk. This will stretch the lower back, which is every golfer’s most injury-prone area, plus the gluteal muscles and the hamstrings.

Trunk Rotation

Standing with your back to a tree or a golf cart, rotate your body to the right so you can grab hold of the tree or cart with both hands without moving your feet. You should be looking over the left shoulder as you stretch.

Increase the tension by pulling yourself around a little further with your hand, and hold for 15 seconds or more, then repeating with the other side. This stimulates the swing by working the sides of the abdomen and the trunk-rotator muscles.