Many of the people that I work with are aware of what the core is and its role in enhancing golf performance, but many of these individuals believe that the core is comprised of just the abs and back when in fact it is comprised of MUCH more.

The core muscles include not only those in your abdominals and back, but also muscles in your pelvic floor and hips. Many of your core muscles can’t be seen because they’re buried underneath other muscles. As a result, it is very difficult to see visible results form core training. Many people falsely assume that a six (or eight) pack is the image of a strong core (I was one of them until a few years ago), but nothing could be further from the truth.

A well-developed six pack simply means that your outer abdominal muscles are well developed. However, if you take a step back and look at the function of these muscles, you can see how a six pack has virtually nothing at all to do with a strong core.

Six Pack Abs Don’t Always Equal A Strong Core?

Your Rectus Abdominis (Six Pack Muscles) serve only ONE movement function, and that is to flex/extend your torso forward and backward. These muscles are NOT responsible for rotation, and since rotation is a pretty significant part of the golf swing, training your six pack will have very little impact on the type of rotational core strength you need for golf.

Perhaps more important though is how the force developed by the core is transferred throughout the body. The simple analogy I like to use is that the core is the engine, but there are a number of different muscles that serve as the transmission. You can have a Viper engine, but if the transmission can’t efficiently transfer that force to the tires and then the road, then performance and power levels will suffer.

So, for analogy purposes, you could have the strongest core in the entire universe, but if you do not have sufficiently developed stabilizers and other assorted muscles to transfer that force efficiently throughout the body, then very little of that power will “hit the road”.

Complete Power Training Is Key

Every joint in your body represents an opportunity to either multiply or lose force, simple as that. That is the reason that if improved power is your goal then improving your overall golf-specific conditioning levels will help immensely. Properly conditioned stabilizers will help tremendously in multiplying and transferring forces from the core to the club.

As this article shows, developing core strength is important for increasing golf power levels and swing speed, but that properly training and developing your stabilizers is also critical in improving your power levels and increasing both the distance and accuracy of your drives. A properly designed golf fitness program will help you develop both core strength and stabilizer strength at the same time. The end result will be a more powerful swing and a trimmer waistline.

As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the NSCA, Jason Krantz’s focus is on significantly improving the power levels and injury resistance of all golfers. He specializes in power enhancement and all related components of improved golf performance. For more information on how Jason can help your game visit http://www.sonicboomgolf.com

You can also try out the Virtual Launch Monitor at http://www.sonicboomgolf.com/virtual_launch_monitor2.php This tool will show you how altering different variables involved in producing distance will affect how far your ball will travel and will show you how you can maximize your distance off the tee.

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