Quarantine Golf: Change your Quaran(Routine) to improve your golf game at home.

Quarantine Golf… WTF? Golf— and life in general— has taken a strange turn. No one would design a hole with these many hazards like this crazy stretch we are now playing… and we can't even get out to play! However, for most of you reading this, there was probably a time over the past 6 months where you wished you had a few more minutes for yourself. Whether it was to relax, read, exercise or something else, we can all say that we have wished for some extra time to break away from our hectic, nonstop daily routines. The global COVID-19 pandemic that surrounds us has afforded us that extra time that we desired. Although it is a very unfortunate circumstance and our daily routines have been grossly disrupted, now is the time to make the most of this quarantine.

We challenge you to set goals physically, mentally, and spiritually. We are here to help you achieve some of those goals, whether it is through strengthening or mobilization of your body; recovery; improving your golf swing; or preparation and assessment of your golf bag and equipment. By setting goals, you will be ready to resume when this health crisis is over. 

At Urban Golf Performance, we take a holistic approach to your golf development. We can improve any golfer at any skill level, and our approach is possible through the team of professionals that support your goals by addressing your physical abilities, recovery routines, swing mechanics, equipment, and your mental approach to the game of golf. And, we as professionals have pooled our knowledge into putting together a few exercises and pieces of information to help improve you and your golf game during this time.

“Our simple, yet effective process has helped thousands of golfers improve their game. The reason is simple: we focus on fast results with a structured program designed just for you.”

During these uncertain times, many of us are left wondering, “How can we continue our development?” Perhaps your gym is closed, you don’t have equipment, you live in a 1-bedroom apartment or you’re quarantined with your entire family. With many factors being out of our control, it is important to remember the things we can control. The first of which being your MINDSET. Understanding the reality of the situation is the first step to moving towards your goals. It equates to sitting in traffic— there is nothing you can do to change it, so embrace it and make the best of the situation.

In times of uncertainty, many of us find ourselves overwhelmed and unsure of what we should do. Days, and sometimes weeks go by before we even choose a path, thus leading us to fall into unproductive habits. So, create a routine and stick to it. We can be more productive by setting a GOAL and committing to achieving that goal. Setting both short and long term goals are important, so we suggest setting daily, weekly, and monthly goals to increase adherence to your program.

CURTAIL YOUR PROGRAM based on your specific goals. Due to the lack of resources, it is important to be realistic with what you want to achieve. Instead of hoping for significant improvements in every aspect, it may be better to progress in specific areas of weakness while striving to maintain other areas you’re stronger at. For example, if you have good strength but lack mobility, work on simply maintaining your strength while actively improving your mobility and movement patterning.

Maybe you’re still not sure where to start. Well, the majority of us golfers can benefit from improving overall mobility, thus making it a great place to start. The key to a great mobility program is doing it every day. Choose a few specific areas to target (e.g. Hips (IR) / Thoracic (Rot/Ext) / Posterior Chain) and a few exercises for each region of the body. The goal is to increase our range of motion in each region, allowing us to use this new range when performing an exercise as well as in the golf swing. Below is an example of a mobility exercise for each region listed above.

The focus should not be placed on quantity, but rather the quality of the movement being performed. We must move with a purpose if we want to elicit changes in the body and overcome old habits of poor movement. Remember that during the golf swing, we move in all three planes of motion (sagittal, frontal, and transverse). This means that we need to increase our movement quality in all three planes. As we learn to move better by stabilizing our newly acquired mobility, we are preparing ourselves to load and ultimately build strength, within these movement patterns. Taking the time to invest in your movement will pay a major dividend towards your development in the future.

Movement will not only help your fitness, but is also key in recovery. By increasing your range of motion, you can achieve several goals— whether your goal is to have less stress on your joints, generate more power or simply just have more range of motion in your golf swing. Below are three simple stretches you can do at home that do not require much space or any extra equipment. All three stretches also incorporate multiple joints because even though we have more time on our hands, we are still looking to be efficient and effective.

The Cross-Legged Spine Twist is a great way to open up your lower back and outer hip muscles. This stretch will specifically target the quadratus lumborum, gluteus medius, and TFL (tensor fascia latae). This is completed in 2 easy steps.

Step 1: Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet firmly planted on the ground. Cross your left leg over the other as if you are sitting in a chair. Let your arms fall out to the sides creating the shape of the letter “T”.

Step 2: Let both knees fall to the left towards the ground and turn your head to the right. This will give you a full spinal twist. The goal is to keep both shoulder blades flat on the ground to ensure you feel a good stretch throughout your lower back. Take a deep breath here, and on the exhale, allow your knees to fall closer to the ground. Hold this position for 5 deep breaths before switching sides. Complete 3 rounds total.

The Hip Flexor Chest Opener Stretch is exactly how it sounds— it is a stretch that will open the entire front of your body. This stretch is great especially when we spend the majority of our day sitting— whether it is at a desk, in the car or on the couch. Not only is it important to open our hips, but opening our shoulders and chest will allow for better posture and a smoother follow-through in our golf swings. Just follow the 3 steps below.

Step 1: Get into a lunge position. If you need extra padding under your back knee, feel free to grab a pillow or towel to create some space between your knee and the ground. Make sure your front knee is directly over your ankle, creating a 90-degree angle.

Step 2: Once you are in a comfortable lunge position, it is important to stack your spine in a straight line on top of itself. To do this, hinge your pelvis underneath your body by pressing your hips forward.

Step 3: Holding your hips and pelvis in this position, open your arms into a “T” with your thumbs pointing down. While reaching your arms back, allow your head and chest to open up towards the ceiling. You will feel this stretch in the front of your hips, through your abdomen and chest, and even through the front of your neck. Hold this position for 3 deep breaths before switching sides. Complete 2-4 rounds on each side.

The Dynamic Oblique Stretch is great to open the sides of our bodies between our hips and our ribcage. Over time, the obliques can become locked up and/or uneven. In order to generate more power out of your golf swing, you will need to lengthen this muscle and create a larger range of motion. Check out the next 3 steps below.

Step 1: Position yourself into a straight arm plank. Keep your spine in a straight line and your hands directly underneath your shoulders. 

Step 2: While holding the straight arm plank, take your right foot and place it about one foot behind your right hand.

Step 3: Keeping your left leg straight, allow your right hand to lift off the ground while simultaneously rotating your left hip to drop down onto the ground. Everyone will be at different flexibility levels. The straighter you can make your left arm, the more length you will create in your left oblique. Hold this position for 3 deep breaths before switching sides. Complete for 3 rounds total.

“The most common reason golfers quit the game is due to injury. At Urban Golf Performance, we help you maintain proper flexibility and athleticism.”

Now that we’ve addressed taking care of our bodies and keeping it in great shape, let’s talk golf. We focus on the pursuit of progression for everyone in our outreach, and we always inquire and study the best ways to approach the game and fundamentals that everyone can improve on. The two most common things our golf coaches hear? “I want to hit it farther and straighter.” Here are two drills which focus on the overall movement of the body in the golf swing, which will ultimately improve distance. And by controlling your low point, you will see improvement in your impact position, which will then improve ball striking, accuracy, and sequencing.

Impact: Club Drag Drill

The first drill will improve your impact position and help create a stable position when our clubs work into the golf ball. If you Google, “PGA players top of golf swing,” you will get hundreds of different positions and notice that almost all the best players in the world have something different about where they are at the top. If you change your search to “PGA players impact positions”, you will get hundreds of different players in very similar positions. While there is no perfect way to get to a good impact position, the position of impact itself is the most important part in the golf swing.

The objective of this drill is to feel the separation between our upper and lower body and create a powerful and stable impact position. Start by addressing the golf ball (or some object on the ground representing the ball). Place the club outside of your back foot (right foot for right-handed golfers), with the intention of creating friction between the golf club and the ground. Make sure your core is engaged during this drill. SLOWLY drag the club back to where the ball position would be, rotating your belt buckle towards the target and keeping your chest square to the ball. As you approach your impact position and work the club towards the golf ball, stop and hold the position for 2 seconds, making sure the handle of the club has passed over the golf ball, but the club head has not yet made contact with the ball. This will ensure that the handle of the golf club is leading the club head.

Do this drill 25-50 times daily if you want to expedite the process towards improving your impact position and ultimately, your ball striking and accuracy.

All good players, at one point or another, have done this second drill. It promotes proper weight shifting, body movement, and improved hand-eye coordination in the golf swing. At UGP, we call this the Forward Stepping Drill. The two key parts that this drill accomplishes is that first, it creates a weight shift from the trail side to the lead side by implementing the step out, and second, it ensures that we are creating a low point after the golf ball. This will help prevent heavy and chunked golf shots.

Sequence: Forward Stepping Drill

Setup to the ball, and place an alignment stick (or a golf club) between your legs that will represent where the ball position or the low point in your swing would be. Once this is set up, bring your front foot (left foot for right-handed golfers) to the back foot. Take the club to the top of your backswing (yes, with your feet together). Step back out with the front foot and once that foot is planted back on the ground, swing through, trying to brush the ground past the alignment stick between your legs, following to a full finish.

Start this drill by pausing in between each step to get the proper sequence and movement down. Once you feel comfortable, you can increase the speed and add some fluidity.

Both the Club Drag Drill and Forward Stepping Drill will help you get your body more involved in your golf swing, as well as put you on the right path to better ball striking and longer and straighter shots!

So, your body’s feeling good, and swing is feeling smooth. What about your golf bag? We’ve been neglecting our golf bag for some time now, especially since we can’t take it out to play. This is the perfect opportunity to RENEW YOUR VOWS with your golf bag. A golf bag can say a lot about a player, depending on how you decide to take care of it. Make a promise to pay more attention to the contents of the bag, and to the bag itself. Take a good look at that bag. Is it old and tired looking? Did a squirrel chew through a pocket? Is the zipper broken? Do you walk and carry, or are you a cart jockey? Make sure your bag is in optimal condition for how you like to play.

Let's start with a complete clean-out. Remove the entire contents of the bag and lay it out on the floor. Turn the bag upside down over a garbage can and free the grass and dirt that accumulates there.

Examine all your clubs. Pay particular attention to the condition of your grips. If they are worn or even shiny, it's time to replace them. Scrutinize your wedges. If the walls of the grooves are in any way worn or damaged, you are not playing with an optimized club. Now is a great time to explore new options available to you and plan to get properly fit.

You’re a serious player, right? Please don’t have 5 different models of golf balls in your bag. Decide on the ball you like to play, and get rid of all others. Same goes for tees and ball markers. Limit the quantity of each to enough for 4 rounds of play— any more is overkill. Do you have alignment sticks? If so, great! If not, get some, and use them. We hope that you use a resistance band to warm up with. The Perform Better Superband is perfect. The Orange one is only ¼” thick, so it barely takes up space and it’s super light. How’s your towel doing? Wash it if it’s dirty, and if it’s past the point of dirty, it’s time for a new one. Take a look at your headcovers. That headcover on your driver that you’ve had since 2006… If it’s from a great course that you played, that’s cool. But, if you have no emotional attachment to it, treat yourself to a new one. Make a statement! Same goes for the rest of the headcovers. Check your gloves, if you wear one. If it’s crunchy or it has holes, please toss them (in the trash).

If you have empty tubes of sunscreen and bug spray, make sure that it’s on your shopping list. While you’re at it, don’t forget to take inventory of your first aid supplies. Bummer when the band aids don’t stick anymore! Examine your sunglasses. Check to make sure that the screws in the temples are tight, and the lenses are clean. Have you made a promise to yourself to eat healthier? Let’s bring that to the snacks we eat on the course. Seek out the healthy snacks that you like to munch on, and stock up.

At UGP, we are all about optimizing performance. This stretches all the way into your golf bag. Having correctly fitted equipment is very important, but so is having an organized bag. No one likes to have to rummage around in the bag for the exact piece of equipment you need, when you need it. Depending on your location or in case of weather, some would consider carrying a spare pair of socks or a spare hat.

Be prepared for your best round of golf.
Be professional with your equipment.
Be organized for optimal performance.

Written by: Kevin Moore, Rachel Purcell, Marcus Meraz, & Brett Litke