Every golfer knows how Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam changed the way professionals buff up for a long season on tour. But when a renowned Guinness quaffer like reigning British Open champ Darren Clarke puts down the booze and picks up the barbells to boost his game, it’s clear that golf fitness has become as critical a competitive weapon as a 350-yard drive or a dynamite short game.
Of course, it didn’t take Clarke’s recent pronouncement that his new personal trainer had whipped him into a “lean, mean fighting machine” for everyday players to recognize the importance of golf fitness. For sure, anyone who plays the game knows that scoring your best for 18 holes takes far more stamina than the walk in the park non-golfers believe it to be. Thanks to Tiger and Annika, being physically fit is no longer an option but a must for elite golfers and a goal for us desk jockeys who have less time to devote to our avocation and the vigor required to enjoy it fully.
Which is where “Weight Training for Women’s Golf: The Ultimate Guide” from Sorenstam’s trainer Kai Fusser comes in. As an aging athlete whose physical fettle could use an upgrade, I eagerly awaited the arrival of Fusser’s new tome. As someone who’s no strengthening expert, I got more than I bargained for in the 192-page paperback that promises increased club-head speed, improved distance, less fatigue, and fewer injuries to faithful practitioners.
As advertised, Fusser’s book is well-organized and thorough, including explanations about why women train differently from men and how much and how hard recreational golfers should go at compared to the pros. It’s so chock full that the author himself noted he could write an entire book about any of several of the topics he covers, including nutrition and the mental game.
But you read the book for the exercises, and Fusser devoted half of his words to helping you strengthen your arms, shoulders, chest, back, legs, and the all-important core. While extensive and easy to understand, I still needed some help figuring out what was right for my individual training needs so I turned to Kathy Ekdahl, a Boston-based strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer, who provided her own review for Patricia Mullaly’s golfgurls.com blog. Ekdahl, who is also a Titleist Certified Golf Fitness Instructor and staff trainer at The International Golf Club in Bolton, Mass., recently finished her own fitness guide and recognized that even the simplest concepts -- which Fusser presents with lots of photos -- can overwhelm the neophyte gym rat when there are so many.
“When you try to write a fitness book, you try to cover all the bases,” Ekdahl told me recently by phone. “Sometimes it becomes too much information and the reader is confused as to how to prioritize....The average person may have a hard time choosing what’s appropriate for her.”
Ekdahl took issue with a few of Fusser’s concepts, including his take on “drawing in” the abs, which is something of a hot-button topic in the exercise world. Ekdahl falls into the camp that believes hollowing the abs does not engage the full core and that “bracing” is the way to go.
“[Fusser] spends a lot of time talking about drawing or pulling the abs in,” Ekdahl said. “Some believe that drawing is not what you should do, you should brace.”
“For ball-striking, you need your muscle to be activated and drawing in is not the best way to activate it,” she said. “You want your abs to fire naturally.”
Ekdahl would also spend less time on shoulder work in favor of strengthening the upper back, glutes, and abs. “Most people hurt themselves because their core is weak, not their shoulders,” she said. “If you get [the back, glutes, and abs] strong, you don’t have to use your shoulders as much as he advocates.”
Ekdahl agreed that Fusser likely aimed his book at high-level amateur golfers with a good understanding of the strengthening work their games required. New players or even average recreational golfers who were not fitness experts would have a difficult time cracking open the book and determining where to start.
Despite her few reservations, Ekdahl gave Fusser high marks for his efforts. “I would recommend the book because I think it’s very comprehensive,” she said. “He covers a lot of bases and for people who want to take their games to the next level...he offers an excellent selection of exercises.”
Where Fusser really stood out was in his drills to correct swing faults, an area Ekdahl does not cover in her work with clients at her Hudson, Mass.-based Personal Best Personal Training.
On the somewhat nit-picky level -- given Fusser’s intended audience, I would have liked to see more women and fewer men in the exercise photos. He could also have used the feminine pronoun “she” rather than “he” in his explanations.
“Weight Training for Women’s Golf: The Ultimate Guide,” with a forward by Annika Sorenstam is available online from Price World Publishing.
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