I didn’t have a conscious clue what impact training in golf was when I started to write this article. Thanks to my wife, the personal trainer, I am now on my way to becoming an expert. Impact training for golf looks at the science of force and motion in the sport and their combined impact on you, the golfer.
Impact
Impact, according to Webster, is “an impinging or striking (as of one body against another) or “a forceful contact, collision, or onset”. Yep, that pretty well describes what happens when you hit a golf ball!
But before we move on, let’s consider what part impact plays in the scheme of action and reaction. Points of consideration are energy, pressure, application and direction. When you apply pressure or exert energy on an object in any direction, in relation to the focus of the energy, that energy put in motion then transfers in at least two directions – the object absorbs the shock wave and moves or it reflects the shock wave back with an equal and opposite force. You know, it’s the irresistible force and the immovable object paradigm.
That’s a lot of science for one paragraph. Bringing it back to a golf focus, we can now at least look at impact training for golf and try to come to some conclusions.
Fore! Impact And Impact Training In Golf
When you swing your arms and golf club back you are storing energy; when you swing the club forward you are expending energy through the club and into and through the ball. Now, the ball is small and while making contact with the club, the stored energy is released sending the ball skyward. In theory, the swing follows through and slows accordingly, with only a small recoil and re-absorption of energy. The training for impact in golf, in this case is learning to swing smoothly and hit the ball squarely.
Now, it’s never happened to me, but I heard that sometimes people miss the ball entirely, swinging off into the air. The air absorbs some of the energy and I suppose moves accordingly. The remaining energy is reabsorbed by the trunk of the body, in the back, shoulders and legs. The picture is even more tangible when one hits the ground while trying to pound out a 250 yard drive.
In essence, impact training for golf means you become conscious of the impact zones, strengthen areas that are impacted and reduce the stress of potential impacts. That’s why we practice.
My wife says it’s a simple case of “Gradual progressive overload (GPO)” Oh great, now I understand! Get out the medicine ball and get to work – impact training for golf is awaits you.
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