Newport Beach Country Club Magazine Winter 2020 | Page 14

GOLF TIPS FROM OUR PROS
ALL FORE FITNESS
WHETHER YOU’RE HOLDING WEIGHTS OR A GOLF CLUB, ADAM BAUMANN SPEAKS TO THE
IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING A REGULAR EXERCISE ROUTINE ON AND OFF THE COURSE.
BY ASHLEY PROBST
A
dam Baumann has firsthand
experience with the benefits
golfers will see upon imple-
menting a fitness regimen. When he
first started playing golf, he didn’t
think the two were connected, but
everything changed six years ago,
when he broke his neck surfing.
“From that point on, it became
more of a personal life choice
to become stronger and fitter,”
Baumann says of the accident. “I
really started getting into fitness
about two years ago. My back was
hurting so much and I couldn’t han-
dle it anymore. I’d play one round
of golf and then I would be out.”
What started as a once-a-week
gym visit quickly evolved into an
almost daily routine. “What I’ve seen
is not only do I feel better, but just
being active and conditioning and
some strength training has actually
allowed me to become more con-
sistent and I’ve hit the ball farther,”
he explains, noting that, if members
would like to follow this path, the
on-site fitness instructors and golf
pros are available to help bridge the
gap between their domains.
Here, Newport Beach Country
Club Magazine sits down with
Baumann to discuss this intersec-
tion of golf and fitness. maintain any level, you’re going to
be able to play golf longer and not
get hurt; you won’t have injuries as
often as just that person who comes
out, doesn’t stretch or warm up, just
goes on the course and then goes,
“Aww, my back hurts.”
If you’re having certain issues on
the golf course, whether it’s getting
tired or your body hurts or some-
thing, there are things you can do
off the course to make sure it isn’t
happening as often.
Newport Beach Country Club
Magazine: What level of fitness
should golfers be maintaining?
Adam Baumann: It doesn’t have
to be an extremely high level of
fitness like some of these TOUR
pros or athletes, but if you’re able to NBCCM: How have you seen cli-
ents improve after they start incor-
porating fitness into their routines?
AB: Going through this fitness
journey, your legs get stronger, your
core gets stronger and your overall
being gets stronger and then all of
a sudden you start realizing, “Well
now I’m hitting the ball farther than
I thought I could have.” So there’s
a direct relationship with not only
strength and power, but consistency.
If I feel better, if my body is warmed
up and used to this kind of move-
ment, then I can repeat that move-
ment, I can be more stable, I can
make the same consistent swing, so
I’ve linked it to power, consistency
and just feeling better throughout
the entire round.
NBCCM: What types of exercises
do you recommend to your clients?
AB: It depends on their fitness
level. If someone is getting tired
and fatigued, it could be a balance
of some sort of conditioning, such
as using your off day to walk 4 or 5
miles (because that’s the length of
an average golf course). If you up
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NEWPORT BEACH COUNTRY CLUB MAGAZINE
that energy level and you can jog or
you can run, that’s a great way to
just get back into it.
If somebody’s never picked up
a weight in their life, we’re going
to do simple exercises—we might
just do basic squats without any
weights. Somebody that’s a little
more advanced, we might add some
weights. And all of the people in the
gym here can help with that.
NBCCM: Which areas of the body
should golfers be focusing on?
AB: I would say the three main
areas that you would want to work
on, as a golfer, would be your upper
body. thoracic spine, your core and
then your legs and your glutes. So,
basically, your hips and butt up to
mid-chest, because that’s where all
this stability and strength has to come
from. Then your arms and everything
else should follow. I teach in a very
similar way; if we can train the bigger
muscles in your body to hit the golf
ball, you’re going to be more consis-
tent, you’re not going to hurt as much
and you might hit the ball farther, too.
NBCCM: Aside from strength
training, are there any other aspects
of fitness that a golfer’s exercise rou-
tine should include?
AB: A lot of stuff that I do in the
gym that relates to golf is not only
the strength aspect but, as you move,
the flexibility of it and being able
to rotate better. If you’re physically
moving or making an effort to move
and stretch, you’ll be surprised: You
go out on the golf course and, all of
a sudden, you’re not tired, you’re not
fatigued, you’re feeling better.
NE W PO R TB E AC H C C .C O M