[Physioguy]

First off, they are not "mine," just stuff I have picked up in my own personal research. Stuff that made sense to me, and that made me feel more "golfy" when I tried them out.

Secondly, most people seem somewhat let down or dissappointed when shown some of the exercises. There appears to be this yearning for some sort of "exotic" or magical exercises. Unfortunately, as in most things, the reality is quite simple.

I believe that training for golf, should resemble golf. While you are training for golf, if a passerby looked at you, the first thing he/she should think is "that person must be training to be a better golfer."

Almost all the exercises I use are performed in standing, preferably in precise golf positions (i.e. address position). The actual training or strengthening tends to be in the bookends of the golf swing - the top of the back swing, where the stored energy is transnformed into a powerful downswing, and the follow-through, where the body has to safely slow down all that energy achieved in the golf swing. There isn't too many exercises where impact is trained - because I believe you should be mostly just holding onto the club (I am a swinger, BTW)

As an example, one exercise I use basically ingrains the movement of the right arm in the backswing. Starting in the address position, you trace the right arm up to the top of the backswing. You still, of course, do everything else, turn the hips and shoulders, make sure you don't reverse pivot, etc. At the top, you should feel very loaded into your right side. You then smoothly bring it back down to impact. This is done for a certain amount of reps, or done circuit training style, where you perform the activity for a specific timer period, then move onto another exercise (my preference)

So, nothing spectacular. But what this sort of training does is prepare the body for the physical demands of the golf swing, because it precisely mimics the golf movements. It also reinforces good swing mechanics (as long as you are precise with the movements - you don't want to get sloppy, or you will be ingraining possibly bad mechanics) And, possibly most importantly, it stimulates the nervous system, the proprioceptors, which will literally turn you into a golfing machine! (pun intended)

[As usual, an aside. I think that any form of training can be beneficial, and if you really work hard at golf, may help you to be a better golfer. Having said that, I think you get better results with "functional" golf exercises. The body will be better prepared for the rigors of the golf swing, and the exercises will almost pre-program correct movements patterns]

Anecdotal evidence is just that, anecdotal, but my clients really seem to take a liking to the exercises. It's almost as if the body figures it out, or maybe they sense that, yes, this will help my bad rotator cuff, or hip, or elbow, etc.