If you like playing golf, you're going to like this. And if you're competitive at golf, you'll like it even more.
You probably know Rory McIlroy is now ranked the #1 golfer in the world. His surge over the past year has been nothing less than phenomenal.
If you're familiar with his game, then you know he's got a great swing. Jack Nicklaus has called his golf swing "the most natural motion in the game today."
So if he has a great swing, how has he risen to such great heights?
Do you wanna know how he's done it?
It's just two words.
His fitness (strength and endurance) and his flexibility.
First, just look at his picture above. He's not the lanky teenage golfer he once was. He's taken his game AND his fitness to another level. He recently interviewed with Men's Health, but here's what he changed.
His girlfriend is professional tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, which happened to help his golf game . After seeing her workouts he was humbled. "They work so hard. That sort of made me realize that I could probably work harder, and gave me a little bit more motivation to go in the gym and hit more balls. It’s definitely paid off."
Rory began working with Lee Westwood's (#3 in the world) trainer, Steve McGregor, Ph.D. Steve basically hooked up Rory to sensors to determine where and when his muscles were firing during his swing. He discovered a lot of imbalances between his left and right sides and upper and lower body. He also had a weak core, low back, and glutes. All of those led to overcompensation in other areas.
He focused on single leg and arm movements and put a major focus on the lower body where your true source of power lies.
"I feel like I can hit it harder without losing balance. The length of my driver hasn't increased that much but I just feel like I don't have to go after it as much to get the length."
And if you think it's all exercise, you're wrong. He coupled it with healthy eating, a lot of chicken and broccoli. He ended up burning 6% of body fat. At his weight that's almost 10 pounds of fat!
You see, most golfers focus on the wrong thing to better their game. The simple fact is, golfing is
less about the clubs, the type of ball you hit, your swing, course, etc... It's more about your fitness (strength and endurance) and flexibility. Both of which you can start improving today.
Rory is a force to be reckoned with in the PGA. Although a win slipped away from him last weekend he will certainly be one to watch at Augusta.
