Technogym App offers training programs specifically designed for golf course preparation, designed together with Massimo Messina, athletic trainer of the Italian National Golf Team. Follow Massimo’s plan and increase the distance and speed of your drive, just like a professional’s.

Improve your golf through all-round athletic and mental conditioning.

2024 is an important year for Italian golf. The ever-increasing numbers associated with golf also show what an important year it is: there are now just over 94k registered members in Italy (90k in 2019), mainly men (just under 70k compared with 24k women), who play at the more than 400 golf facilities in Italy, including clubs and driving ranges (Federgolf data).

It is a discipline that is gaining more and more followers and is reinventing itself, attracting new generations who are bringing new techniques and approaches.

The first and most important sign of this new direction is the now undisputed need to supplement play on the course with proper athletic conditioning. A clear gear shift from the past, when muscle training in golf was considered unimportant and often unnecessary.

In recent years, the talk has been of “all-round” conditioning, which encompasses the purely technical aspect, the athletic aspect and equally important psychological aspect.

Autumn is the ideal season for planning and implementing a specific training program for golfers. The autumn and winter months are perfect for working on all those aspects that are usually overlooked during the months out on the course.

Individual programming – which is best done after individual tests and measurements, with several available protocols, TPI and FMS above all – is key to having a program that ensures a well-rounded and balanced development of all the qualities that a golfer needs: strength, speed of execution and flexibility.

In the gym or at home: how to train your body
Developing each of these qualities has to be the primary objective: Sergio Manenti, performance trainer with over a decade’s experience in golf and a point of reference for many top golfers, follows the TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) protocol and recommends an approach that first involves the correction of any asymmetries in the body – a common problem in golfers – and then works on improving flexibility, followed by stability and strength training.

Stamina is not the main physical quality a golfer requires, although exercises aimed at improving cardiovascular fitness with a view to enduring prolonged exertion should be included in the specific training.

Conditioning should include exercises aimed at developing the entire range of muscles and improving flexibility, the most important athletic quality for golfers: the repetitiveness of movement affects the wear and tear on tendons and joints and influences muscular elasticity and therefore the fluidity of the movement phase.

Another crucial aspect to consider is stability. This is achieved through targeted core exercises. In fact, all these muscles support the spine and ensure smooth rotation. A well-trained core guarantees correct posture and less back pain. However, we mustn’t forget all the muscles in the upper body, in particular the lats, deltoids, pectoral muscles and the entire arm, essential for transferring the energy produced by the upper body to the golf club.

Finally, strength: the golf swing is a closed kinetic chain (CKC) movement, but the technical component alone is not enough to achieve an effective swing. The force applied during impact between the head of the driver and the ball can exceed 700 kg. It is important to tone and strengthen the lower body, in particular the quadriceps, hamstrings, soleus and gastrocnemius.

This is a total body program that any golfer can put into practice using machines or body weight exercises.

Inner dialogue: how to train your mind
Alongside athletic conditioning, golfers mustn’t overlook the mental aspect, which in golf, like other sports, can be related to the “Inner Game” concept.

According to Timothy Gallwey, pioneer of modern coaching and creator of the Inner Game concept, “Athletes perform at their best when they minimize internal personal obstacles and develop confidence in their ability to learn naturally from direct experience.”

The game isn’t only played out on the course and against an opponent, but there is also the game that takes place within each athlete, where two opponents coexist: Self 1, the critical side where fear, expectations, judgement and all those feelings that interfere with the development of potential originate, and Self 2, the proactive side that wants to learn, understand and maybe even take risks, but is held back by the other side.

The “inner dialogue” that takes place in the head of every golfer therefore becomes a crucial component that can make a difference out on the course, both in terms of improved performance and, unfortunately, as the player’s default setting.

The Gallwey method is based on “relaxed awareness”, which is the most effective way of improving your performance by silencing Self 1, the inner voice trying to sabotage play. This awareness reveals itself through an in-depth and detailed knowledge of your own body (once again the importance of athletic conditioning for golfers is highlighted) to establish a deep connection between the body, understood as the skeletal and muscular system, and mind. Sensing every single movement at such a deep level that you don’t even need to look. This is a practice adopted by many professionals, who often keep their eyes closed during a putt or avoid looking at the hole and instead focus on their body sensations. It is a form of training – that of testing and training awareness – that allows athletes to get out of their comfort zone and therefore to grow.

Technogym supports trainers through the Technogym Golf Performance Program, the result of a partnership between the company and top trainers. Thanks to the credits obtained, the program gives access to the PGA Member Service Requirement, as well as leading to the issue of training certification approved by the ACE, NASM, NSCA, ACSM, PGA of America and FAA.

Technogym’s credentials in the world of golf performance are evidenced by its role as an official supplier to the PGA of America (Professional Golfers’ Association). The PGA of America comprises around 28,000 PGA professionals, representing more than 10,000 national facilities, in various roles. PGA members can find a unique touchpoint in the 37 million players around the world, on and off official golf courses.

Consultancy provided by Sergio Manenti, Personal Performance Trainer, coach of the Italian Women’s Golf Team for 10 years, TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) contact in Italy and athletic trainer of Matteo Manassero and other professionals.

Technogym and the Ryder Cup
Technogym, recent protagonist of the Ryder Cup in Rome, is the reference point for precision training for golfers and enthusiasts. In the capital city, the company has set up four dedicated training areas for the European and North American teams, two at the Rome Cavalieri Hotel, where the teams stay for the duration of the competition, and two at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, the prestigious club where the competitions are held.

Technogym’s experience in the world of golf comes from afar: the company has in fact been collaborating for years with the most prestigious golf clubs around the world. Technogym is also Official Training Equipment Supplier to the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA of America), a US organization founded in 1916. In terms of physical training, the company provides first-class training solutions for both competitive and amateur golfers, helping players increase core stability, as well as lower body strength and power with products such as Kinesis, which can accurately simulate athletic gestures specific to golf.

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