Driving home the key messages

In this latest BJSM podcast, Dr Will Wynter Bee discusses strength and conditioning (S&C) in golf with the Head of Strength and Conditioning for the PGA European Tour, Dan Coughlan.  They discuss exactly how S&C can improve golf performance.

How can we reduce injury risk whilst maximising club head speed?

Dan explains this comes down to good programming which allows a good balance for the players.  We know that giving them resistance training and appropriate physical activity will reduce injury risk, and increased club head speed will be a bi-product of this. Golfers lift reasonable weights but not to the extremes seen in strength specialists, therefore they shouldn’t develop the same injury profiles seen in these athletes. Injury risk reduction exercises are incorporated into programmes as well as regular monitoring. For a deeper dive into the science and rationale, here’s a blog that may be of interest!

The importance of a good warm-up?

Evidence from Australia also supports the conclusion that club head speeds increase over time with an appropriate warm up, and this is linked to an improved performance.

Finally, want to know more about injuries associated with golf? What are the ‘bread and butter’ conditions you need to know about before working with golfers? Hopefully this infographic and paper will help!

Thanks to Dr Jennifer Duncan for producing this blog, as well as the wider team for their regular podcast summaries!