Think winter. For those of you in the Northern states, it's cold, it's skiing season, and making sure you have proper winter tires is on your mind. If you're a golfer, you might be able to putt a ball on your driveway or in your basement just to get your golf game going, but it’s hard to maintain your game!

I was in that same situation when the Covid pandemic hit. All of a sudden, gyms and businesses were closed down. However, some golf courses stayed open because outdoor recreation was deemed to be safe. Even though the courses were open, I wasn’t ready for tournament season. My golf swing needed some help and I had to resolve my lower back and posture issues. In fact, lower back pain is one of the most common physical ailments that golfers experience.

When looking to improve your rotation, you’ll need to address your stability, mobility, flexibility, and hip mobility. Personally, I also felt I needed to improve my lower body, hips, upper body, spine, glutes, obliques, torso, hamstrings, lats, ankles, and heels—the list could go on and on! It can drive you crazy thinking of all the different things that can affect the golf swing. Although I'm a golf professional and know what needs to be done, I still needed help! However, thanks to the aforementioned business closures, I now had to think about doing exercises at home to prepare for a successful golf season.

But where to start? There are many ways to do golf workouts at home. When I decided to do my golf fitness at home, I selected three main categories. Let's look at the options for golfers wanting to do at-home exercises:

1. Home Gym
2. Personal Trainer
3. Online Videos or App-Based Programs

1. Home Gym

Creating the ideal home gym can vary from person to person. The biggest variable is space. Do you have space in your home to exercise? It's been said, "if there's a will, there's a way.” This can mean having a whole room or area dedicated to a home gym and equipment, or having just enough space in front of the TV to move around, however you want to make it work for you.

Having a home gym also allows me to be flexible in any situation. For example, when I travel and stay at a hotel, if the hotel does not have a fitness center, then being able to exercise in the room is that much easier for me to accomplish.

What I’ve found is that a good starting point for your gym setup would include a dumbbell or two, as well as a kettlebell here or there, and a schedule. Keeping a schedule makes you accountable for doing the workouts, even when you don't feel like it. It makes your training a priority in your day-to-day life.

It's been said that any kind of exercise can help you (unless you have bad technique!). So it's hard not to get a benefit from doing something, as long as you are moving. But as for my favorite exercises that can be done at home, I really have seen great results from lunges, squats, and any kind of hip mobility exercises.

My Favorite Lunge Exercises

• Forward lunge
• Curtsy lunge
• Lateral lunge
• Lunges with rotation

My Favorite Squat Exercises

• Goblet squat (if you're newer to exercising)
• Safety bar squat
• Back or deep squat

My Favorite Hip Mobility Exercises

• Kneeling hip flexor stretch
• Spiderman stretch with rotation
• Supine twist

Hip mobility is the category that I personally need to improve the most. Doing these will really allow you to turn, rotate, and twist around the spine and improve your golf swing.

The supine twist is something that you will feel improve your golf swing after about a week or two. I really felt a big difference in my swing.

Without getting into too many details here, research these exercises and, ensuring proper technique, you will start feeling an improved golf swing!

2. Personal Trainer

If I win the lottery, one of the first things I would do is hire a personal trainer to come to my home on a regular basis. In my opinion, this is the best way to work out and get fit. I wouldn't have to plan my exercises, I would just do what they say, and they would watch my technique to ensure that I'm doing them properly.

Once, while getting ready for a major tournament, I requested the services of a personal trainer to meet at my place for one month. I noticed improvements about two weeks into the training, and the convenience of not leaving home was so calming. I was held accountable, and I never canceled a session. At the end of the month, I was more confident with my golf game and felt stronger.

I was always a bit skeptical about doing exercises on my own because I didn't really know if my technique was correct, which is why I enjoy working with a personal trainer. The other benefit is having a partner with whom I can do certain exercises.

Some of my favorite "partner" exercises include:

Medicine Ball Throws

You stand slightly bent-over in a “golfer's address” position, with a medicine ball in your hands, and then throw it underhand to your partner, who is about 10 yards away. Do 10 reps each on your right and left sides, then progress to 15, 20, and 25 yards. This really gets your rotation going, as well as being able to turn toward the target faster.

Partner Heel Tap

Done with a resistance band. One partner is on the floor and the other partner is standing up holding the resistance band while the partner on the ground has it around their feet. Then the partner on the ground is pushing their heels to the ground with the resistance band wrapped around their feet.

Wheelbarrow Push-Up with Squat

This will improve multiple muscle groups and is fun. One partner gets ready in a push-up position. The other partner grabs the ankles and lifts up with a squat while the other partner is doing push-ups. They then switch positions.

3. Online Videos or App-Based Programs

Having a home gym and a personal trainer are both good options. But what if you just want to try it on your own and see what happens? There are many new golfers since the pandemic and they want to exercise at home, they just need a guide to get them going on their way to a healthier life.

There are many types of fitness apps available to the public these days. A lot are free, and some you pay a small fee, but in general, they're worth it to be able to just follow someone on the TV, cell phone, or tablet. The more popular apps usually have specific programs, easy-to-follow videos, and items like timers, and/or trainers counting reps, and reminding you how a technique should feel. These are all things I look for in online apps.

One of my favorite online sites is Total Gym. Yes, Chuck Norris has been their ambassador for many years and with good reason—it works. I was very hesitant to try it, but a few friends convinced me otherwise and now it's a regular part of my home exercises. Turn it on, follow the online instructors and you're on your way.

There are golf-specific fitness apps that I have tried, including GolfForever, Roger Fredericks, and Dynamic Golfers. They all have their benefits, and they're good options to consider if you're looking for golf-only fitness.

Another very popular online program for golf instructors and fitness enthusiasts is through The Titleist Performance Institute. They are known as a leader in the golf fitness business. If you're an instructor, this would be fantastic training to have on your resume and will really help students.

In conclusion, there are many ways to exercise at home, but which methods are best depends on your preferences, home space, and level of fitness. They all provide benefits, so go and check out some of these options, and find your road to becoming a better golfer!

If you're ready to take your new and improved swing to the course, but don't have the updated gear to match it, reach out to me or one of my fellow Golf Experts here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations. We're happy to help you out.