Partner content · Best You Training

Better Swing Starts Off the Course

Mobility and Strength for Golfers

By Jennifer Gingras Best You Training · Andover, MA

Bradley Batchelder, Andover Country Club’s 2025 club champion and Player of the Year, training with Best You trainer Ben Moll.

I’ll be honest, I am not a golfer. What I do know is bodies, and after over 25 years of personal training, I can tell you that most golfers are working on half the equation.

Technique matters. Good instruction, the right equipment, and practice on the range all help. But the swing is only as good as the body producing it. If your hips can’t rotate, if your upper back is stiff, and if your core isn’t strong and stable, no golf pro can fix that. The work needs to be done on and off the range. Otherwise, your body will find a workaround, and the workaround is usually the lower back.

Where the Swing Really Comes From

A golf swing is rotation. Power moves through your hips and glutes, travels through your core, and finishes with your shoulders and arms. Every link has to do its job. If the hips are tight, the lower back twists to make up the difference. When the upper back is stiff, the shoulders and arms take on the extra load. This is why so many golfers have sore lower backs, and “golfers elbow”.

Mobility First

Two areas that need to be prioritized are the hips and thoracic spine (your mid and upper back). Together, they should provide the rotation. When they do, your swing gets smoother, and your lower back gets a break.

Then Strength

Strength in the right places makes all the difference in a great swing. Strong glutes and a strong core are key. It allows for an efficient and effective transfer of power. This allows the shoulders, arms, and lower back not to overwork. This means more consistent contact, more distance, and less strain.

Flexibility and Recovery

Hamstrings, hip flexors, back and shoulders get tight from the repeated motion round after round. Yoga is a great addition to any golfers workout schedule, even if its just once a week. Prioritizing flexibility and recovery is essential for staying pain-free and staying on the course for decades, not seasons.

A trainer supervising a standing landmine strength exercise at Best You — Bradley Batchelder working on strength with Best You trainer Ben Moll in Andover, Massachusetts.

Three Moves to Try This Week

Do these two-three times per week or before you play.

Thoracic rotation (open book)

Lie on your side with your knees bent and arms straight in front of you. Slowly open your top arm across your body toward the floor behind you, following your hand with your eyes. Hold for 5-10 seconds, then return. Do 8-10 per side.

Glute Bridge

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Hold for 2 seconds at the top and then slowly lower. Do 12-15 reps.

Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

Kneel on one knee with the other foot forward. Tuck your pelvis under and shift forward until you feel a stretch at the front of the back hip. Hold for 30 seconds each side.

Train the Body That Swings

The best investment you can make in your game may not be a new driver. It may be 45-60 minute training sessions, 2-3 times per week with a professional personal trainer who has experience training golfers. Your swing will feel freer, your lower back will thank you, and you’ll enjoy the round more.

At Best You in Andover, we work with golfers one-on-one to build programs around how they move and where they feel it. Contact us at jennifer@bestyoutraining.com and come see what your body can do when it’s ready for the swing.