Top personal trainer explains how lifting weights can boost your golf game

Strength training makes a huge difference to the performance of top golfers such as Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka. Up your golf game with these lifts

Alex Roberts

Top personal trainer explains how lifting weights can boost your golf game

Golf is not a sport you’d traditionally associate with weight training

But when you look at some of the top modern golfers, it’s easy to see how much of a difference strength training makes to performance at major tournaments.

Rory McIlroy and world number one Brooks Koepka are just two top golf stars to swear by strength training.

We asked personal trainer Peter Williams for his top tips on lifting weights for golf. Williams works at PureGym Cardiff and is a keen golfer himself. Williams says:

“It makes sense that if you can hit the ball further you should have an advantage over your opponents. To hit the ball further, you need to generate club head speed and power. The more you generate, the further the ball will go.”

Koepka celebrates after holing his winning putt during the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

But how do you train in the gym to develop this sort of power? Williams explains.

The best gym exercises for golf

“It’s not as simple as just getting as strong as possible, and getting your weight into the ball as we all know there is a lot of technique involved in hitting a golf ball straight.

“You will need a combination of core strength and mobility to really be able to turn your hips through the movement of a golf swing with some power.”

We asked Williams to outline some of the key exercises golfers should focus on in the gym.

“In terms of weight lifting you would want to focus on compound movements to generate all-round strength. Exercises such as deadlifts, squats, overhead press and bent over row should be staples of your routine.”

One top golfer to have taken advantage of compound weight training is Rory McIlroy. McIlroy has undergone a seriously successful physical transformation over the past five years, putting on a large amount of muscle mass.

Back in 2014, he shared the following workout video to his YouTube channel:

In terms of core stability, Williams recommends incorporating a lot of Swiss ball work into your programme.

“Include core stability movements involving a Swiss ball such as a plank, pike and knee tuck. By adding the Swiss ball, this should also help to improve your balance whilst your body is in movement, which is beneficial to your golf swing.”