Top 3 Effective Training Techniques to Improve Your Golf Game and more
- Ryan Gregnol
- Nov 27
- 8 min read
Now, the variables here are going to be very dependent on age, physical ability, and obviously willingness to follow through. I know if it's not this trendy new thing, it gets pushed back into the "doesn't work within a week, so it must not be good" category. Yeah, just like that new driver gave you 20 yards this year too. The golf world has always been stigmatized by the quick-fix culture, but yet the very best in the game take years to make a simple swing change, like Tiger in '98-'99. Two years for a man who just broke the scoring record at Augusta took two years to refine his swing, and then, well, we all know what he did in the year 2000!
So I'm going to give you the top 3 effective ways I believe the everyday golfer, the aspiring pro golfer, and the aging golfer can improve. No, you shouldn't be training the same as Scottie, Justin, Tiger, or others; you need to accept that those gentlemen are full-time professionals with full-time trainers, giving them exactly what they need on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month basis. The chances of the everyday player having the same vigor to train as the pros playing for millions 99% of the time won't be the same. This leads to the same topic of using the same equipment as the best in the world do and thinking it's right for your game, but that's a whole different subject.
So let's get this started with how the average golfer, weekend warrior, men's league type person should train for the game. A simple workout will go a very long way. You don't need to get fancy unless this is a second hobby that you can contribute 8-10 hours weekly to, which is a tall task to add in with 3-4 rounds of golf and a 40-hour work week, plus family obligations. What I suggest is a simple two- to three-day-a-week schedule, hitting every body part from a few different angles, for simply 1 or 2 working sets. Even when I was full-time into the long drive season, this would be the maximum I would be in the gym in season, as your energy reserve and recovery ability must come first and foremost. What I tend to see a lot is people getting way too excited and deciding they are going to do all these fancy exercises 4-5 days a week, while trying to still enjoy and play the game. During the winter months here in Canada, sure, that would be amazing if you could dedicate the time and efforts for that type of training, and you would absolutely see the benefits if structured properly over a 12-16 week period. But the reality is, unless you are a young 20-something without any other commitments aside from your job in life, it's going to be quite hard, basically setting you up for failure, just like the $800 you spent for those extra 20 yards. So, like I tell all my busy clients, less is more, something is better than nothing, and too much will set you back. 2-3 days a week, full body split, push/pull/lower, extension, and flexion from the horizontal and vertical positions. Sets should be 1-2 working sets, and rep ranges in simple terms 8-10.
Now, for the person who is on the verge of turning pro, this gets so much more complicated but in a good way. Since you are pushing to become a professional touring golfer, you likely have a solid team around you, with a swing coach, fitness and nutrition specialist, mental coach, and so on and so forth. But with this, just in case there isn't a team in place or you are just on the verge, your training should be split into different sections based on your competitive schedule. Practice time, putting practice after the gym isn't an issue, whereas heading out to work on your driver at 100+% after a hard gym day would not in any way be ideal. When I was trying to break the ball speed world record, all my training was blocked into sections, and the closer I got to the record, I actually trained less and rested more. No different than a peak week in bodybuilding or running, rest is needed so the body can heal. But an off-season should be maximized during the time available, while in-season should be tailored back just enough to stay fit as well as mobile in order to prevent injury, which would be the biggest factor of in-season training. The healthier you are, the less likely an injury is to occur, and yes, I've been there and thought to keep pushing, which ended up in 8 weeks off of everything because of a serious injury. Don't do what I did. A simple training block, working from hypertrophy (building muscle) to strength and power over a 16-week or so period, should have you maximizing your potential, regardless if you are an up-and-coming junior or a solid amateur looking to break through. Obviously, working on your game is of vital importance, but like we discuss in TPI, you can't force your body to do what it is not actually capable of doing.
Now for our aging golfer, the goal is pain-free, long-term physical preparedness, allowing the body to function well into your later years. The sooner you start, the better. Strength and mobility are the keys to this, and of course, keeping up our cardiovascular system by trying to walk and walk often, either on the course or not. With mobility, a minimum of 3x a week for 20-30 minutes of proper stretching, or even yoga or Pilates, is something to get the blood flowing to the muscles needed to efficiently swing a golf club. Training can also be done 3x or even more a week, depending on how your body feels and what you have available for time. Certain activities are better than others, with full-body movements performed properly to limit the risk of injury. If you are a newer fitness-oriented golfer, feel free to use all the machines and pulleys, cable systems as you would like, as the last thing we want, as previously stated, would be an injury due to an unprotected movement with poor form. And no, you don't have to do really heavy weights; you can be comfortable yet tired using any pin-loaded machine in the gym. At the end of the day, the goal is to get there 3x a week and perform 2-3 working sets on various muscle groups with good form and a decent amount of weight for 6-8 reps. Now, of course, you can do more when you see fit if you are enjoying yourself, but it will be plenty by the time you're done if you are truly pushing yourself.
Now I want to touch base on a few things for those who want to train that extra bit and get really, really fast at swinging a golf club. This is likely going to go against conventional thinking, but working on your swing speed too far out from your actual season, if it is true speed work, has to be planned out and progressed upon week by week. What I always see is golfers trying to max out their club head speed in December. Well, I'm not sure what good that does come April/May, as no one on this planet can go out for 6 months and just have nothing but continual progress. There's likely going to be an injury, burnout (due to overtraining), and a regression of speed because simply you peaked too soon. It's like training all out for the Summer Olympics in July but hitting a PR in January. Yes, it's cool, but it generally is too far out to be brought to a tee box when it's needed. Yes, increasing all your baseline numbers helps. Pushing harder during specific times also helps. I say this as I have done it over and over again. It's tried and tested, and the research I've done with this makes sense. It's somewhat like muscle memory, but really it's just dormant muscle fibers that have shrunk, and now they are just being woken up again. Strength, speed, and power are all relative to peaking, and if you are a true golfer, you won't ever truly need to be peaked. But when your average swing speed goes from 110 mph to 115 mph and your fastest goes from 115 to 125, well, you're in the PGA's elite.
Now there is a whole neuromuscular connection side to all this, but that's a fully different topic for another day.
So, in conclusion, the three best workouts are the ones that you can continue doing long-term and are satisfied with while progressing with results. If it's too much, you will quit; if it's too easy, you won't see your potential best; and if you try too hard too fast, you will be tired out and whipped before the next season even starts.
Now let's get to some deep training bonus material for those who are ready and willing to push and really break through barriers. There are very specific styles of training that are needed to break plateaus, and they could be slightly different for each of us, depending on your swing and how you move through the ball. I myself produce a great amount of lateral and vertical force but am lacking in rotational force, so my specific training, when I am trying to move into the season, is much more focused on my weakness than my strength. I do a lot more medicine ball throws, rotational type, and explosive power work. I keep my vertical training quite standard with single-leg movements, jumping, and hopping. But for myself, the explosive moments are key, and we are talking very light medicine ball throws at 2 lbs, not these big 10 lb balls. But that's me, as I have always been stronger than the average golfer due to 25+ years of being in the gym, competing in various sports including powerlifting.
Now, if you are on the "not generally as strong scale" but you tend to be quite explosive, and let's say you are highly rotational, our training style would be almost polar opposite. Building strength and increasing your lateral and vertical pressures would be more of a focus, while still including power and explosive work minimally until your strength curve has caught up.
If we want to get very specific, I'd consider depth jumps, Olympic-style lifts, box jumps, skater or lateral strides, and similar exercises. And if you really aren't sure of what your strengths and weaknesses are, a simple visit to a facility that has access to force plates would be money well spent. It will show you where in your swing you are pressuring, what pressures stand out, what is strong, and what is on the lower side. Based on this, you can also see if your kinetic energy is being used properly and identify some potential fixes in your swing as well. Finding the root of an issue is much cheaper long-term than endlessly buying new clubs and hoping for the best. The shaft and head combination of your driver don't really matter if you have a $1,000 driver and a 10-cent swing.
If you are interested in having me build you a custom program for your winter training send me a direct email to
Best Wishes, and Happy Holidays,
RG
Comments