Golf Exercises or Golf Practice – Which works best?

When you ask the average golfer how much he practices you can generally expect a reply along the lines of “You must be joking – when would I find time to practice?” Pretty understandable given the demands on all our time.

But , it seems the answer to golf improvement may be less a matter of time on the practice fairway but more a matter of hours in the gym.

Certainly, Tiger Woods gave the case for golf exercises a huge boost recently when he openly stated ;

"You should always train hard and bust your butt. Not everyone considers golf a sport and they don't treat it as such. You pay the price." Tiger takes his physical conditioning very seriously and he has the runs on the board to prove it.

Of course Big John Daly scoffed at the whole idea and who could blame him? Smoking, drinking and all round hell raising have been a pretty successful formula for him – at least some of the time.

But let’s face it. How many of us have the talent of a Daly? Also, you have to ask the question – How much better would John Daly be as a golfer if he managed to get himself into even half reasonable physical shape.

Steve Bann , coach to Stuart Appleby, KJ Choi and former Nationwide Tour sensation, Nick Flanagan has very definite views on the subject. According to Bann:

“You need a balanced approach. It is not one or the other. However, I have seen many golfers, of all levels, make massive improvement just by focusing on physical conditioning alone”

So the case for physical conditioning and specific exercises for golf appears to be a strong one (excuse the pun).

Big John Daly may not agree – but Tiger tells a different story.

Who do you reckon is on the right track?