For amateur golfers, golf doesn’t normally demand that the players be in top physical condition to enjoy the game. On the other hand, an out-of-shape golfer rarely plays as well as he or she could with just a little more attention to exercise and diet.

Some people are dead tired after an 18 hole round, even on a course that required carts. If they’re that beat while riding a cart all day, they should pick up the signal that they should do something about it.

Golf Fit is for those who need a basic primer on how to become more flexible and in better shape than they’ve been in years. If you’re already enrolled in an exercise program combined with strength exercises such as those described in The Golfer's Two-Minute Workout, you won’t find anything new here. However, if you have no clue how easy it is to get started on the way to better physical fitness for golf and life, this book is for you.

Clay Harrow is a physical fitness trainer. He lays out in easy to understand words and pictures a series of straightforward exercises to build flexibility and strength in all the major muscle groups, without using weights or other devices. All one needs is some space to move about and perhaps an exercise mat or other appropriate surface.

Harrow describes three basic programs. The first is a warm-up routine that is useful in two ways—it’s good to do these just before a round, and also good to do these before you start on the other two programs.

The second program is a set of exercises aimed at increasing flexibility. The third program illustrates a series of strengthening routines, done at first without any equipment. As the golfer’s strength improves, the routines are designed to use light barbells to increase the intensity of the workout.

After going through these basics, Harrow then shows how to use short versions of the routines to save time and maintain fitness. As a personal trainer, he knows how difficult it is for non-athletic people to change the habits of many years to incorporate a fitness regimen into their daily lives. The short routines should help people keep up with the programs without using up large blocks of time.

The text is fairly basic, and the photographs are a good way to confirm proper positioning during the exercises. Photocopies of the basic routine pages taped to the basement wall would be a good way to keep the images in view during the short workouts.

Is this the best book on exercise ever written? No. Nonetheless, Golf Fit will help those who need a basic fitness course, and its stress on flexibility and warming up is good.

Review date: May 12, 1999

Golf Fit

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