If you’re lucky enough to live in a place where you can play golf all year, we salute you. For most of us, however, this is the time of the year where the clubs get shelved and the gym membership gets renewed.Knowing this, we wanted to offer you a potential framework for an exercise program that will boost your performance and help you avoid injuries when the weather turns for the better next spring. You can hit the golf course running, so to speak, if you add these 10 exercises that were selected by two of Golf Digest’s Best Fitness Trainers in America, Andrea Doddato (above) and Sheldon Roberts. Both train golfers in the Los Angeles area and met up with us to demonstrate exercises that focus on accomplishing the following goals:

Improve mobility and stabilty. Boost strength and power. Train in all three planes of motion (sagittal, transverse and frontal). Challenge the muscles and soft tissue that matter most in the golf swing.

Before they demo them, a few words of caution: First, make sure your doctor has cleared you for rigorous exercise. Second, it’s always smart to get evaluated from a qualified trainer. We suggest reaching out to a Golf Digest Certified Fitness Trainer. Finally, listen to your inner voice and know your limitations. The amount of resistance you choose, the number of sets and reps, and the frequency of your workouts should always be kept in mind when building a program. Progressing slowly is always smart.

The best fitness trainers in america fitness Golf Digest’s Best Fitness Trainers in America (2025-2026) THE WORLD’S GREATEST STRETCH

It’s always smart to start a workout by improving mobility, and this exercise hits most of the key areas involved in the golf swing—including the hamstrings, hips, mid-back and shoulders, says Sheldon Roberts.Drop down to the floor with one leg out front and bent at 90 degrees and the other extended behind you. Drop your torso down to the side of the bent leg with the arm closest to it also bent at 90 degrees while the other arm supports you. From this position, rotate your torso toward the bent leg so it’s facing it and reach skyward with the arm that was bent. Hold for a second, then return to the down position. Do several reps, then switch arm and leg positions to repeat.

LATERAL LUNGES WITH ROTATIONAL REACHES

This is another great mobility exercise and can be done as a warm-up before you play or as a way to improve range of motion when golf season swings back around, says Andrea Doddato.From a standing position, lunge to the left loading into the left glute. The right leg should stay straight, lengthening the adductor. Now reach and grab the left calf with your right hand while extending the left arm toward the ceiling. You’ll feel a huge rotational stretch in the mid-back. Do several reps, then lunge and rotate in the opposite direction.

MODIFIED DEAD BUGS

A buzzword in golf is core stability. A strong, stable group of ab muscles helps golfers maintain posture and swing in control, Roberts says. Dead bugs are an easy way to improve ab strength.Lie supine with your legs elevated and bent 90 degrees, and a foam roller or similar propped between your thighs and arms. Extend one leg straight out, hovering above the floor, while maintaining the position of the foam roller. Do several reps alternating which leg is extended.

SPLIT-STANCE TORSO ROTATIONS WITH A BAND

Now that you’ve worked on some mobility and stability, it’s time to get a little more golf-specific. One key aspect of golf training is being able to rotate one segment of the body independent of the other while maintaining stability in the static segment, Doddato says. Using resistance bands to rotate the torso while the lower body remains still will greatly improve your backswing, ball-striking and rotational power.Get into a split stance while holding a resistance band or cable to the side of the trail leg with your arms fully extended. While keeping your lower body as still as possible, pull the band or cable across your body, extending it to the side of the forward leg. Do several reps, switch leg positions and then rotate in the opposite direction.

BIRD DOG ROWS ON A BENCH

The posterior chain of muscles play a huge role in making a good golf swing and strengthening them is important, Roberts says. Even better, this exercise promotes core stability, aids in maintaining the spine angle and improves the body’s proprioception for a more stable and powerful swing.Holding a dumbbell in your right hand, lean over a bench, spine straight, with your torso supported by the left leg and the right leg extended behind you. From a lowered position, lift the dumbbell straight up to the side of your torso, then lower it and repeat. Do several reps before switching leg and arm roles.

Many average golfers struggle to rotate without swaying in the backswing and/or sliding in the through-swing, Doddato says. This exercise helps correct improper weight shift while also training the all-important segmental rotation of the upper body independent of the lower body—and in the correct plane of motion for golf.Place a mini-band around your legs above the knee and hold a bar, golf club or similar across your chest pinned by both hands. Step laterally in one direction while rotating the upper body in the same direction, letting the trail shoulder move downward during the motion. Rotate the torso as far as you can without straining. Return to the start, do several reps, and then perform the lunges and twists in the opposition direction.

MED-BALL ROTATIONAL JUMPS

Good golfers generate so much power from the ground up and are able to move in multiple planes in a coordinated fashion. This exercise trains golfers on how to tap into ground reaction force, Roberts says. Doing these jumps will help you pick up swing speed and it’s a great power exercise for a sport where a lot of action occurs in a very small amount of time.Grab a med-ball that is light enough that you can jump high while holding it but heavy enough to challenge you. With the ball in your hands, squat down moving it to one side of your body and then leap and rotate landing softly oriented at least 90 degrees from where you started. Do several jumps alternating the direction in which you leap. If you do them fast, this becomes a great cardio exercise.

MED-BALL ROTATIONAL SLAMS

Another great exercise for power (and a cardio booster) is this one, Doddato says. In addition to helping golfers generate a lot of energy in a burst, it also trains downswing sequencing, with the lower body leading the action and the upper body and arms trailing.

Holding a med-ball heavy enough to challenge movement, mimic a golf swing, turning fully going back and then firing the ball into the ground as you rotate down and toward the target in one motion. Continue to rotate after the release of the ball, finishing as you would at the end of a golf swing, facing the target, up on the trail foot’s toes. Do several slams in one direction and then repeat as if you’re swinging in the opposite direction (it’s OK if your form is not as sharp going the opposite way).

LATERAL BOUNDS

Lateral force production is an important aspect of hitting a golf ball solid and far. It’s combined with an upward movement of the body, Roberts says, and can be trained with this exercise.From a narrow stance, squat down and push off the ground laterally with one leg trying to cover as much distance as you can. Land softly and in balance on the opposite leg and then leap back in the opposite direction. Repeat several leaps with a focus on landing firmly without stumbling.

RESISTED DOWNSWING ROTATIONS

Exercises that mimic (but not exactly copy) golf-swing motions are great, especially if you incorporate resistance that helps build strength in the muscles being activated. This move helps with loading into the trail leg, internal hip rotation, shoulder turn and really gives you the feel of proper sequencing in the downswing, Doddato says.

Stand in your golf posture holding a band or cable taught to the right side of your body, arms extended. Now mimic a downswing by first rotating your lower body, which in turn encourages the arms to pull the band downward into an imaginary ball. Hold the “impact” position for a moment before returning to the start. Do several reps before making downswings in the opposite direction.

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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com