LONG GOLF: Long's Putting Stroke

by Steve Long

Long Golf

Note: All Long Golf web pages are living documents--they are frequently updated. Unlike a finished book, they won't go out of date.

Contents

1. Strength training for longer hitting

2. Sleep

3. Diet

4. Time of day to perform a sport better.

1. Strength training for longer hitting

I have used weight training machines to regain some of my strength which was lost to old age. You get stronger and longer if you exercise the golf muscles that animate your hands, arms, shoulders, and torso during the downswing. I even made a machine to do this at home.

The problem with strength training machines is that you have to go to them, and they don't exactly simulate the moves or resistance you need for the golf swing.

You don't need a machine to strengthen your golf muscles. I prefer doing exercises without a device or machine. And I can do them while sitting at my desk or watching TV. How convenient is that?

The muscles that animate your hands, arms, shoulders, and torso on the downswing are the weak links in the array of muscles that make the downswing go. If you only develop those muscles you will most likely already have enough strength in your legs and feet to handle the extra forces.

There are three exercises, the pulldown exercise and two wrist bending exercises. It is important to do all of them, especially the wrist bending No. 2, as it will protect from golfer's elbow injury.

The direction of the forces of each hand gradually change during a real downswing such that different muscles take turns. In an exercise you should keep the force on the same muscles throughout the exercise. That is why there are two wrist bending exercises.

The Pulldown Exercise

This increases the speed of the arms on the downswing.

To do this exercise you just press your hands against your thighs just above the knees, while turning your torso back and forth.

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The back of the left hand goes against the left knee and the palm-side knuckles of the right hand goes against the right knee (if you are right-handed). Keep the back straight. The hands are pushing toward target, to the left for a right hander, while the legs resist. The leading arm stays straight. The trailing elbow bends and straightens, as in the golf swing, as the torso go back and forth.

This exercise is different from a golf swing in regard to sequence, but it uses the same muscles as the downswing does. When the torso turns in the downswing direction, the trailing elbow bends as it does in the backswing. When the torso turns in the backswing direction, the trailing elbow becomes straight. Even though the directions of movement are in both backswing and downswing directions, the forces are all downswing forces.

The movements of the torso, arms, and shoulders are the same as in the golf swing but are out of sequence. That's OK. You are not practicing your swing. You are strengthening the muscles used in the swing.

The torso turns about as far as it can in both directions.

Weight training procedures:

This is a resistance exercise with positive and negative resistance and you use standard weight training procedures including warm up, repetitions and sets, limited motion at first, stretching afterward.

For example, use lighter force on the first few repetitions when starting out cold.

After warm up, use enough force to get the muscles tired after one set, which is 5 to 10 repetitions. Do this three times in a day, and then wait a day to see if any of the muscles involved in the exercise get a bit sore. If they don't, do the exercise again with greater force or more sets, or every day instead of every other day. If they do get sore, wait until the soreness disappears after a warm-up before beginning again.

The reason for going in both directions between the two positions is to keep tension on the muscles while they lengthen and while they shorten. This is a key principle of dynamic resistance training (weight training).

Another benefit besides strength is that in the backswing direction the torso can get some stretching which can lengthen or preserve your shoulder turn in your golf swing.

There are two ways to allow extra blood to flow into the muscles during a set. You can relax after each repetition, or even each half repetition, which allows the blood in the muscles to be replenished, or you can keep the force on throughout the set, which keeps the blood flow reduced and presumably causes exhaustion earlier. I don't know which way is better or builds strength faster.

The Wrist Bending Exercise No. 1

This increases the power to straighten the wrists from the fully cocked position, before the wrists roll into impact position. It probably allows the use of higher swingweights or later uncocking, but the main goal is to use this extra power for extra club head speed.

To do it:

You are going to hold a club with one hand at a time on the grip as you would during a swing, while the other hand holds the shaft about 1/3 of the way to the head. You place the shaft about half way down in your downswing, that is with the club on your trailing side, with the hand on the grip fully cocked. The hand on the grip is going to get the exercise. The hand on the grip keeps trying to move the club in the downswing direction, which is away from target, rotating the forearm and wrist, while the hand on the shaft resists that movement and moves the club back and forth through a motion of about 45 degrees. Follow the principles of weight training. The force is in one direction, but the muscles contract and lengthen as the club goes back and forth. Be aware of which direction you are pushing the club so as to keep it in the proper path. By the way, straightening the trailing wrist at this point in the swing is a source of slicing. Switch hands and repeat the exercise.

I have not heard of it happening, but I suppose it is possible that the muscles and tendons involved in this exercise could be subject to a golfer's elbow type of injury, but it is probably rare because the ball and ground are not hit during the swing when this motion is being executed. Nevertheless the danger is that the pulldown motion could overpower the wrist straightening power and do some kind of damage.

The Wrist Bending Exercise No. 2

This exercise is partly used to add acceleration to the club around impact, but critically it protects the muscles and tendons commonly associated with golfer's elbow, by strengthening them. The location of golfer's elbow injury, at least the kind I know of, is in the forearm near the "crazy bone." This bone is the one that points across the front of your body when you hold the forearm straight up in front of you. A bunch of tendons that activate the fingers and wrist come together and attach to this bone. In golf, the trailing elbow (right for a righty) is subject to the high forces that move the club.

To do this exercise: Put your hands together palm to palm in front of you as if praying, and push the fingers at each other, rocking the finger tips left and right. Consider one repetition to be a left and a right movement. Follow the weight training principles for working out.

Discussion of risk factors

It is quite likely that the wrist bending exercise No. 2 must not be ignored if the pulldown exercise is being done, so as to avoid injury to muscles and tendons that activate wrist bending and fist clenching. One such injury is golfer's elbow. If you get stronger on your pulldown without increasing the strength of the muscles and tendons that get "golfer's elbow," the chances of injury increase. Therefore be sure to do the wrist bending exercises at least as much as the pull down exercises.

Other factors for injury include using higher swingweight clubs, as they provide higher resistance for the wrist bending muscles and tendons. Taking big divots and hitting mats that slow the club can also increase the stress. Overuse is another factor. Other factors may include age, diet, and inherited weaknesses. If you discover any limits in your muscle and tendon strengths, please respect them and compensate as required. Usually this means avoiding and treating the causes of the problem. If you get an injury then "treat" only the weak link until it is strong enough to handle the higher forces.

Use these exercises at your own risk.

The risk from this exercise, if there is any, comes most likely from club swinging and/or ball hitting after you gain strength, rather than from the exercise itself. Sometimes the tendons do not strengthen as fast as the muscles, increasing the chances of over-stress and injury to a tendon.

I don't know yet if there is increased risk of injury just from having worked out.

It is quite likely that the wrist bending exercise must not be ignored if the pulldown exercise is being done, so as to avoid injury to the muscles and tendons that activate wrist bending and fist clenching. This can lead to golfer's elbow. If you get stronger on your pulldown without increasing the wrist bending system, then the wrist bending system becomes overstressed. Therefore be sure to do the following wrist bending exercises at least as much as the pull down exercises.

Be careful about jamming the clubhead into the ground or into a mat in such a way that the clubhead decelerates quickly. Even swinging too hard or with too high of a swingweight can overstress certain tendons. The injury may develop gradually. Numerous smaller stresses may accumulate in their effect. Hitting hundreds of balls can do it. Drinking alcohol can mask the strain that is being applied so don't be intoxicated while working out or hitting balls.

So use your new strength with care. If something starts to hurt, swing so it doesn't hurt or stop hitting until the healing is complete.

The most likely injury is to a tendon. Tendons can be injured by high numbers of repetitions at less than full strength. Old age can weaken tendons. Tendon injuries can take many weeks or months to heal.

Tendons are usually the culprit in golfer's elbow, although it is possible for a golfer to damage elbow ligaments as well, by bending the elbow joint backward in the impact zone. The normal Golfer's elbow is a tendon problem on the inside of the trailing elbow. The tendons in golfer's elbow tighten the four fingers on the grip of the trailing hand and they also transmit the wrist bending forces. According to Wikipedia and my study of my arm, all these tendons come together in a bundle at the elbow bone where golfer's elbow occurs. If this is true, then it seems that squeezing the golf grip with the fingers at the same time as the forcing the wrist to uncock will increase the force on the tendon at the elbow. Try to keep the finger tightness of the trailing hand to a minimum. So as to transmit the wrist straightening forces through the trailing hand to the club, use mainly the pinky finger and the biggest knuckle of the index finger.

Gripping the club down the shaft can also reduce the stress on the tendons in golfers elbow.

If you gain muscle strength slowly enough, then the tendons have a better chance of growing as fast as muscles.

If something starts to hurt, stop swinging or working out until it doesn't hurt.

Be extra careful about swinging hard if you have taken anti-inflammatory medication or alcohol, because damage may occur or exist without you knowing about it, or the severity of it may be underestimated.

Actual pain means something is wrong, both during the exercise and anytime later. If there is any soreness during or after the exercise, it should definitely be in the muscles, not the tendons, ligaments, or joints, and it should go away while you work out.

Gradually build up the severity of your workouts. If you have soreness, don't work out again until the soreness is gone. If you don't get soreness later, but you do get strength gains, then don't increase the severity of the workout.

You can measure your strength gains with a clubhead speed measuring device or just watch the length of you golf shots.

Excessive alcohol drinking may reduce your testosterone levels and do other bad things with the possible result of slowing or preventing strength gains from exercise and healing of injuries.

Good health and long may you golf.

2. Sleep

Get plenty of it! Your mind may tell you that you are not tired enough to sleep, but you still need those hours in bed. I prefer to stay in bed until I get my eight hours, or my body gets "itchy" to get up and move. This usually happens after eight hours in the sack. Sleep deprivation will reduce your sport performance, mental performance, and health.

Surprisingly, your brain can be partly asleep, and your physical coordination compromised, even when your body does not feel tired. This can happen when stimulants have robbed you of sleep, such that the brain is not fully turned on. Your sleep cycle could be out of sync. Avoid stimulants that reduce your sleep. Perhaps avoid stimulants altogether, depending on what part of your brain they activate. Some studies show caffeine improves athletic performance. If you lose sleep from caffeine, it could worsen your performance. Persons vary in metabolism and mental response to chemicals, so you have to measure yourself to find out the best performance enhancers for you.

3. Diet

The less you eat the longer you live and the healthier you will be, if you eat nutritionally well. So don't eat so much. Definitely ingest Omega-3, preferably the EPA and DHA type, rather than the ALA type. You do this by eating grass fed animal products and/or taking EPA and DHA supplements, such as fish oil or algae derived. Ingest less of Omega-6 as found in grain fed meat and most plant oils (except flaxseed oil-- but like all plants, flaxseed oil has ALA and might not help you if are still eating lots of Omega6).

Get Vitamin D (tablets are convenient) for the low-sun months or consider getting enough sun exposure.

Alcohol drinking may reduce your testosterone levels and do other bad things. It could reduce or eliminate your strength gains, or even reduce your muscle mass, slow the healing of injuries, and perhaps cause a deterioration in physical coordination. For me, alcohol was a substitute for eating, so I think I lost some muscle mass to a kind of starvation.

4. Time of day to perform a sport better.

Afternoon and evening, according to statisticians. Safer and better.