If you walk into a gym or flip through fitness magazines, you’ll hear plenty about “golf muscles”—the core, the rotator cuff, the lower back. That framing misses the point. Electromyography (EMG) research shows a proper golf swing isn’t powered by one magic muscle group, but by the coordinated activation of nearly every major muscle, from your neck down to your calves. The swing is a full-body sequence, not an isolation exercise.

Former tour pro and elite trainer Boris Kuzmic boils it down simply: the real key to better golf fitness is muscle balance.

Think of your body like a car with poor alignment. It might look fine, but it pulls to one side, the tires wear unevenly, and eventually something breaks. Golf is an asymmetrical sport—you push hard off one side and pull with the other. Over time, that creates imbalances that force compensations in your swing and raise injury risk. To deliver power efficiently, your non-dominant side needs to be just as strong and coordinated as your dominant side.

Tension is the enemy of speed. When your body lacks strength or balance, you instinctively try to “muscle” the ball. That tightens your hands, arms, and shoulders—and kills clubhead speed. Contrary to the common myth, smart strength training doesn’t make you stiff. A balanced routine allows you to stay relaxed and fluid while producing more force. Strong golfers don’t swing harder; they swing easier.

Purpose: Build symmetrical strength and reduce swing tension.

Setup:
No club needed. You’ll alternate sides on every rep.

Execution:

Key Cue: Drive into the ground with your legs, stay wide, and let speed emerge naturally.

The Payoff:
Pair this drill with sound technique and flexibility work, and many 15–20 handicaps can expect 4–6 shots off their score—without swinging any harder.

In The Poetics of Golf, Andy Brumer makes a quiet but powerful point: golf, like poetry, is a series of problems to be solved, not flaws to be fixed. Every shot asks a question. Your job isn’t to perfect mechanics—it’s to find the most elegant answer.

Brumer treats golf as a form of memoir and meaning-making. From late-night practice sessions to stories of family tension and obsession, he shows how the game reflects who we are under pressure. His takeaway is simple: the course reveals character. Golf isn’t a stage where you perform—it’s a terrain where you adapt.

That same lens carries into his portraits of the greats. Tiger Woods is framed not just as a dominant athlete, but as a balance between two identities—the private Eldrick and the public Tiger. Arnold Palmer becomes the embodiment of human frustration, his reactions mirroring every amateur who’s ever felt betrayed by a swing. Amy Alcott plays the game like an artist, shaping shots with the same risk-and-reward mindset as a painter attacking a blank canvas.

When Brumer turns technical, he doesn’t chase mechanics—he chases feel. Drawing from The Golfing Machine, he distills the swing into one governing idea: lag. Not as a checklist item, but as a condition—hands leading, clubhead trailing, compression sustained. His metaphors do the teaching: the “Zen Puppet Swing,” where the hands stay passive while the body moves; the swing as a continuous circle, like a haiku that says just enough and no more.

Even equipment becomes part of the philosophy. Sometimes the solution isn’t a lesson—it’s a half-degree lie adjustment. Small changes, correctly chosen, solve big problems.

The Tip:
On the course, stop asking “What’s wrong with my swing?”
Start asking “What problem is this shot asking me to solve?”

f the goal is to swing easier with more power—and solve shots instead of forcing mechanics—resistance bands are the cleanest gear match for this issue.

Unlike weighted clubs or rigid swing trainers, bands don’t lock you into positions. They expose imbalances. If one side is weaker or out of sync, you’ll feel it immediately. That makes them ideal for reinforcing the core idea from The Drill and The Tip: balance over brute force, feel over effort.

Resistance bands pair naturally with the Balanced Power Builder:

Why bands outperform most “golf fitness” gadgets:

A simple light–medium set from Pro Bands Sports (or any equivalent brand) is more than enough. Heavy resistance isn’t the goal—awareness and coordination are.

Quick use (2–3 minutes before practice or play):

This gear won’t fix your swing. It helps your body feel balanced, grounded, and loose—so you can step in and solve the shot in front of you.

Check price on Amazon (affiliate link).