Best Shoulder Exercises for Golfers

Are you a golf enthusiast and love the game? Are you experiencing pain, affliction and distress in your shoulders? This makes playing golf harder, doesn’t it? If so, then you have reached the right place!

Shoulders play an important role in golf as they drive most of the upper body movement and generate almost 20 percent of the club speed.  Stronger shoulder muscles contribute to a powerful club swing!

Here, we would be discussing the 8 best golf shoulder exercises to add to your daily workout routine. Most of these exercises not only train the shoulders, but also focus on other parts of the body.

8 Best Shoulder Exercises

#1 Internal/ External Rotation

A dumbbell is all that’s needed for this exercise. The Internal shoulder rotation works on the front shoulder muscles. Whereas, the external shoulder rotation focuses on the back shoulder muscles.

  Internal Rotation – How to do it:

1. Lay flat at your back with straight legs
2. Grab a dumbbell with your left hand
3. Put your left elbow against your body as far as you can
4. Raise the dumbbell by bending your elbow slowly. Continue raising till it points towards the ceiling
5. You palm should face inwards as you do so
6. Gradually lower your arm back to its starting position
7. Repeat

External Rotation – How to do it:

1. Lay down and rest your head on your left palm.
2. You may lay your head on your left shoulder in case you have any neck or back problems
3. Put the right elbow against your hips
4. Grab a dumbbell with your right hand
5. Lift the weight about 90 degrees so that your arm becomes parallel to the floor
6. Slowly lower your arm back to its initial position
7. Repeat

Benefits: 

• Builds up rotator cuff muscles
• Improves posture
• Strengthens the shoulder muscles

For a hands-on experience of doing this exercise properly, you should watch the following video:

#2: BENCH PRESS

You would need a bench and a barbell for this exercise. This exercise works the chest muscles, shoulders and the triceps. Here are a few steps that you shall follow to do this exercise properly:

How to do it:

1. Make sure that the bench and the bar are aligned with each other
2. Lay down on the bench. Position yourself in a way that the bar is exactly above your eyes
3. Place your feet exactly below your knees
4. Grab the bar with a tight grip
5. Tighten your core
6. Lift the bar straight up through full arm extension
7. Lower the bar till your chest. Breathe in as you do so
8. Breathing out, raise the bar again through full arm extension
9. Repeat

Benefits:

• Strengthen the triceps.
• Increases upper body push strength.
• Improves shoulder strength

For a hands-on experience of doing this exercise properly, you should watch the following video:

#3: The Kneeling Rock-Back with T-spine rotation

This exercise is a perfect one to loosen your back, open up your rib cage, and to flex your shoulder muscles. Here are a few steps that you shall follow to do this exercise properly:

How to do it:

1. Get in an all-fours position on the ground
2. Spread your knees as wide as you can
3. Extend your back as close to your knees as possible
4. Slide your palms forward at about a 45-degree angle
5. Align your head with your spine. Straighten your back
6. Put your right hand on your right ear
7. Push your bent elbow away from the floor.
8. Continue raising till your bent elbow faces the ceiling
9. Hold this position for a second.
10. Return your elbow back to your left arm
11. Repeat

  Benefits:

• Prevents rotator cuff injury
• Opens up the shoulders
• Improves mobility and flexibility

For a hands-on experience of doing this exercise properly, you should watch the following video:

More Helpful Articles for Golf Fitness:

• Best Tricep Exercises for Golf
• Best Bicep Exercises for Golf
• Best Core Exercises for Power Golf Swings

#4 Push Ups

Pushups is a compound exercise and works on chest muscles, shoulders, arms and triceps. Follow the below-mentioned steps to do this exercise properly.

How to do it:

1. Put your hands down on the floor and raise your body from the ground through full arm extension
2. Stretch your body such that your back and hip are straight and in line with each other.
3. Lower your body towards the ground
4. Lift your body back up to the starting position
5. Repeat

Benefits:

• Increases stamina
• Strengthens the shoulders
• Strengthens the core muscles.

For a hands-on experience of doing this exercise properly, you should watch the following video:

#5 Dumbbell Bent-Over Rows (Single-Arm)

This exercise focuses on your back and shoulder muscles. Follow the below-mentioned steps to do this exercise properly.

How to do it:

1. Place your right leg on a flat bench
2. Grab the bench’s front with your right hand
3. Extend your left leg away from your body
4. Align your head with your back. Maintain a straight back throughout this exercise
5. Grab the dumbbell with your left arm. Keep your wrist straight as you do so.
6. Lift the dumbbell up till your armpit. Breathe out as you do so.
7. Breathe in and lower the weight back to the starting position. Don’t allow your elbow to extend fully
8. Repeat this procedure for the other side

Benefits:

• Builds a strong back.
• Strengthens the shoulder muscles
• Strengthens the upper arms and core.

For a hands-on experience of doing this exercise properly, you should watch the following video:

  #6 Dumbbell Bench Press

The dumbbell bench press works on the shoulder, triceps and chest muscles. Follow the below-mentioned steps to do this exercise properly.

How to do it:

1. Lay down on a bench
2. Push your knees out
3. Place your feet a little beyond your knees
4. Grab a dumbbell in each hand
5. Position your arms at a 45-degree angle
6. Raise the dumbbells through full extension of your arms. Breathe out as you do so.
7. Breathe in and lower your arms till the dumbbells touch your shoulders
8. Repeat

Benefits:

• Builds up the chest muscles
• Strengthens the shoulders
• Strengthens the triceps

For a hands-on experience of doing this exercise properly, you should watch the following video:

 #7 Sword Pulls

Sword pulls is a great exercise to improve your mobility. Follow the below-mentioned steps to do this exercise properly.

How to do it:

1. Stand straight and grab a dumbbell in your right hand
2. Start the exercise by lifting the dumbbell from your left knee
3. Raise the dumbbell to the side through full arm extension
4. Return to the starting position
5. Repeat this procedure for the other side

Benefits:

• Increases shoulder mobility
• Strengthens the shoulder

You can watch the below video for exact demonstration of the exercise

#8 Shoulder Wall Slides

This exercise especially works on your shoulders and upper body. Follow the below-mentioned steps to do this exercise properly.

How to do it:

1. Stand against a wall with your hips, upper back and head touching the wall.
2. Push your shoulder blades backward
3. Place your wrists and elbows against the wall
4. Gently apply pressure against the wall and raise your arms. Breathe in as you do so
5. Breathe out and lower your arms back to the starting position. Squeeze your shoulders back and down
6. Repeat

  Benefits:

• Increases shoulder mobility.
• Builds upper back muscles.
• Pumps the traps

You can watch the below video for exact demonstration of the exercise:

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Thanks for reading today’s article!

Nick Foy – Golf Instructor