Endurance and Conditioning

If the PGA Tour players who spend a couple of hours on the range and play 18 to 36 holes every day are worried about their conditioning, how much more should the average golfer who only plays 9 holes every other day and 18 on the weekend worry about his/her endurance level! Golfers are always striving to gain more consistency in their game. They want to avoid those blowup holes that come from one bad tee shot. They want their last full swing on the 18th hole to be as smooth and controlled as their swings on the 1st hole. They want to feel like they could go a few more holes after their round, instead of feeling glad that the round is over.

If you are the average golfer, improving your endurance and consistency is going to take more than playing a couple more rounds each week. If, like most golfers, you still have a day job, you probably cannot spend as much time as you would like on the course, but there are some simple things you can do away from the course that will help build your endurance level when you do play. Your ability to consistently repeat a good golf swing for an entire round is determined by two things: muscle endurance and aerobic endurance.

Muscle Endurance

The game of golf does not require you to push a 200lb boulder down the fairway, but to swing a one pound club consistently over a period of time. Therefore, when we workout for endurance we are not trying to "max out," but we want to make sure that we can do less weight for more reps without losing our form. A good ratio to work with is to take the weight you would use to do sets of 8 reps, then do sets of 25 reps with half of that weight. Trying to increase the amount of weight you lift in order to build muscle is good and can help you generate greater clubhead speed (as long as you keep your flexibility up), but throughout the year, take time to work on your muscle endurance as well. Not only will this help you on the course, it will also keep your muscles from getting “bored,” as your muscles need variety in a workout for continued improvement.

When looking at your muscle endurance, the most important muscles to consider are your thighs, buttocks, abs and back. These muscles keep your posture stable, which is important for a consistent golf swing. You need to make sure that these muscles stay strong swing after swing, so that you do not start slouching late in the round. This does not mean that you ignore the other areas. We do want to have a balanced workout head to toe. However, those muscle groups can have the largest effect on your game late in the round.

Aerobic Endurance

Being in aerobic shape will ensure that your heart and lungs can deliver the oxygen your muscles need to perform effectively over the course of a round of golf. Because golf is a game of stop and go, you want to make sure that your body can handle aerobic intervals, meaning raising and lower your heart rate consistently over a period of time. Your aerobic training can be as simple as jogging for 20 minutes, but every few minutes, running or sprinting for a minute to increase your heart rate for a short time. This will improve your cardiovascular conditioning, increasing your body’s ability to get your muscles the energy they need to be consistent.

Improving your muscle and aerobic endurance does not need to take a lot of time each day, but it is something that needs to be focused on if you want to reduce the number of mistakes you have late in the round.