Summit physical therapist and golf lover Josh Feeney, DPT, OCS, CGFI, gives advice on how to strengthen your grip for a great golf season.
The pleasures of spring: blooming flowers, the smell of fresh-cut grass, and the opportunity to grab a tee time at your local golf course. Golf is good exercise, particularly if you walk the course, and unlike some high-impact, higher-intensity sports, it can be played throughout your life. If you can’t wait to get out on the links this year, read on for some grip-strengthening tips to improve your golf game.
Summit physical therapist Josh Feeney, DPT, OCS, CGFI, is a longtime golf lover. “I always say that I want to spend my time fishing and golfing when I retire,” he said. He plays regularly during the golf season and is a certified golf and fitness instructor through the Titleist Performance Institute.
How important is grip strength to your golf game? “Grip strength probably won’t do a lot for your actual performance, but it can definitely help reduce your risk of injury,” Feeney said. Injuries like golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow (which happens more often to golfers than golfer’s elbow does) can be caused by improper form. You may be overusing your forearm muscles because of a weaker grip.
To prevent injury — and make sure you can enjoy the full golf season — try these simple grip-strengthening exercises.
Golf grip tip 1: Feel the squeeze
“Any type of ball squeezing will help to make your grip stronger,” Feeney said. Even stuffing a couple of socks into another sock can be a good item to squeeze. If you have a plasma or blood donation squeeze ball, or a “stress ball” that is squeezable, those can be great as well.
Feeney recommends squeezing the ball 20 to 30 times in each hand, or until your muscles are moderately fatigued. You can do this exercise every other day.
Golf grip tip 2: Use your club
Another great grip-strengthening exercise uses your golf club. Take a golf club in your hand, holding the club in the middle. Holding your elbow out to the side, rotate your wrist so that your palm is facing up, then down.
“Palm up, palm down, like you’re twirling a baton. It’s a movement that we use in golf as well, which makes this a particularly good grip-strengthening exercise that also strengthens your forearm muscles.
A few exercises today can help you avoid nagging injuries that can make golf painful. And if you begin experiencing pain (or other symptoms), get it checked out right away. “You want to make sure you address any problems before they become full-blown injuries,” Feeney said.
Summit Orthopedics is your trusted sports medicine provider.
Summit Orthopedics delivers expert care by fellowship-trained sports medicine physicians to get you back in the game as quickly and safely as possible. Find your sports medicine expert, schedule an appointment online, or call us at (651) 968–5201 to schedule a sports medicine consultation.
More resources for you:
- Check out our safe summer golfing tips.
- Try these simple hand-strengthening exercises
- Learn more about Summit physical therapist Josh Feeney.
- Learn how to wrap your wrist