Golf: Med Ball Exercises

It is very clear the best way to improve your rotational power for the golf swing is by swinging a club. With that said the weight room can expedite the process greatly. One key piece of equipment that most gyms have is the med ball. 

And no not for Russian twists. I think even the Russians are pissed their name is attached to a very silly exercise, but that's a whole other blog post.

For my golfers I use the med ball in almost every session. It’s a very easy way to work on rotational power and sequencing the entire body. Not to mention its really simple to scale by using different med ball weights. I do not recommend using any med ball over 10 lbs for most exercises unless you are doing a traditional overhead stomp. The goal is POWER, and when the weight of the med ball increases, velocity of the movement decreases. I usually prescribe weights between 4 and 6 lbs depending on the person and exercise. Heavy med balls can actually do more harm than good in most cases; it can pull the athlete out of position, screw up the sequencing, and worst of all, lower the velocity! So, no ego lifting when it comes to med balls please.

Now that we know the importance of med balls, let’s dive into some drills you can start plugging into your workouts. 90% of the time I have my golfers perform med ball work right after the warm up. As i said before the goal is power so you want to be fresh - not fatigued from any other parts of the workout.

Scoop Toss

If we want to get sport specific, look no further than the scoop toss. A very common drill used by golfers all throughout the PGA and rightfully so. 

I like the scoop toss for 3 reasons

• Transfer to sport: it mimics body positions of the golf swing
• Simple: Many have an easy time learning this because of how similar it is to the golf swing or even skipping a rock.
• Measurable: I often use a radar to measure velocity. This motivates the golfer and allows us to assess and progress easily.

I recommend 4-6 sets of 3-6 reps each side.

Shot Put

This exercise is very similar to the scoop toss, but the ball position is different. I like this one for those who struggle with the golf swing. Sometimes the hand position of the scoop toss can be hard to coordinate where the shot put is more of a punch. Not as similar to the golf swing, but still works on:

• Weight transfer
• Body sequencing
• Balance

I recommend 4-6 sets of 3-6 reps each side.

Rotational OH Stomp

Here's another great transverse plane med ball exercise that I love programming. Although it does not mimic the golf swing at all, it still works heavily on power. I like to bump up the weight of the med ball maybe 2-4 lbs and challenge the golfer to stomp so hard it bounces as high as their head. Like anything else, intent is extremely important, but even more so for power drills. If you do not train powerfully, you will not be powerful.

I recommend 4-6 sets of 3-6 reps each side.

So I want to see you start adding these exercises 2-3 days per week. I tend to choose at most 2 med ball exercises to limit fatigue and keep focus as high as possible.

If you have any questions, swing them below and hit them far!