Golf is a game you can truly enjoy for a lifetime, but as you get older, mobility, flexibility, and strength become crucial for maintaining your swing and preventing injuries. Many senior golfers struggle with reduced range of motion, balance issues, and loss of power, making it harder to hit the ball consistently.
The good news? It’s never too late to improve and correct a lot of these issues.
With simple, low-impact exercises designed for senior golfers, you can boost distance, accuracy, and stability while keeping your body feeling great. This guide covers senior-friendly golf exercises to help you stay loose, strong, and steady so you can play better than ever.
Golf Training For Seniors – Focus on the Big Four
To improve your golf game and reduce the risk of injury, focus on the big four: mobility, flexibility, strength, and stability. Each plays a crucial role in helping you swing more efficiently, generate power, and stay consistent on the course.
1. Mobility Exercises
Most golfers (not just seniors), ignore mobility and focus on strength or flexibility. But it’s essential for a full, unrestricted swing, mobility allows for better rotation, power, and consistency.
As mobility declines, swings become shorter and more restricted, leading to loss of distance and accuracy. Prioritizing hip, shoulder, and spine mobility can improve swing mechanics and prevent stiffness or discomfort. Try out these exercises as part of your pre- or post-round routines.
- Seated Torso Rotations: Sit upright in a chair, holding a golf club across your chest. Slowly rotate your upper body to the right, hold for a second, then return to center. Repeat on the left side. This improves spinal mobility, helping you make a fuller, more efficient backswing.
- Hip Openers: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, shift your weight onto one leg, and gently rotate the opposite knee in circles. This loosens up the hips, improving lower-body rotation and weight transfer during the swing.
- Wall Shoulder Stretch: Stand sideways next to a wall, placing one hand against it at shoulder height. Rotate your torso away from the wall until you feel a light stretch in your chest and shoulder. This increases shoulder mobility, allowing for a smoother takeaway and follow-through.
2. Flexibility Exercises
Flexibility enables muscles to stretch and move freely, making it easier to maintain a smooth, effortless swing. Many senior golfers experience stiffness in the hamstrings, lower back, and shoulders, which can lead to compensations like poor weight transfer.
Regular stretching increases range of motion and helps prevent injuries. Even 10–15 minutes every day (while you’re watching golf on TV, your favorite show, etc.) can make a big difference. Try out these stretches that are great for golfers:
- Standing Side Bends: Hold a golf club with both hands and slowly twist to one side, feeling the stretch along your torso. Switch sides and repeat. This stretch improves spinal flexibility, allowing for a better turn and more consistent ball-striking.
- Seated Hamstring Stretch: Sit on a chair, extend one leg straight with your heel on the ground, and lean forward slightly while keeping your back straight. Hold for 15–20 seconds. This improves hip and hamstring flexibility, helping you maintain better posture and rotation in your swing.
- Chest Opener Stretch: Stand tall, clasp your hands behind your back, and gently pull your arms back while lifting your chest. This opens up the shoulders and chest, preventing hunched posture and promoting a smooth, unrestricted follow-through.
You can also try any of these other golf stretches during a slow round to stay loose.
3. Strength Training for Senior Golfers
Strength training is one of the most important ways for senior golfers to maintain their game and overall health. As we age, muscle mass naturally declines, leading to a loss of power, stability, and increased risk of injury.
A well-rounded strength program, focusing on core, legs, and upper body, has tons of benefits. Increasing or maintaining strength helps prevent physical decline, supports better posture, and allows for a more powerful, consistent golf swing.
More muscles, means longer drives, and much lower scores. Not to mention, you’ll probably avoid a lot of injuries that might sideline you.
Whether done at home with bodyweight exercises and resistance bands or at the gym with light weights and machines, just 3x a week can improve endurance and keep you feeling strong on and off the course.
Don’t be afraid to lift weights—as long as you maintain proper form and choose the right weight, building strength will help you stay active, avoid injuries, and enjoy golf for years to come.
- Machines: Great for beginners or those with joint concerns, weight machines provide controlled movement and help prevent injury. Focus on leg presses, seated rows, chest presses, and lat pull downs to strengthen key muscle groups. Perform 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps at a moderate weight.
- Free Weights: Dumbbells allow for more natural movement and improved stability compared to machines. Goblet squats, dumbbell rows, shoulder raises, and chest presses are excellent choices to build functional strength that translates to golf. Like machines, stick to 8–12 reps for 2–3 sets, ensuring you maintain good form.
- Grip Strength Squeezes: A strong grip is crucial for club control and consistency. Use a stress ball, grip trainer, or even a towel to perform 5-10 second squeezes, repeating 10–15 times per hand. This strengthens the forearms and hands, improving your ability to hold the club securely and generate power in your swing.
Learn more about the best golf exercises (at the gym or home) here.
4. Balance and Stability Exercises
A stable lower body is vital for consistent weight transfer and accuracy in the swing. Balance naturally declines with age, increasing the risk of swaying, loss of control, and even falls.
Practicing simple balance drills improves stability, enhances consistency, and reduces injury risk on and off the course.
- Single-Leg Balance Drill: Stand on one leg while lightly holding onto a chair for support. Hold for 20–30 seconds, then switch legs. This improves lower-body stability, helping you maintain a solid base throughout your swing.
- Heel-to-Toe Walks: Walk in a straight line, placing the heel of one foot directly in front of the toes of the other. This strengthens your legs and core, improving balance and preventing excessive swaying in your swing.
- Weight Transfer Drill: Stand in your golf stance and slowly shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot, mimicking a golf swing. This helps train proper weight distribution, leading to more power and consistency in your shots.
By practicing these drills a few times per week, you’ll enhance stability, control, and endurance, making it easier to maintain your posture, avoid mishits, and play more confidently on the course.
Proper Golf Swing Techniques for Seniors
Improving mobility, flexibility, strength, and balance is essential for all golfers, but especially for seniors looking to play pain-free and maximize their potential. By incorporating golf-specific exercises, you can increase distance, improve accuracy, and enhance overall enjoyment of the game—all while reducing strain on your body.
We have lots of resources for how seniors can achieve the proper golf swing on our YouTube channel, including this helpful guide on how ANY golfer can gain distance without increasing rotation, length or swing speed. These three crucial tips are important for EVERY senior golfer to know to gain pain and injury free distance as you age!
It’s never too late to improve your game through targeted training. Stay active, train smart, and enjoy a longer, more successful golf career.
Next, make sure to learn these driver swing tips for seniors to improve your tee box game.
