5 minute read
We aren’t all blessed with 2 hours per day to set aside to head to the gym for 30 minutes of mobility work, followed by an intense 1.5 hours of training.
With the offseason now firmly upon us, how can you make the most of the little time you may have to improve your athleticism ahead of the 2026 season?
In this article I’ll dig a little deeper on how you can turn as little as 45 minutes, 2-3 per week in to hitting the ball further, more accurately and reduce the risk of injury.
Mobility
10-15 mins per day
First off, if you don’t have adequate mobility in the key areas of the body that influence the golf swing (particularly the hips, thoracic spine, shoulders), you are leaving results on the table, simply due to the fact that your body cannot achieve efficient and powerful positions in your swing.
Where can you find the time for some mobility work?
The average person in the UK watches television for 3 hours per day. 3 total hours!
Most of which you’re sat still doing very little other than doom scrolling during the ad break.
This is valuable time that we can be working on our golf game through some simple mobility/stretching drills.
An easy 15 minutes per day whilst sat in front of the tv leads to marginal gains, that when stacked upon each other, lead to a huge improvement!
Tip - Plonk a foam roller and a resistance band next to your tv so that it prompts you every time you look at the tele.
Some of my favourite mobility drills for each of these areas:
Hips
90-90 rotations
Elevated pigeons
PSOAS/Couch Stretch
Thoracic spine
Lying Thoracic extensions
Half kneeling thoracic rotations
Side lying thoracic rotations
Banded golfers stretch - for if you can attach a band to a high fix point
Shoulders
Banded external rotations
Band dislocations
Prone A-Y’s
Band pull aparts
(You can click on this link to head to my exercise library)
If you really can’t manage any more time than that, but you get a good solid 15 mins in per day, 4-5 days per week, you’ll be in a far better position come 2026 to play better golf from the get go.
If you’re interested in being taken through a thorough assessment where we’ll diagnose exactly where you are immobile, then click on the following link and we can book you in for a TPI movement assessment (CLICK HERE).
Strength/Power training
First off, get a gym membership.
It doesn’t need to be fancy, as even a basic commercial gym will have adequate equipment to provide great results.
Unless you have a great set up, I don’t recommend training from home as results will be limited if you just have access to your standard set of adjustable dumbbells and a few bands that we all collected during COVID lockdown.
The following sessions are designed to help you become stronger and more powerful, whilst simultaneously improving your balance, coordination and robustness.
These sessions are designed to last for just 45 minutes
2 days per week:
Upper
(Strength) Deadlift x 2-4 reps
(Speed) Overhead ball slams x 4 reps
(Prehab) Rope face pull x 8-12 reps
3-4 sets
(Strength) Bench press x 2-4 reps
(Speed) Chest press ball slam x 4 reps
(Prehab) Dumbbell wrist curls
3-4 sets
Wood chop ball slams x 3 reps each side
Palof press x 8 reps each side
Offset deadlift x 8 reps each side
3-4 sets
Lower
(Strength) Back Squat/Leg press x 2-4 reps
(Speed) Vertical jump x 4 reps
(Prehab) Side plank banded clams x 8 reps each side
3-4 sets
(Strength) Trap bar/Dumbbell RDL x 4-6 reps
(Speed) B stance vertical jumps x 4 reps
(Prehab) Lateral lunge x 8 reps each side
3-4 sets
Back extensions x 8 reps
Hanging/lying knee tucks x 8 reps
Copenhagen planks x 2 x 10 sec max effort holds
3-4 sets
3 days per week:
Pull
(Strength) Deadlift x 2-4 reps
(Speed) Kneeling Overhead ball slam x 4 reps
3-4 sets
(Strength) Chin ups/weighted chin ups x 2-4 reps or bodyweight rows x 8+ reps
(Speed) Overhead ball slams x 4 reps
3-4 sets
Rope face pull x 8-12 reps
Wood chop ball slams x 3 reps each side
Offset deadlift x 8 reps each side
3-4 sets
Push
(Strength) Bench press x 2-4 reps
(Speed) Chest press ball slam x 4 reps
3-4 sets
(Strength) Seated Dumbbell Overhead press - Bench set to 60º x 4-6 reps
(Speed) Step chest press ball slam x 4 reps
3-4 sets
Dumbbell wrist curls x 8-12 reps
Palof press x 8 reps each side
Hanging/lying knee tucks x 8 reps
3-4 sets
Legs
(Strength) Back Squat/Leg press x 2-4 reps
(Speed) Vertical jump x 4 reps
(Prehab) Side plank banded clams x 8 reps each side
3-4 sets
(Strength) Trap bar/Dumbbell RDL x 4-6 reps
(Speed) B stance vertical jumps x 4 reps
(Prehab) Lateral lunge x 8 reps each side
3-4 sets
Dead bugs x 5 reps each side
Back extensions x 8 reps
Copenhagen planks x 2 x 10 sec max effort holds
3-4 sets
For the exercises listed as ‘Strength’, they’re designed to be heavy, high motor unit exercises. Really push the weight up here. You should not be able to do a fifth rep (or 7th rep in the case of an RDL).
For the ‘Speed’ exercises, move as fast as possible. Think violent and explosive, max effort movements.
If executed correctly, these are pretty conclusive programmes that will see you get globally stronger, become more robust and due to the slams and jumps, you should see your rate of for production (speed) increase.
Side note - the simple equation for power = Strength x Speed. You tick both boxes in these programmes.
Additional spare time
This section requires you to have the luxury of having a garden or enough garage space to make a full golf swing.
Speed training.
Overspeed training has widely been researched… using heavier or lighter implements that allow you to work with more force or at a faster speed than your game speed repeatedly over a prolonged period of time will see your ceiling of power greatly increase. If we can increase your ceiling, then you will also increase your cruising speed.
I recommend for my clients that wish to undertake a speed training programme do so 2-3 x per week.
This can be done with a speed training aid or simply with your driver. Drop me a message if you wish to find out more.
For more information on the benefits of and a more in-depth dive in to speed training, please see this article: CLICK HERE
Conclusion
Training for golf doesn’t need to take hours.
Simply carving out just a couple of hours in your diary per week and sticking to a plan, can see you take huge strides in your pursuit of a more powerful, consistent and injury free game, without ever really picking up a club.
Add in regular mobility work whilst you’re winding down for the evening and commit to this over the next 3-4 months and you’ll be ready to attack the 2026 season in your athletic best.
And oh yeah… make sure you increase your protein intake! It’ll do wonders for your recovery.
Should you have any questions on the above, then fire me over a message directly or reach out via Instagram @TourStrength.
This article was written by Ben Foulis.
The founder of Tour Strength, a sports science graduate who has accumulated more than 5000 hours of 1-2-1 personal training sessions working with golfers.
He is qualified with both TPI and is an accredited member of the UKSCA.
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