Being Healthy Because of the Golf Course

“Playing golf is not only physically good for you, it also releases powerful, natural, mood enhancing drugs called endorphins into your bloodstream. As long as you don’t strive to play with Tiger Woods-like perfection, just having a stroll in the open air and enjoying a round of golf with your friends helps to make you feel better. If the sun is shining – even better!”

– Play Golf – It’s Good For You, Birmingham web site, July 2006

Though most people do not think of it that way, golf is actually a physical exercise. There’s a lot of walking in golf – usually between four and eight miles. The swinging of your clubs uses different muscles, muscles that don’t normally see activity in the course of a normal day. Your arm, shoulder, back, and leg muscles all get used quite a bit during a single game of golf.

Golf also reduces stress and cholesterol, two things that everyone needs to reduce. A single game of golf can burn up to a thousand calories, which is a great way to stay in shape and burn off excess fat. A game of golf gets the blood flowing and increases your heart rate, making golf a wonderful cardio-vascular exercise.

“Golf is a good walk spoiled.”

– Mark Twain

The Health Benefits of a Regular Golf Game

“If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf.”

– Bob Hope

Playing golf regularly not only helps you improve your score on the links, but it’s also a great way to get the regular exercise that all adults need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We all know that regular exercise is important – but who has time? A regular round of golf is a great way to stay in shape and work out your muscles on a constant basis.

Playing golf once a week means that you’re walking between four and eight miles regularly once a week, which is great for the heart and lungs. You’re reducing your stress levels and suddenly, exercising is fun. Playing eighteen holes of golf is a whole lot better than sitting on a stationary bike in the gym.

If possible, try to engage in a regular golf game. Play once a week and you’ll start to notice a difference in your stamina and in your waistline. True, you won’t burn a lot of fat or calories by playing one game of golf a week, but it’s a great way to get some regular, healthy exercise and to help you stay in shape.

Playing golf is a way to stay healthy, get exercise, and have fun all at the same time. The best part of golfing is, you get to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Strolling around the links is a lot better than working out on equipment in a closed-off room, and on the golf course you can work on strength, stamina, and burning calories. Playing golf is good for you, and it’s a lot of fun. You may not make the PGA Tour, but you may loose that extra weight around the middle.

Have you ever watched John Daly practice hitting golf balls with only his left hand on the club? He’ll stand with the club resting on the ground beside him, with his hand on the club. You’ll notice that his hand is on top of the club, not with the back of the wrist pointing to the target. You must have the club in the fingers of your left hand in order to achieve the proper wrist cock.

Try it next time you are out at the range. Be aware of how the clubhead sits behind the ball and how your hand feels on the grip. You will notice that instead of you feeling like the face of the club and the back of your hand are positioned together facing the target, your hand will be in a much stronger position. It’s more like your thumb is sitting behind the clubface and this is what controls the clubhead. Now swing back using just your left hand(for right-handed golfers, of course). You should feel as you swing back that the wrist cocks up towards your right shoulder. Your wrist will stay strong and not break down into a bowed position.

Now swing down at the ball. Your wrist will uncock naturally. You will feel the back of your left wrist staying straight in line with your forearm. When the weight of the clubhead has pulled the wrist down as far as it will go, the forearm will turn over. If your follow-through is only about hip-high, you will sense that your wrist is flat and strong as steel. This is the feeling that you are shooting for. Once you learn how the wrist hinges up like this, your full swings will be a whole lot better. The swinging of the clubhead releases the wrist cock like it should. You clubface will come into the ball square giving you better distance and accuracy and your whole game will get better.

Watch the pros next time a tournament is on and see if you can catch them doing this wrist cock drill. Try it for yourself around the house.

Now about that trailing hand. If you have taken the proper golf grip, with the lifeline of your trailing hand sitting on top of your other thumb, it is a lot easier for you to feel the wrist cock in your right hand. It will feel like the crease made by your forefinger and thumb follows the path of the clubface. Let your right hand just ride along with the role that the controlling hand takes. You will notice that you can fire your right side down through the ball easily and confidently. Or, as Johnny Miller says, “Cover the ball with your right hand”.