The Best Golf Stretches: 8 Stretches To Keep Your Swing Strong

Who doesn’t want to play at their peak performance every single game? That would be ideal, wouldn’t it?  

But to do so doesn’t only have to do with how well you play but includes several other factors, such as how well you sleep, your day-to-day nutrition, how often you strength train, and even your warm-up golf stretches routine. 

According to studies, dynamic stretching should be included in a pre-game golf warm-up to increase clubhead speed and ball speed. It will also improve your driving distance and accuracy.

Those sound like some pretty good reasons to include a pre-game dynamic golf stretches routine before each game, wouldn’t you say? 

In this guide, we will provide you with our very own list of the best golf stretches to get you warmed up and ready to go before your next tee time. 

We will discuss: 

• What are Dynamic Stretches For Golfers? 
• The 8 Best Golf Stretches For A Pre-Game Warm-Up

Ready? Let’s go! 

What are Dynamic Stretches For Golfers? 

Dynamic stretches are active movements to warm up our muscles, loosen up our joints, increase blood flow, and prepare our bodies to perform specific movement patterns for our chosen sport. 

The dynamic stretches you choose to perform should be functional and specific to the sport you partake in, in our case, golf.

Our list of dynamic golf stretches will activate the specific muscles and movement patterns used in the game to prepare the body and mind properly. 

Remember, you want to be in constant movement when performing dynamic stretches.

Save the static stretching, holding stretches for a prolonged period, for when your muscles are already warmed up, such as after you have finished playing.

Let’s get into our pre-game golf stretches warm-up routine.

The 8 Best Golf Stretches For A Pre-Game Warm-Up

To warm up properly for your game, take 5-10 minutes to perform the following exercises. 

You can perform 1-2 rounds of the exercises depending on the time you have to spare. Of course, the more you warm up, the better prepared you will be.

Easing your body and mind into the game will ensure you start playing well from the get-go instead of warming up while you are playing.

Have you ever felt that your first few swings don’t feel as good as they should? 

That’s probably because your body and mind are still warming up and getting into the swing of things, pun intended! 

Let’s get into those stretches! 

#1: Windmills 

Let’s start with a dynamic stretch to warm up our entire bodies and focus on core rotation. 

1. Stand tall with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. 
2. Extend your arms out straight to your sides, creating a T shape with your body.
3. Keeping your legs straight, bend at the waist, and bring your right hand to your left foot. 
4. Bring yourself back up to the starting position and repeat on the other side, bringing your left hand to your right foot. 
5. Continue alternating sides for 30 seconds. 

#2: Walking Lunge With Overhead Reach and Rotation 

With this one of our dynamic golf stretches, you will warm up your glutes, legs, shoulders, and core while, again, including rotation work.

Walking lunges also take quite a bit of balance and stability, and it’s an excellent unilateral exercise to work each side independently. 

1. Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, shoulders back, arms extended overhead, elbows next to your ears.
2. Take a big step forward with your left foot, placing the ball of your foot on the floor in front of you. 
3. As you take this step, bend both knees until they reach 90 degrees. Your right knee will be just above the ground, and your left thigh will parallel the floor. 
4. Rotate your torso to your left side, keeping your arms extended, and then back to the center.
5. Push off the ball of your right foot and return to a standing position.
6. Now, take a step forward on your right foot and repeat.
7. Continue walking forward and alternating sides for 30 seconds.

Note: To work stability even more, when walking forward, you can pass your back foot straight through the middle and step directly into your next lunge without putting your foot down in the middle to stabilize yourself. 

#3: Shoulder Behind The Back Rotations

For some shoulder mobility, try this one of our stretches for golfers. You’ll find that with each movement, you’ll be able to reach further and further behind your back, with the goal of bringing your hands together. 

1. Stand tall with your shoulders back and arms by your side. 
2. Lift your right arm overhead, bending your elbow and left arm behind your back, bending your elbow. Bring your fingertips as close together as possible behind your back. 
3. Switch sides by lifting your left arm overhead, bending your elbow and right arm behind your back, bending your elbow again, and trying to bring your hands together in the middle of your back.
4. Continue to alternate and repeat for 30 seconds.

#4: Side Plank with Thoracic Rotation 

This may seem like an exercise you would do at the gym, but believe me, it works as a great warm-up as well. 

1. Begin in a forearm-side plank by lying on your right side with your legs stacked one on top of another.
2. Engage your core, and push yourself off the ground with your right arm, stretching your left arm up overhead. Lift your hips off the ground, aligning your body.
3. From the side plank position, slowly rotate your pelvis towards the floor while reaching your top arm underneath your body.
4. While maintaining your balance, rotate back to the starting position, stretching your arm toward the ceiling.
5. Continue this movement in a controlled manner for 30 seconds.
6. Switch sides.

#5: Deep Squat With Leg Extension 

Now, to warm up your posterior chain muscles in your legs (glutes, hamstrings, and calves), all essential parts of the power behind your swing, let’s get into a deep squat with leg extensions. You’ll feel a great stretch in your hamstrings as you extend your knees each time. 

1. Stand tall with your feet wider than hip-width apart.
2. Drop down into a deep squat position. 
3. Extend your arms and place your fingers underneath your toes.
4. Keep your hands under your feet and extend your knees for a nice hamstring stretch.
5. Stand up and return to your starting position.
6. Repeat for 30 seconds.

#6: Wrist Extention and Flexion 

It’s all in the wrists! You’ll need those wrists to be mobile and ready to go, and this simple golf stretch will help you do just that. 

1. Extend your right arm out in front of you. 
2. With your left hand, pull your right fingers back toward your body and hold for a couple of seconds.
3. Then, point your hand down and pull your fingers toward you again until you feel a stretch on the top of your forearm. Hold for a couple of seconds. 
4. Repeat for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on the other wrist.

#7: Hip Opener Adductor Stretch

So, was it, it’s all in the wrists, or it’s all in the hips? This one of our golf stretches will help get those hips mobile and stretch out those adductors. 

1. Begin on all fours with your shoulders over your wrists and knees under your hips. 
2. Extend your right leg out to the side, placing your foot flat on the floor.
3. Extend your arms straight out in front, palms on the floor. 
4. Keeping your back flat and your body positioned over your left leg, rock yourself back and sit back on your left heel, stretching your arms further out in front of you. 
5. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. 
6. Return to your starting position.
7. Repeat for 30 seconds.
8. Repeat on the other side.

#8: Half-Kneeling Ankle Stretch

While you are already down on the ground for the adductor stretch, let’s stay there for this next golf stretch. 

Here, we can get a great stretch in our ankles, improving our range of motion with each rep. 

1. Start in a lunge position with your right leg in front of you at 90 degrees and your left knee on the ground directly underneath you, also bent at 90 degrees. 
2. Shift your body forward, rock back and forth, gently pushing your right knee as far in front of your ankle as possible.
3. Repeat for 30 seconds. 
4. Switch sides.

There you have it! A full-body warm-up workout of stretches for golfers to perform before your net round. 

Warm-up and reap the benefits of your game! 

If you are looking for a total-body golf workout to improve your strength, click here.