Benefits of Rotational Exercises for Golfers

Power Generation

A powerful golf swing requires generating speed and power through the rotation of the hips, torso, and shoulders. Rotational strength enables golfers to generate greater club speed, resulting in longer drives and more distance, helping them improve their game.

Injury Mitigation

Golf swings involve significant rotational forces, particularly the spine, hips, and shoulders. Developing rotational strength helps improve stability and reduces the risk of injury by promoting better body control and balance throughout the swing. Building a resilient strong body, including in the rotation movement pattern, will help mitigate all sorts of injuries in golf and in day to day life.

The 7 Golf Rotation Exercises to Enhance Your Game

The Cross Chop requires coordination between the upper and lower body, promoting the separation of the hips and shoulders. This separation is a crucial aspect of the golf swing, as it allows for an efficient transfer of energy from the lower body to the upper body, resulting in a powerful and controlled swing. This makes the cross chop of the most effective exercises for golfers to use to improve rotational strength.

The DB Full Moon Is different from the cross chop in that it doesn’t require speed or golf swing like rotation. That being said it is still one of the most effective ways to improve your rotational strength for golf. It has both a rotation element (upward) and resisting rotation element (downward) to it, making it a highly effective core exercise in general. I highly recommend this exercise to golfers and use it regularly with my clients who play golf and tennis.

The half kneeling banded diagonal chop is a very dynamic at aggreive core exercise that mimics a golf swing. Building strength in this movement is a must for golfers looking to improve the distance of their swing. It is also important to control the downward portion of the movement as a lot of adaptation can be made here.

The half kneeling halo rotation doesn’t mimic exactly the movement of a golf swing, but does improve the strength of the muscles that the body uses to generate rotation making it a very effective exercise for golfers.

The half kneeling KB windmill is one of my favourite core exercises in our exercise library and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough for golfers to use. It will improve many aspects of the core musculature whilst also improving shoulder stability and hip mobility, all of these physiological characteristics will be beneficial for your golf game.

The landmine full contact twist is both the most advanced and the most aggressive of the rotation exercises in this list and in our library at large. This exercise is not for those who are just starting their journey into strength and conditioning. It requires a pre-requisite of strength to do this just with a barbell, so make sure you have tested it with a barbell before adding weights. Put a great deal of concentration into adding force at the bottom of the movement, shifting the weight overhead quickly yet with control.

The low windmill is a great version of the windmill for those who lack shoulder mobility or straight arm strength. It is a shame to miss out on the benefits of these two exercises because you lack a few of the characteristics that the traditional KB windmill. The hand not holding the kettlebell should follow the same trajectory as the the traditional exercises as seen above, this is a common mistake with this exercise.