Archive for the ‘Fitness & Training’ Category
Thursday, August 17th, 2006
SOURCE:Â HumanGolf.com – Eldon Sarte
Using a weighted swing trainer works… so insists teaching legend Harvey Penick in his best selling Little Red Book. And it doesn’t hurt at all that the exercise is so functionally simple. The popular Momentus Swing Trainer (with its trademark yellow shaft) takes it a step further by distributing the weight more evenly throughout the club. It’s not terribly expensive, but if you want to go even cheaper, here are my instructions for building one yourself, weight distribution and all, with little more than a throwaway steel-shafted 5-iron and a bunch of BB’s. [GO]
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Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
SOURCE: Golf Galaxy
Here are three short, easy-to-follow video clips of exercises, in varying degrees of difficulty, that you can do to help develop your “core strength.” By Katherine Roberts, a golf fitness guru often seen on The Golf Channel, the exercises don’t really look all that difficult to do, nor time consuming.
I plan to start doing these myself, unless I get distracted (a common problem). Interestingly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clip of the very fit-looking Ms. Roberts actually hitting a full golf shot. I have no reason to doubt her golf prowess, but aren’t you curious to see how far she can really hit her drives? [GO]
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Wednesday, July 26th, 2006
SOURCE:Â Great White Shark Enterprises
With all the talk about distance from “flexibility” nowadays, I can’t help but feel that good old strength is getting majorly underrated. After all, even if I could rotate my shoulders 180 degrees, without enough muscle to bring everything back and through the ball fast enough, I’d be lucky to get that dimpled orb plonking past the front tee.
So, I found this information online from one of the strongest-looking (scariest) golfer dudes out there: Greg Norman. (Forget the Professional Long Drivers like Jason Zuback… too scary.)
His table of “Basic Strength Training Exercises for Overall Muscle Conditioning” is invaluable. But before you begin, best read the whole thing to be on the safe side; it shouldn’t take too long. [GO]
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Monday, July 17th, 2006
SOURCE: Website
If your game’s going nowhere — or worse, the wrong direction — maybe it’s time to bite the bullet and go back to school! Golf school, that is. Here’s a good place to start. Its zip code proximity database search feature is ultra convenient. [GO]
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Thursday, July 6th, 2006
SOURCE: DancinDogg Golf
Unfortunately, I don’t always have the time or wherewithal to hit the course… or even the range for that matter. So I’m always on the lookout for gadgets, training accessories, and even games that will let me play or practice golf — or as close to it as possible — at home or the office.
Here’s something for indoor use that I just read about; it sure does look like the tech’s finally catching up with the real world (getting affordable, in other words).
The system doesn’t look that big. Basically, you connect a swing pad (mat, really) to your Windows PC via a USB port, which then lets you “…experience …playing golf in your home on some of the best golf courses in the world on EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 [game software].”
In a sense, I’m hesitant to try this gizmo. I’ve built a pretty good, ego-boosting “Eldon on Tour” fantasy world around my ability to play the PC game quite competently… using my mouse and keyboard. I have a feeling it won’t be too healthy for my psyche if my computer alter ego has to rely on my actual golf swing as well. [GO]
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Friday, June 30th, 2006
SOURCE: Engolfed – John Schwartz
GIST: Videotaping your swing is one of the best training aids you can employ. “Get some footage from the rear, front, and both sides,” Schwartz recommends. “Then watch it many times. You will definitely pick up some things you didn’t know you were doing wrong.”
MY TAKE: Believe him. It’s easier to do nowadays too, what with the cheaper and portable equipment available to us — like tiny digital cameras with video capture capabilities. Take one along on your next round and hand it over to your buddy to point at you while you tee off. It’s that simple.
Although taking all the footage angles Schwartz suggests is best, even a simple single angle video clip can do wonders. Take this small image of me swinging away; it’s from a frame in a digital video captured with one of those tiny newfangled cameras, shot while I was teeing off during a golf trip to Kunming, China. Not surprisingly, I actually saw something I was doing terribly wrong in my backswing while viewing this particular video. Good thing I can choose what frame to show you. 
[GO]
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