Warming Up is for Wimps

If you don’t warm up at the range or before you hit the Tee then you get 10 points for Macho, Nil Points for common sense.

I mean, if you really didn’t want to play for a few weeks because of a torn muscle or something similar then hey sign-off now.. but if you are sensible and want to enjoy golf without constant injury or strains just because your ego might take a hit then you’ve got to warm up before you swing a shot in anger.

The Terminator had a long walk back to the Clubhouse

Now I’m no fitness trainer, have I got physical fitness qualifications? No, but I know what its like to be out for six weeks because of not warming up, at the range in my particular instance, and it doesn’t just affect your golf – it affects your whole life. I couldn’t pick up my daughter who is only three and like a little doll – agony. It affected work, socialising, everything including golf.

Now I should’ve known better as for many years I was a gym addict, not that you’d tell by my current stature! I had always taken the stance at the range or just before a round to hit a few shots with wedges first thinking this would constitute ‘warming up’ but it doesn’t, it really doesn’t.

Take lessons from any sports professional, when do you ever see a professional go straight into the action after pulling their battle gear on? You don’t, not in any sport – even Snooker! You’ve got to stretch and limber up, get those muscles and tendons stretched out and warmed through – and it goes without saying that outdoor sports such as golf when the weather can be cold and damp that warming up before your sport is even more important. These days we are being reminded constantly by golfing commentators that most professional golfers spend a session in the gym before they even go out on the course, do you? No probably not and neither do I but this doesn’t mean you should abandon all warming up – it’s just common sense.

I think, and this is just my personal view, that a lot of people who play golf, and this doesn’t go for everyone, seem to see golf as a pastime don’t seem to comprehend golf as a physically demanding sport when they are playing it but only when they are watching it on TV. I know that I have taken the view in the past that I can warm up enough whilst I’m rooting through the undergrowth looking for my ball walking round the course but that is staring trouble in the face and if you’re 5 holes out with a torn back muscle or side muscle then you try carrying a golf bag and walking over half a mile..

Now I’m not about to give you the best advice for warming up for golf – hell I already said I’m no qualified physiotherapist – but this post is open to anyone that might be qualified to give you better advice about warming up – my job today is just to let you know that warming up is for wimps Warm-Important-Muscles-Prior to-Sport.

Take this advice and you’ll enjoy yourself a whole lot more during not only golf but everything you do afterwards.

What’s your warm-up routine? – is there a recognised routine specifically for Golf? If there is and you know it – post it here.