Fitness & Golf ?

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The Top Reasons Why Fitness Could Affect Your Golfing Game

As an amateur golfer, you are more than likely going to think that golf can be a rather tiring game. While many people see it as a relaxing and slow sport, when you actually stop and think about what is involved with the game, you soon start to realize that there is quite a bit more to it than simply just taking a swing and hitting the ball.
Think about it – you have to take a swing, hit the ball and then you have to go and collect it. Now depending upon how far you have managed to hit the ball, this can be quite a trek! There may be buggies available to help you, but most of the time golfers have to walk quite a distance even with the buggies available. This means that you can quickly become tired and that can then start to affect the way that you play. So if you want to really improve your game, you have to first improve your golf fitness.

What Golf Fitness Entails
When it comes to preparing the body for golf, there are some specially designed exercises that you can do. It is always good to be as fit as possible by doing as much exercise as possible; however, if you do not do the right exercises then it will not help your golfing game. This is because you need to focus upon certain parts of the body and ideally you should get a professional evaluation to see exactly which areas you need to improve. However, it all depends upon how dedicated you are to the sport. So you need to decide whether you just want to relax and enjoy the sport, or whether you would like to improve to a professional level instead.
Generally golf fitness includes:
• Realizing your current weaknesses
• Learning to prepare before a game
• Improving coordination
• A proper diet
By improving all of the above, you should start to see the positive results fairly quickly. No golfer has ever gotten to where they are now without putting in the extra effort. So if you want to improve your game then you need to be willing to pull out all of the stops and get your fitness in tip top condition.
Finding Out Your Weaknesses
Before you can even begin to improve upon your fitness, you need to first understand what your weaknesses are. Every golfer is different. You may have trouble with your swing, whereas others may have trouble getting their grip right. Whatever it is that you feel needs to be improved, that is where you need to focus your attention.
There is a simple way to know where your weaknesses lie and that is to give yourself a quick golf fitness evaluation. The best way to do this is to start by standing in a golf pose. Behave as you do when you are just going to swing the club. Feel the tightness in your muscles and try and figure out whether any part of your body is tighter than the rest of your body.
Often muscles can become tense if you are worried about your swing. Even if you do not realize it, this can affect your swing and that in turn will affect how far the ball actually goes. So if you want to improve your swing, you need to first sort out your muscles and find a way to improve your posture so that you are not as tense or stressed.
Learning How to Prepare
The secret to a great round of golf is to prepare your self fully before the big game. The preparation is primarily mental as the mind is by far one of the most powerful weapons that you have, and if it is not focused, you are not likely to play well. You can improve your overall fitness as much as humanly possible, but if you are not prepared mentally then you will never win a round. Self belief and determination are two of the main qualities that professional golfers have. So for an amateur golfer, this is definitely one of the main things that you have to improve.
In order to prepare, you need to focus upon all of the things that could potentially go wrong. Get to know the golf course where you are playing and identify where the potential danger spots are. Then you can start to plan how you can avoid the potential dangers and what you can do if you are faced with them. By knowing the dangers and having a rough idea of how you can overcome them, you will not become too stressed when you are out on the course. It allows you to have a clear mind and that is what will help you to win against your opponent.
Improving Your Coordination
Another way to improve your golfing abilities is to improve your coordination. You need to be able to look at the direction in which you want the ball to go and use the perfect swing to get it there. In order to do this, you need to know exactly where to place your body and how to have everything set up in order to find your perfect swing. You will need to have a basic understanding of how the body works in terms of movement, and you need to practice in order to learn how to hit the ball as precisely as possible.
It might help you to watch other more professional golfers. You will be able to see how they stand, how they move, and how they ultimately hit the ball. You will then see how you might be able to improve. One of the main factors of a good golf swing which you will notice when you watch professional golfers is steady legs. You need strong legs in order to be able to keep them grounded while your make your swing. If you don’t have strong legs, you risk swaying backwards or forwards and that will affect your golf swing and how far the ball travels.
By improving your coordination, you are likely to hit the ball further, as well as being able to hit it more precisely, too. Poor coordination can be damaging to the game and it is something that many golfers do not consider when they are looking to improve.
Golf and Nutrition
The final thing that you need to think about if you are to improve your game is your nutrition. Do you eat a healthy diet? If not, then it is likely you will struggle on the golf course. Proper golf fitness needs to be combined with a healthy diet in order for you to achieve the best possible results. So if you eat fast food on a regular basis, then you seriously need to start thinking of changing your diet. By changing to a healthier, more nutritious diet your body will instantly start to improve and you will really notice the difference. You will have more energy which will allow you to feel more refreshed both before and during the game. Basically a healthy diet consists of plenty of fruit and vegetables, and you should also drink plenty of water. Cut down on the fat that you eat and eat as healthy as possible.
If you look at many amateur golfers today, they quickly become tired as the game progresses. If you are to win a round of golf, you need to be at your best. If you have more energy, you have a much better chance at winning.
Overall if you follow these tips you should notice a huge improvement in your game. Most golfing problems are there because the amateur golfer does not know how to correct them. It really is not as difficult as you would imagine changing the way that you play. Even professional golfers have to put a lot of time and effort into improving their game. If you want to be better at golf, you just need to be able to concentrate, focus on your weaknesses, and come up with ways to improve them. Watch other golfers and see how they move and swing. It could be that your backswing needs a lot of improvement. Whatever it is that you need to do, spend time improving your technique and you will eventually get there. You also need to focus your mind. Think about the challenges that you face within the golf course and work out potential ways to get around them. By being mentally prepared you can approach the game in a more positive way which will in turn help you to hit more precisely and with a lot more focus than you usually would.

by Julie- Ann Amos