Looking to lower your handicap and get more range off the tee? This article will give you 6 incredible golf exercises to improve driver distance on the course, and get your body feeling better (and stronger) than it has in years! Follow along below for a challenging workout that is sure to put you to the test.

Golf Exercises to Increase Driver Distance

The golf swing is a full-body integrated movement, one of the most complex in all of sports. For us to produce more power off the tee, we need to, as a prerequisite, have our muscles and joints in good working order. Below you’ll find a selection of 6 exercises from our programming here at Dynamic Golfer, with comprehensive instructions and explanations on how they are useful.

If you like the workout we have detailed below, consider signing up for a 7-day free trial with us! You’ll be joining a network of thousands of golfers worldwide - beginners, professionals and everyone in between. We hope you enjoy giving this routine a try, and can’t wait to see you over on the platform soon!

Single Leg Deadlift

Instructions

• Squeeze the glutes, take a deep breath, draw the belly button in to engage the core
• Balance on one leg while keeping a soft bend in the knee 
• Hinge at the hip, reach your hands towards the floor while keeping your back straight
• Return up to the starting position
• Repeat for 10 repetitions on each leg
• Complete 3-5 sets
• Modification: Hold weights in your hands to make the exercise more difficult

Benefits

Improving your hip stability/power is necessary for increased driver distance on the course. The single leg deadlift challenges all the muscles in your glutes to stabilize and extend the hips, and also conditions/strengthens the lower back, which is an area at risk of injury for many golfers.

Alternating Shoulder Press

Instructions

• Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart 
• Hold two dumbbells in your hand at shoulder height (picture 1)
• Press one dumbbell overhead while pivoting in the opposite direction (for example, picture 2, press the right dumbbell overhead while turning left and pivoting on the right foot)
• Return to the start position, press the other dumbbell and turn in the opposite direction (picture 3)
• Repeat for 10 repetitions on each arm
• Complete 3-5 sets
• Modification: Adjust the weight of the dumbbells to make the exercise easier or harder

Benefits

The alternating shoulder press incorporates a similar pivot and twist that occurs in the follow through of your golf swing, but performs it in both directions while training the shoulder at the same time. An excellent exercise for total body strength and integration.

Push Up Slide

Instructions

• Place a slider or cloth under one of your hands
• Get into a pushup position, up on your toes or on your knees (depending on your current level of strength and fitness)
• Slide your one hand out to a 45° angle
• From this position, perform a pushup
• Slide the hand back underneath your shoulder
• Repeat for 10 repetitions on one hand
• Switch the slider to the other hand, repeat for 10 repetitions
• Complete 3-5 sets
• Modification: Adjust how far you slide your hand out to make the exercise easier or more difficult

Benefits

Your chest muscles (pectorals) are extremely active during the downswing, and are the major propeller of your arm towards the ball. This exercise strengthens the chest and shoulder muscles even more than a regular push up through the introduction of an unstable sliding surface.

Hip Hinge Swing

Instructions

• Start with feet wider than hip width apart
• Hold a weight in your hands (dumbbell or kettlebell)
• Keep the arms straight throughout the movement, think of them just as an attachment for the weight (the hips and hamstrings should be doing all the work)
• Let the weight swing between your legs, hinge at the hips and slightly bend the knees while keeping a flat back (picture 1)
• Powerfully extend the hips by contracting the glutes (squeezing the butt)
• Let the momentum carry the weight up to shoulder height or just above (picture 2)
• Continue the swinging motion, letting the weight drop again between your legs
• Repeat for 10-25 repetitions
• Complete 3-5 sets
• Modification: Adjust the weight of the dumbbell/kettlebell to make the exercise easier or harder

Benefits

This exercise powerfully develops the glutes which are crucial for the initiation of the downswing. It also strengthens and conditions the lower back to help reduce the likelihood of injury to that area.

Hamstring Hold

Instructions

• Place a towel or blanket underneath your knees for padding
• Start in a kneeling position with your feet flat against the wall, torso straight
• Very slowly come forward on your knees, leaning forward, you will quickly feel a strong contraction in the back of your thighs (hamstrings)
• Pull yourself back up to the starting position (it will be a small movement)
• Repeat for 10 repetitions
• Complete 3-5 sets
• Modification: You will only be able to go so far forward without having something to hold your heels down, so go slow and focus on the strong contraction you get from this small movement

Benefits

The hamstrings play important stabilization and power production roles for both the knee and hip joints while golfing. This exercise really isolates these muscles and teaches you how to activate them forcefully.

Half Get Up

Instructions

• Start in a lying position with one knee bent and a dumbbell held straight up above you in the same-sided hand
• The other arm out should be out to the side for balance (picture 1)
• Perform a sit up, coming up onto the planted arm while keeping the dumbbell balanced overhead (picture 2)
• Completely straighten the planted arm and come up into a full sit-up while keeping the dumbbell balanced overhead (picture 3)
• Reverse the movement, and return to the starting position
• Repeat for 5-10 repetitions on each arm
• Modification: Adjust the weight of the dumbbell and/or the number of repetitions performed per arm to accommodate your current strength and fitness levels

Benefits

The half get up integrates the core with the rest of the body while at the same time challenging stability of the shoulder for an extended period of time. These are all beneficial mechanisms to help reduce the chance of injury in golfers.

Written by Eric Lister – Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist