This month I am going to introduce a topic that has been fairly prevalent within golfing circles on social media. As golf has transformed into an athlete’s sport, and with the addition of golf at the Olympics, we have seen more professional golfers add weight training to their daily routines.

The reasoning has been quite broad, as some do it to prevent injuries, some do it to add distance and some for longevity of their career, but what we can agree on is that weight training in professional golf has become the norm rather than the exception.

Pioneers like Gary Player, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods were trailblazers in adding weight training to their regimes in their eras, which has helped set the standard for the modern golfers to follow. We have even seen players like Bryson Dechambeau, Tiger and Rory McIlroy all feature on the covers of men’s fitness magazines.

There has been a train of thought where weight training, or resistance work, will “make you too sore” to play, or golfers are resistant to weight training because they don’t want to become “bodybuilders”.

The truth is, weight training, or resistance work, can be extremely beneficial to golfers, with the key phrase being “when applied correctly”. I am going to list some benefits as this is an important topic which I can unpack further in future articles:

1. Resistance training increases strength: Dechambeau made a bold decision a few years ago to increase his strength and muscle mass, which has transformed his game! More muscle means more force production, which can lead to greater clubhead speed and distance.

2. Resistance training builds muscle: As part of point one, with more muscle mass comes strength, and with more strength comes more clubhead speed and distance.

3. Resistance work helps prevent and manage injuries: Muscle is the support structure around the joints and skeleton, so with more muscle comes some more support for those joints, which can reduce the load on areas like the back, and even reduce pain. Justin Rose (below) has been open about using weight training to manage a long-standing back issue.

4. Resistance training is healthy: Our day-to-day occupations have become less physically demanding, so people move around less, losing muscle mass and becoming more unhealthy. Lifting weights has become necessary to offset our inactive occupations.

5. Resistance training changes your body shape: Muscle gives your body shape and also requires more energy to contract and relax, so having more muscle in your body can actually help burn fat!

6. Resistance training is good for bone health and density: Lifting weights creates mechanical stress on the bones through actual load and muscle contractions pulling on the bone. This in turn causes bone remodelling and is a great way to treat bone-density issues like osteoporosis.

7. Weight training is good for kids: This concept has changed over the years, and as we see more kids struggling with inactivity and sedentary lifestyle issues, weight training can be hugely beneficial for them, when correctly supervised.

With many more benefits included in the ones mentioned, the big question is, why don’t more people lift weights when they go to gym? Lack of knowledge, intimidation, confidence, previous bad experiences and available time are some of the reasons, but weight training is not necessarily something that has to be done every day. In fact, rest days are needed to allow the body to recover.

The key to incorporating resistance work into your training is having a plan, along with some guidance on how to do it correctly and safely, with the most benefit for you.

Here are a few examples of some of the exercises I use on a day-to-day basis, in my own training or with clients, depending on what our goals are:

https://youtube.com/shorts/QfaAvqejsCM?si=WSoUrJg4v-7o-OAW

https://youtube.com/shorts/KKlI6TpYTcA?si=KDzeeTGJKs_17lAn

https://youtube.com/shorts/UtFV2g9yLdY?si=qpS_J2j2DvrRhj0n

If you have any questions around training or weight training, or would like to know more about it, you can contact me through my website gavingrovestraining.co.za

IMAGES:ERIK S LESSER/EPA/SUPPLIED/INSTAGRAM/X/PGA OF AMERICA