To perfect your golf swing, generate power in your swing and for a firm yet relaxed grip when holding your golf club, exercise your forearms. Your forearm muscles offer gripping power, help line up your wrists in your backswing and follow-through shots and give you power to snap your wrists for shots using your sand wedge. Exercise your forearms with a variety of exercises that may help improve your golf score.
Stretch
Before you engage in any forearm strengthening moves, stretch the muscles, tendons and ligaments of your wrist, forearm and elbow. Doing so helps prevent injury. To start, extend your arms in front of you, elbows straight but not locked. Keeping your arms and wrist still, lift your hands so that you can see the back of them, then lower, pointing your fingers toward the floor. Next, extend one hand upward and gently press it closer toward your body with the fingers of the left hand. Repeat on the left hand, using your right fingers to enhance the stretch.
Strengthen
Strengthen the muscles in your forearm, wrist and fingers by grasping a tennis ball or a couple of golf balls in your right hand. Squeeze the ball or balls as hard as you can, concentrating on the contraction while keeping your hand aligned with your forearm. To help strengthen your thumb for a stronger golf club grip position, extend and wrap your thumb along the outside of the ball as you squeeze. Hold contractions for five seconds and then release. Repeat five to 10 times.
Reverse Wrist Curl
Using a light barbell or free weight dumbbells, sit on a chair or bench, grasping the bar or weights in your hand, palm side down. Place your forearms on your thigh, allowing the weight to dangle slightly below your knees. Use your forearm and wrist muscles to lift the weights upward to an approximately 45-degree flexion of the wrists. The back of the hands now face toward your body. With control, slowly lower the weights back to their starting position. Repeat five to 10 times.
Wrist Rotation
Maintain adequate range of motion in your wrist joint so that you can snap the club forward at the bottom of your golf swing. Grasp a small portion of a stick or pipe. Sit down and place your forearm against your thigh with the stick or pipe vertical to the floor, thumb side up. Keeping the base of your wrist firmly planted into your thigh, rotate your wrist so that the stick or pipe turns to the right, and then rotate it to the left. Do five to 10 repetitions on each side.
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