How to Improve Your Child's Golf Game with Strength Training

Flowers are blooming, the heat is rising and young golfers are teeing off! Many kids are working on improving their swing and perfecting form, but how can we help golfers stay healthy and prevent injuries? Believe it or not, strength training is the key to help boost performance and reduce injuries.

Strength training is necessary to help improve overall performance, stay strong and prevent injuries during all sports play. When it comes to developing these skills it’s always important to start by building a base. Mastering a squat, and pushing and pulling with the child’s own body weight is the best starting point. Here are some tips on perfecting technique:

Push-up

• Arms straight under your shoulders and legs stretched out straight
• From head to heels should be flat while you engage your glutes and core
• Lower your chest to the ground and press up and away from the floor

• Palms face away from you while hanging from a bar
• Pull yourself to the bar by driving your elbows down and back until your upper body reaches the bar

• Forearms and legs straight, keeping your body from head to heel strong and tight
• Engage your abs and glutes and hold

• Upper body: chest up, back flat
• Lower body: sit down and back with your weight going back to your heels. Shins should be straight with the shoelace and continue to push your knees out to your pinky toes

To propel a golf ball down the fairway we need to develop force through our hips and torso. Jumping and medicine bell throws or rotation variation offer a great way to develop raw power.

Rotational Medicine Ball Throw

• Athletic base: big chest, flat back, soft knees, and glutes back slightly
• Rotate the torso, back leg and snap your hips through while keeping your arms loose like ropes
• If you don’t have a medicine ball then stick to vertical jumps and broad jumps, or use an old basketball and fill it w/ sand or water

• Start tall on the ball of your foot and body fully stretched toward the sealing
• Snap your elbows down and back then reach for the sky as you jump up

• Stand parallel to the wall in an athletic base with the ball at your hip
• Snap your hips through and keep your arms loose guiding the ball straight into the wall

The main focus should be on technique rather than the amount of weight lifted. A child should be able to complete eight to fifteen repetitions using good form before increasing weight. Your child should also have a medical examination by a primary care doctor before a strength training program is started.

For more information on Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Sports Performance program, click here.