Dynamic Stretching and Golf Swing Performance

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of dynamic stretching, static stretching and no stretching, as part of a general warm-up, on golf swing performance with a five-iron. Measures of performance were taken 0 min, 5 min, 15 min and 30 min after stretching. Dynamic stretching produced significantly greater club head speeds than both static stretching (Delta = 1.9m.s(-1); p=0.000) and no stretching (Delta=1.7m.s(-1); p=0.000), and greater ball speeds than both static stretching (Delta=3.5m.s(-1); p=0.003) and no stretching (Delta=3.3m.s(-1); p=0.001). Dynamic stretching produced significantly straighter swing-paths than both static stretching (Delta = -0.61 degrees, p = 0.000) and no stretching (Delta=-0.72 degrees, p=0.01). Dynamic stretching also produced more central impact points than the static stretch (Delta=0.7cm, p=0.001). For the club face angle, there was no effect of either stretch or time. For all of the variables measured, there was no significant difference between the static stretch and no stretch conditions. All of the results were unaffected by the time of measurement after stretching. The results indicate that dynamic stretching should be used as part of a general warm-up in golf.