Whether you’re in it to win it, or you just enjoy having beers with friends on the green, your drive sets the tone for your golf game. Any expert can tell you that practice is the key to improving your drive, but golfers don’t improve through repetition alone: First, you need to develop the stability, mobility, and strength that enable you to hone your swing.
According to Trevor “TA” Anderson—TRX Master Trainer and Golf Performance Expert—the most important golf-related exercises are those that can help you create a better connection with the ground. “Stability is the most important aspect of all performance. If we can't connect [with the ground], we can't produce force,” Anderson said.
Which moves are best-suited for golfers with an eye towards a better score? These five Anderson-approved exercises—using the TRX Suspension Trainer and TRX Rip Trainer—will help you ace your drive.
TRX Suspension Trainer Picks
With the TRX Suspension Trainer, Anderson suggests focusing on exercises that engage the posterior chain. Start with a TRX Squat, firmly rooting your feet into the ground for each rep. If you want to build on that move, try upgrading to a TRX Jump Squat.
While you have your straps handy, Anderson recommends TRX Rows to activate the back, and—the move everyone loves to hate—TRX Hamstring Curls. (Throw in a TRX Hip Press at the top for an extra challenge.)
TRX Rip Trainer
Given its similarity in size and weight to the a golf club, you might think that training for golf with the TRX Rip Trainer is simply a matter of swinging the bar like a driver. Anderson, however, has other ideas.
“The main reason why I use the RIP Trainer is to resist rotation because the golf swing is about aggressive acceleration and subsequent deceleration. Being able to manage deceleration and to balance is probably the number one way to maintain any of the power that you generate,” Anderson explains.
When it comes to RIP Trainer moves to prepare for the links, Anderson suggests starting with a RIP Lunge to Press. “[The RIP Trainer] demands balance through a full range of motion. If you do a Lunge Press facing away from a RIP Trainer, you're stepping in a sagittal plane, but you're resisting. Even if you don't rotate, you're resisting in the transverse plane; it's trying to rotate you, but you're not allowing it,” Anderson said.
Already nailed the RIP Lunge Press? Try adding a rotation at the bottom of the movement.
You don’t have to be a professional golfer to train like a professional golfer. Taking time for a few simple exercises to develop your mobility and posterior chain can yield significant improvements when it’s time to tee off. When you’re enjoying your best game ever on the back nine, you’ll be glad you listened to a pro.
