Golf season may be coming to a close but that doesn't mean that you have to hang up the clubs and forget about hitting any balls. The off-season is the prime time to prep for next season, to hit the ball longer, to be more consistent, and to lower your scores.

Professional golfers know the importance of exercise and fitness and how it can help improve their game and prolong their careers. Golf fitness isn't all about just lifting weights, it's about improving your body's resiliency and ability to generate rotational force. If you want to hit the ball longer and more consistently, then the offseason is the time to do it. And if you've experienced any pain or injury during this golf season, it's especially important to fix the problems now to avoid any further issues that might prevent you from playing.

First, we have to assess your body and it's limitations. Mobility and stability are important to have and to have in the right place and order. A physical golf movement assessment can reveal any movement deficiencies that may impact your golf swing.

No matter how many golf lessons your take or how new your golf equipment is, your body can only perform what it is capable of doing.

Once we perform the physical exam, we can work on your deficiencies. Two common problems I see are: limited thoracic rotation and limited hip rotation. If the thoracic spine cannot rotate and the hips cannot rotate, we often see sequencing errors in the downswing that lead to a poor swing plane and inconsistent ball contact. Most amateur players never get assessed and develop a swing that is built on poor range of motion and bad habits. The more you know about how your body works, the more you can change it and build a swing that is powerful and consistent.

I've previously written about specifically how physical therapy and golf fitness training can improve a player's ability to play better golf. So if you're interested in learning more, you can read more articles here or contact PAR5 Physical Therapy for more information.