Golf Fitness
Healthy Strides Toward a Good Golf Game

You may think golf is just for young women golfers? Tell that to Elsie McLean who, at 102, is the oldest golfer (male OR female) to hit a hole-in-one at a regulation course. (April 5, 2007 - 100 yards, par 3, hole 4 - Bidwell Muncipal Golf Course.). After being interviewed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in April 2007, she commented: "For an old lady, I still hit the ball pretty good." Leno replied . . . "Sweetheart, you're 102 years old. You're doing pretty pretty well to even see the ball, and not confuse it for a clock radio or your nephew Stanley."

Women's Golf, is enjoyed by young and old alike and, when played in a healthy and fitness-conscious manner, can be played by any age group.

Golf and Exercise

Golf itself is a healthy sport to take up. While it doesn’t pack the same punch as jogging, it provides aerobic exercise through walking between holes and it improves the strength and flexibility of the body. It’s estimated that women golfers burn 306 calories per hour playing golf when they forego the golf cart. That means a two hour game of golf burns a respectable 600 calories. It’s one of those sports that feeds back on itself so that the more you keep up with it, the healthier you can be and the more you can play. Paying attention to warming up and doing exercises to maximize flexibility will keep you on the course week after week for years to come.

Stretching

The trick to staying healthy and keeping your golf game functional is performing stretching exercises. Mike Pedersen, a well-known golf performance training expert, says that if you “want to maximize your golf potential, you must choose stretching exercises for golf that are specifically beneficial to an efficient golf swing.” He says that doing random stretching exercises won't improve your golf swing for the long term and that you must establish a specific program for stretching.

Examples of good stretching exercises for women golfers (and men golfers) include the “Standing Twist with Club” in which you hold the club chest high and grip the club shoulder width apart. Keeping your feet and hips stable, you rotate the club back and forth from right to left until you’ve done it ten times. This makes your torso flexible.

Standing Twist	Backswing Stretch

Another good exercise is called “Backswing Stretch with Club” in which you extend your left arm out in front of you and take both hands and put them on top of the club. Drop your upper body down against the club to feel a stretch in the left shoulder. Hold this for fifteen seconds and repeat with the other side. This stretches out your shoulder.

Finally there is the “Side Stretch”. Grab the club with both hands behind your neck or above your head and widen out your grip. Tip your body to the left and stretch before going back to the middle. Repeat with the right side and do this combination a total of ten times. This is a good spine stretch and helps the muscles of your torso remain stretched.

Some golfers also stretch their hamstrings and lower body as well. It all depends on how much time you have and on your personal preference. Having a set sequence of exercises that you do each time means that you don’t forget important areas of the body and you are flexible before each and every game.

We strongly recommend the Fit Golf For Women program. This was created by Mike Pedersen and will give you access to great exercies and programs - all right online - to help you improve your game, feel and look better, and much more.

Walk the Course

Golfing is a reasonably good aerobic exercise for those who walk the course. Walking the golf course gets your heart pumping, especially if you carry or wheel your own bags and yet doesn’t overdo the heart, making it healthy for all ages. In addition, muscles, especially of the upper body and torso are kept strong and prevented from being atrophied due to disuse.

Golf is a sport that women golfers can begin at any age and at nearly any fitness level. A person can gradually work themselves from riding the golf cart to walking the course in order to maximize the benefit of the game. You may even want to get a cart with a friend and take turns with one driving and the other walking - alternating holes. Do your stretching exercises to stay away from injuries and golf can be your best friend and a beloved sport.