The Importance of Physical Fitness

In the realm of golf, people often overlook the importance of physical fitness for playing well. There are multiple factors that can affect your ability to score low in golf, and the most important factor is you. The one that is swinging the club.

Although this knowledge is not new or profound, most people tend to overlook it for one simple reason: golf is not a “physical” sport. There’s no sprinting, there’s no contact, and you only hit a shot every few minutes. But for these same reasons, physical fitness is a necessity for golf. A fast round of golf can take around 3 hours and 45 minutes; a slow round of golf can take upwards of 5+ hours, depending on how busy the golf course is. Typically, one should complete a round of golf in 4 hours and 30 minutes. This duration is longer than a standard basketball, football, soccer, or baseball game.

So what does this mean? Even though you’re not constantly swinging a golf club, your fitness level still needs to be maintained at the same level as it was at the beginning of the round. If you don’t, then your performance will fade down the final holes in the round. If your physical fitness is inadequate, it will also negatively impact your mental game. Maintaining focus on the course for an extended period requires significant physical effort, especially when combined with being outdoors for that duration.

Now why is all of this important? The short answer is that the more physically tired you are, the more your form starts to deteriorate, and in turn, your performance starts to deteriorate as well. This situation can result in high scores without understanding the reasons behind them.

Another key reason physical fitness is essential for consistent golf is that it influences the type of form and performance you can achieve. For example, if you have been trying to fix a swing flaw and it hasn’t been working, then the main cause could be a physical limitation.

Trying to fix a swing flaw that physically you are unable to achieve is running into a brick wall. There are two ways to be able to make this change: one is to strictly address your physical limitation, and two is to teach around the physical limitation. If you don’t, then it will also affect your performance. For example, let’s say that you hit a pull fade, and this issue is caused by an over-the-top swing. After doing a physical screen, you have limitations in externally rotating your right shoulder, and this is the only physical limitation. Then, this is causing your over-the-top swing. To be able to address your pull fade, you need to address your physical limitation in the gym via a physical therapist or fitness coach or be coached on how to shallow the club with your wrists (one of the three different planing mechanisms in the golf swing).

This is why having a solid foundation physically matters so much to golf, and it also could explain why you’re unable to perform to the level you desire.