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Strength?? I thiink you can have to much and being to big may not be good.
Flexibility?? Yes to be good I think you need to be some what. This to much may not be a good thing. Having surgery on both shoulders and bad back pain all the time I know in the last few years I have lost a lot of my flex, and had to change up my swing because of it. lost yards on every club too. Old age may also be part.

I think you can have too much of both. When I first started taking lessons I had to dial back my flexibility. Even now I can turn well beyond 90 degrees. That being said when I end my turn around 90 degrees I get maximum control and only lose a little distance.

If I want to hit the ball 300+ I make the full turn. Last year I had a good run with maximum turn and played 3 rounds with excellent accuracy and an average drive 310 yards plus. But like all things the accuracy started to fade when timing became an issue, so I dialed back my turn lost some yards and picked the accuracy.

All in all I am better off with the slightly shorter turn...90 degrees. I will hit more than a few 300 yard drives and probably average 280-285 yards, which to be honest is way more than enough to play for the par 5's in two.

Probably most import aspect ,Trust me after 5 back surgeries and a major knee repair and rotator cuff repair,Im just glad im still on the course enjoying this great game!!

but always remember,

"Swing your Swing"

Which is it Larry? Flexibility and strength or balance and strength? No wait! In another post it will be something totally different. It's been awhile since I've seen someone's writings so internally inconsistent.

But I'll take the three characteristics and give a few thoughts.

1. Balance throughout the swing is critical, because solid contact at impact makes such a big difference in the result.

2. Flexibility, not so much. Compare a number of top players and you see a great deal of variability in how far they coil. The key is not how far, but how well. A coil around the spine that generates maximum resistence is what matters, not how far the player has to go to get there.

3. Strength in the core is very important. Still has to be used properly. Smooth acceleration is key. I'll take a good coil and strong smooth unwinding with the core muscles over an arms only swing with a guy that has biceps the size of my thighs any day of the week.

Flexability is a lot more important then strength. You can use flexability to generate clubhead speed. Ie. More coil, wider swing arc and more wrist hinge. Other then a strong core and thighs I really can not think of how pure strength can benefit your game. Look at Tiger for example. He was actually longer off the tee back in the late 90s and early 2000s when he was a bean pole. Other then his shirts fitting better, him beefing up didnt help him out distance wise at all.

Larry,

I agree with you on this.

The average weekend golfers will not need to do extra exercise to strengthen their core and increase their flexibility. But if anyone wish to improve their golfing skill and increase their enjoyment of the game, they will have to put more horse power into the engine and up-grade the transmission and the suspension system.
I view the core power is the motor, and the strength and flexibility of the joints are the suspension.

Proper exercise designed for golf will short cut the effort so yes, finding someone whom understand the game to design a set of exercise routine for you is ideal.

Having flexability will give you the Balance you need, core strength is the number one aspect of strength needed for the whole body to coil (be flexible).

The golf swing works from the ground up so lets not forget about the legs, flexability in the legs , (hamstrings,Quads, calfs) will transfer the power up to the core, and so on.

Commenting that flexability is not so important is crazy, flexibility is the number one factor to keep your injury factor down, strength is secondary to that.( If your muscles are not flexible, gaining strength in them will make them more prone for injury), common sense

Go interview Single handicappers that have had injuries they will tell you.

Oh wait!! this one just did tell you.

Also remember everybodys bodies are different, and react to excersize differently.

Just my 2 cents!!!!!

We almost always agree, but not on this one. It might be semantics though. I would say, "you can use resistence to generate clubhead speed". I see a lot of recreational players with huge backswings, but little resistence. Clubhead speed thus is not generated. Conversely, I see pros with compact golf swings that hit the driver a long ways. They always create tremendous resistence with their backswing, then utilize it well in the downswing. J.B. Holmes is a great example of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v..

Thanks. When I write "strength" I don't mean biceps and triceps, arms. I mean the core strength, the big muscles that hold us erect as we walk and turn. The golf swing is powered by the big dorsal muscles in our back, those that turn our shoulders. The shoulders simply fling the arms and the arms fling the hands and the hands fling the clubhead. TPI is all about increasing flexibility of the core and strength of the core muscles. MANY current touring pros benefit from TPI's exercises. My PT accesses the TPI web site and uses those golf-specific stretches and strengthening exercises. They are RIGOROUS.

But this whole golf swing must happen on a platform setup by the legs and a stable spine. If our core is not strong, we will sway or hunch toward the ball during the swing. That changes the clubhead path and/or causes it to decelerate before impact. So we must stand stable. Golfers need to be strong in order not to get tired during a round of golf. We need to be flexible enough that we don't strain to turn-- . If we strain, we will be stiff and sore before the round is over. Nothing worse than limping in from about hole 14 on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?f..

This is a fabulous swing analysis of Tiger recently. DeFrancisco says he has his swing almost perfect now, essentially NO noticeable defects. That is high praise from these guys!

My teacher uses DeFrancisco's analysis of pro swings-- and tries to apply those same methods to his students. So he notices and teaches that our butt should move BACK and the head drop lower during backswing and lowering more during the early downswing.

Larry

In this discussion there are two aspects to flexibility that seem to be getting mixed or merged in some of the discussion. I think it is useful to deliniate the two.

First off a definition of flexibility as it applies to anatomy.

Flexibility or limberness refers to the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints. Flexibility is variable between individuals, particularly in terms of differences in muscle length of multi-joint muscles. -- Source Wikipedia

As stated here, "flexibility is variable between individuals".

Elsewhere it is stated that quality of life is enhanced by improving and maintaining a good range of motion in the joints. Loss of flexibility can be a predisposing factor for physical issues such as pain syndromes or balance disorders.

So to be clear the two concepts are:
1. Flexibility is variable between individuals.
2. Maximizing and maintaining the flexibility you have is an aspect of health. While a loss of the flexibility you had can predispose you to a variety of physical issues.

I'll never be as flexible as most of you. My body isn't built that way. Never was limber, even as a teenager. But I've worked hard to stay in shape, including maximizing and then maintaining the flexibility I have. It's kept me injury free and most often amazes the other guys in my foursome with how far I hit the ball at 55 years old and in my 5 foot 9 inch frame.

A.K.A. torque.

Holmes is very strong in his core and legs--AND he has found a way to avoid casting. So he spins his hips around, POSTS, and brings his arms around with the wrists still set long into the downswing. He achieves the late release that characterizes all long hitters.

Tiger and Ben Hogan did the same thing, but does it with an earlier wrist set.

But watch any good woman player like Ochoa or Annika. They weigh only 130 pounds or less, have NO arm or hand strength, yet out drive most men. And they hit it straight. The reason is flexibility and that they DO NOTHING to the club handle with hands, zero leverage, and that allows the club to set deeply and release very late with only gravity accelerating the clubhead.

Bobby Jones was among the longest drivers of his day, winning most of the contests before the amateur tournaments. He explained his ability very well when he said that learning the golf swing is mostly about "subduing" the dominant arm and hand. He knew his late release happened because HE DID NOT CAST. He avoided casting by keeping his right hand almost completely out of his golf swing--which is essentially what women do. And that is what both Holmes and Tiger do also.

There are many photos of long-hitting pros like VJ and Couples with light visible between their right hand and the handle just after impact.

Larry

Quite simply, not true. Remember Larry you said "any good woman player". Here's one of the longest hitters on the LPGA Tour with very limited flexibility (but she creates a lot of resistence or as Dewsweeper put it: torque).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v..

Before I clicked on it, I just KNEW you would cite Laura Davies, the 6 foot 2 inch amazon who outweighs MOST of the men on tour. You ignored my point that most women have very little upper body strength, cannot do even one pushup or chinup, yet hit it long and straight.

But thanks! I was suspicious, but now I understand where you are coming from. Your motive is called "perverse." Like Alan Baker, you just can't allow someone other than yourself to be correct. And you are striving to make this discussion about THE golf swing a personal dispute. Is this your short guy complex? BTW, Ms. Davies could put her elbow on your head, ha. Since you have written here that you are a short little squirt, very likely she could pick you up and carry you under one arm.

Larry

Then there is Brittany Lincicome at #2 in driving average--another LPGA player with a very short backswing, but who creates a lot of torque. But I can see it doesn't matter how many examples are given as far as Larry is concerned.