Do you stretch for golf? Multiple selections allowed.

[straightshooter]

Do you stretch for golf? Multiple selections allowed.

[straightshooter]

For me, it is a No right now. But that may change very soon. I didn't use to think I needed it, but I am not so sure anymore.

[Wazmankg]

I said no, but I have and do occasionally. I've never spent more than a minute on it and don't really appreciate the point so I've gotten away from it. I take about a dozen long swings and/or baseball swings with my driver then I go.

[essurfer]

No not really, I surf alot and run a great deal so I am still pretty limber .........For an old guy!

[PA PLAYA]

Years ago I would think nothing of it. Now I wouldn't think of not doing it.

I don't go crazy, but 5 minutes before a practice session or a round is devoted to stretching. The years of neglect have pretty much made it mandatory. Had I been taking care of myself earlier in life, staying active and somewhat maintaining my athleticism, I probably wouldn't have half the ailments that nag me now.

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[mr3856a]

I'm a big "yes," and I'm surprised at how many "no's" we have. I think stretching is vitally important to golf; I don't know if I'd be able to play back-to-back days without it, to be honest.

I stretch every time I'm going to hit a golf ball, be it on the range or the course. I used to have my back go out every now and again from hitting balls, and I came to realize that it happened when I hadn't stretched, like if I went to the golf store duringt lunch or something.

Now not only do I stretch before I hit balls, ideally I try to stretch every day. Not only that, I'm trying to get myself to push my routine to the next level, to include more strenuous stretches and to target more muscles. I'm really trying to focus on my shoulders now, as I have good rotational ability (think turning your shoulders) and good leg flexibility.

It's basically 20 minutes a day, and once you get into the habit of it and start to feel the benefits, you won't go back. I can feel it in my muscles BIG TIME on the 3rd day if I skip 2 days, even if I've done nothing golf-related at all.

Flexibility = power, kiddos. I don't know why you would play golf and not stretch, at least minimally.

[Bigvivec]

I do, but not like I ought to...when I was more athletically active, I used to spend around 1/2 hour stretching every day...I'm not 18 anymore with time to burn, but I do a warmup now that includes light stretches before I start, and then once warm I will pause and do 3-5 minutes worth of deeper stretches...I stretch at home but again, not as in depth as I would like...

Curious as to what you guys focus on...for me it's wrists, forearms, fingers, triceps, lats, hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, and acl and if stretching at home I stretch the abdominals on a big purple exercise ball...

[RoyalWulff]

I always stretch before a round now. I didn't used to put after pulling muscles I didn't know about I figured it was time to start. I will also do so real light stretching during a round if play is slow or we get held up for some reason.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

Curious as to what you guys focus on...for me it's wrists, forearms, fingers, triceps, lats, hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, and acl and if stretching at home I stretch the abdominals on a big purple exercise ball...

Triceps, lats, hip flexors, hamstrings, quads, calves, shoulders and rotational stretches for me. I want to expand the list, though.

[straightshooter]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

Curious as to what you guys focus on...for me it's wrists, forearms, fingers, triceps, lats, hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, and acl and if stretching at home I stretch the abdominals on a big purple exercise ball...

I think most work is needed in the area of my hips and my lower back. I was thinking of holding a Daly-esque top of the backswing position, then swinging through and holding a Garcia-esque followthrough position. 20s each, 20s break, repeat 5 times: 5 minutes and done!

That routine probably seems like a joke to some of you, but I've got to start somewhere.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by straightshooter

I think most work is needed in the area of my hips and my lower back. I was thinking of holding a Daly-esque top of the backswing position, then swinging through and holding a Garcia-esque followthrough position. 20s each, 20s break, repeat 5 times: 5 minutes and done!

That routine probably seems like a joke to some of you, but I've got to start somewhere.

Tight hamstrings are a great source of tightness in the lower back - I literally feel the relief in my lower back when I stretch them.

[xnavyct]

I always take a few minutes to stretch out the back and hammys before I start hitting balls at the range, or before the first tee.

[straightshooter]

Originally Posted by mr3856a

I stretch every time I'm going to hit a golf ball, be it on the range or the course.

mr*, I wasn't sure how to read this, do you stretch before every single shot? If so, can you share what type of stretch you do prior to a swing? Thank you!

[BunkerBound21]

i typically stretch before hitting a small bucket on the range before heading to the first tee... where i then stretch my arms and back before each tee shot

[straightshooter]

Does anyone know whether your typical PGA Certified Instructor can give a good lesson on golf-specific stretches?

[jwaldrop]

I don't have a choice but to stretch at my age,, although I used to not. I get so stove-up I can't move otherwise.

I did a google search a couple of years ago and came across some sites with golf-specific stretching and exercises that I try to incorporate. Some use exercise bands, or a small weight, some don't.

About.com had some good stuff written by "experts" in the field.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by straightshooter

Does anyone know whether your typical PGA Certified Instructor can give a good lesson on golf-specific stretches?

I would say a good portion of them should know some good basic stretches at the least; I'd be surprised if you came across one that didn't know anything about golf-specific stretching.

And further to this thread, my girlfriend, who is a world-renowned Pilates instructor, gave me some awesome upper back and shoulder stretches at her studio yesterday, and I could feel how much free-er my turn was. So I'm going to incorporate those into my daily routine now.

(I'd gladly post them here, but they're pretty complicated)

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by mr3856a

my girlfriend, who is a world-renowned Pilates instructor

Which world is that!?!?

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

Which world is that!?!?

This one

[Bigvivec]

I just did some golf specific stretches out of a book called Golf Flex...use one of those big exercise balls (mine is purple ) and I feel like a million bucks...why I don't stick to a more regular routine of stretching I can't tell you...