Golf is a sport where until Tiger Woods came along even professional players didn’t spend much if any time training their bodies to improve their game.  Obviously that has changed and professionals and weekend warriors alike are now searching for any way to lower their handicap and improve their performance by improving their fitness level.  The golf swing is a very intricate and coordinated movement that requires power, balance, strength, flexibility and stability to perform properly.  A well designed and balanced training program should address all of these qualities. It should be understood that the golf swing is actually a very violent movement when looking at the forces it applies to certain areas of the body.  The force of the swing on the lumbar spine (think mid back to tail bone) is equivalent to being body checked in hockey, the lateral forces on the knee are equivalent to making a cut in basketball, and the velocity of the swing on the arms is equal to throwing a baseball. It’s no wonder why the average golfer tends to have a sore lower back, bad knees, an injured shoulder, or all three!!!  The following exercises aren’t necessarily the most important exercises you should be doing (although some might be!) but will help target some of the more commonly overlooked areas in the average golfer’s training program and will be a great addition to regular strength training to help improve your game.