The Best Golf Warmup Exercises

The secret to improving your golf performance is a lot easier than you think.

You don’t need to spend loads of time and money to make some serious gains in your game.

All you need is about 15 minutes.

A collection of golf research studies reveals that about 70% of non-pro golfers skip one of the best ways to boost their games – the warmup! According to these studies, warming up drastically improves your clubhead speed, ball speed, swing path, and centeredness of the strike.

If you’ve ever felt a little rusty during the first few shots, this article is for you. Our sports physical therapists have selected the best warmup exercises to get the ball rolling in the right direction from the get-go.

Squats to Front Raises

There’s no better way to get your heart pumping and your entire body warmed up for a good round of golf than squats to front raises.

Performing 30 seconds of squats to front raises will warm up the muscles from the thighs to your shoulders. Plus, it will help you prepare for a coordinated swing by working the stabilizing muscles in your legs and core.

Try them out:

1. Hold your golf club horizontally with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart
2. Squat down by hinging at the hips and tightening your core. Do not allow your knees to go further than your toes.
3. Push back up while extending your golf club overhead (with arms straight up)
4. Repeat this exercise for 30 seconds

Trunk Rotations

Trunk rotations are a favorite warmup exercise among golfers of all levels.

These warmup exercises are an excellent way to loosen the trunk and increase your coordination and strength.

Do you ever feel a little stiff on the upswing and follow through? Take a minute to perform these trunk rotations and feel an immediate difference:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold your club across the back of your shoulders.
2. Slowly rotate as far as you can to the left side, hold for five seconds and repeat five times.
3. Repeat for the right side.

Standing Hip Stretch

Stiff hips can ruin your golf performance. The key to a perfect swing is to swing from the hips. When the hips are tight, many golf players end up swinging from the arms instead, which produces a weaker swing.

This standing hip stretch will help expel lingering stiffness in the hips:

1. Hold onto your golf club for balance as you place your right ankle on your left knee.
2. Inhale and bend at the left knee until you appear to be sitting in a chair
3. Bring your chest towards your shin, rolling at the shoulder blades
4. Hold this posture for 3 full breaths
5. Repeat five times
6. Repeat this exercise for the other side

Wrist Extension

Wrist injuries, a weak backswing, a failed downswing…what do all of these have in common?

Poor wrist flexibility.

This wrist extension exercise will loosen up your wrists to allow for more control and range-of-motion.

Include this exercise into your warmup routine to stave off injury and have better control over your club (especially when playing from the rough):

1. Hold your right arm straight out with the palm facing downwards
2. Use your right hand to gently press the fingers on your left hand toward your body
3. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds and repeat three times
4. Repeat this for the left arm

Arm Circles

Is your swing falling short? Arm circles will warm up your shoulder rotators and arms so that you can hit the ball further.

Here’s how to do them:

1. Slowly take your right arm straight out in front of you and then circle it backwards to make a full circle
2. Continue this motion, slowly speeding up until you have a steady rhythm
3. Repeat 10 times
4. Repeat this for the left arm
5. Then, circle both arms at the same time for 20 more reps

Upper Trapezius Stretch

It’s easy to forget how critical our neck and upper shoulder muscles are to a speedy and powerful golf swing.

If you feel that your upper shoulders and neck are a bit tight during the beginning of your game and worn out towards the end, it is probably because you are not stretching your upper trapezius muscle (located in the neck to upper shoulders) enough during your warmup.

Adding this upper trapezius stretch to your warmup can help you achieve strong, speedy swings:

1. Place your left arm behind your back so that the back of your left palm is resting on your mid back
2. Place the right hand on top of your head
3. While keeping the head straight forward, gently use the right hand to pull your head towards the right shoulder (so that the right ear is aligned above the right shoulder) until you feel a gentle stretch
4. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds
5. Repeat this stretch three times
6. Repeat this for the left side

Swing Progressions

Photo by Courtney Cook on Unsplash

Swing progressions are a great way to end a great warmup. They fend off lingering stiffness and get your swing flowing smoothly so that you can enjoy a great start to your game.

Wrap up your warmup with these swing progressions:

1. Slowly begin swinging the club back and forth (focusing on posture)
2. Gradually increase the length and speed of your swings
3. Get into rhythm until you are using your full speed and range of motion to swing
4. Once you have completed about a minute of this exercise, start your game within a few minutes (standing around for longer than that can cause your muscles to stiffen up again).

Want to Improve your Golf Performance? We Can Help!

Our skilled team of sports physical therapists have helped beginner golfers to PGA pros improve their game and get rid of golf-related injuries.

We’ll help you get rid of your stiffness and pain for good, so that you can start seeing major improvements in your game.

Call our office at 866-946-9539 and schedule your appointment today!

We offer Physical Therapy in Fort Myers, FL, and Physical Therapy in Cape Coral, FL.

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