The best virtual golf exercises to improve your game throughout the year
November 18, 2025
By Mike Bailey
If you’re lucky or unlucky enough to live in a climate where the courses close down for a few months when it gets cold, you don’t have to totally mothball your golf game before the upcoming season. In fact, you can look at it as an opportunity to get better, even if you don’t get it this winter.
And if you live in an area where you can play year after year, the following may apply to you, too. Chances are, you play less during the winter (after all, the days are shorter), so it would be a good time to get your golf game in good shape by getting better exercise through practice and exercise.
If you’ve never done exercises that directly help you play better golf for free, it’s never too late to start. If you have in the past, and recently, maybe it’s time to get back on the horse. In any event, we have identified 15 exercises and exercises that you can do during the off-season that, if you do them regularly, will have a positive effect on your game.
With that said, before getting into any of this, make sure you start small. Some of these exercises involve weights, so start with light weights or no weights at all and build up. (You really don’t want to feel a lot of muscle strain or pull a muscle.)
1. Walking
It seems simple enough, but getting into a regular offseason routine can help build endurance, promote weight management, and help keep you healthy. And of course, if you like to travel when you play golf, why not always travel during the offseason? After all, during 18 holes of golf, it is not common to walk more than six kilometers, usually carrying your bag or using a push cart.
For added benefit, you can consider using a weight vest while walking. Recommended walking amounts, of course, vary greatly depending on your age (if you’re young, an active program may not be right for you), and your fitness level. But if you can get between 10 and 15 miles a week, you’re doing yourself a favor.
2. Yoga
Pretty much every yoga goal is good for golf if you think about it. It helps you build core strength, flexibility, stamina, and power – all perfect for your golf swing.
According to Katherine Roberts, author of “Yoga for Golfers,” doing Yoga can not only bring improved flexibility, strength, and physical fitness, as well as a better mind, but also a mature mind and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing and mature breathing. These last two points are certainly overlooked when it comes to designing a golf course. Yoga in the offseason can produce some awesome results next spring. And you may want to continue even after you resume playing golf.
3. Squats
With or without weights, squats are not only good for golf but for life, especially as we get older.
Squats not only help build your legs but also improve mobility in your hips, knees and ankles. The lower body is the foundation of your Golf Swing, and it is the biggest source of power. This is how you get the ground, and it also helps with balance. If you only did one exercise regularly, this would be it.
4. Quick training
There are several speed training programs available, but the most popular is probably Superspeed Golf, which uses three weighted trainers to help the body move faster and reach higher speeds. The program comes with an exercise program and exercise protocol to be done three days a week.
The bottom line is that this extreme training promises significant results in just 6 weeks. If you don’t play golf in the winter, this is a great way to keep those swings going and increase swing speed come the next round of golf.
5. The weight of the club
Regularly swinging a weighted club can benefit the golfer in many ways. First, it will help with tempo, but it will also help you build swing speed by strengthening the key muscles in the Golf Swing.
One of the most interesting training aids available today is the Lagshot Club, which comes in a driver, 7-iron, and wedge. The perfect club is weighted with a flexible shaft designed to focus on the right tempo and load. The weight of the club actually helps with tempo, too, but sweating regularly will help you build strength. You can hit balls with these clubs because they have club heads, which is great if you have the time to practice and the driving range (think cold dome). But even if you don’t have a chance to hit the balls in the winter, swiping this every now and then can be beneficial.
6. Crunches
Everyone knows that a good core is important in the Golf Swing, and crunches not only strengthen the abdominal muscles, but the back, too. (Note We did not mention that the controls here are to help avoid injury.)
Gary Player boasted that he does 1,000 crunches a day, even on his golf course, and now, at age 90, he still swears by smooth golf.
7. Pushups
The player was also famous for doing one arm pushups, and, the results speak for themselves. He was hitting 250 yard balls off the tee in his 80s.
You won’t need to do single pushups to improve your golf game, though. Using both arms will do just fine, and you can certainly vary depending on your age. A traditional pushup is done while lying down with your back straight and only your toes and hands touching the ground as you lift your body with your arms and chest. A variation would be to use your knees instead of your toes. If that’s all you can do, you’ll still benefit from building upper body strength and arm strength, especially your triceps.
8
You can use resistance bands for many different exercises, and they are especially effective for golfers looking to target the key muscle groups of the Golf Swing.
One of the best resistance band tools available is the goffforver Swing trainer, which is a specially designed weighted bar with a loop at one end to attach a resistance band to. The other end of the resistance band can be placed at the anchor point, and from there, you can do a whole series of exercises to mimic the golf swing. Using a messmance band will strengthen the major muscles used in the golf swing while increasing speed. The Golfforvever program has a whole series of exercises designed to help you play golf, well, forever.
9. Lateral Lunges
Lateral linges can help improve the golf swing by strengthening the glutes, hips, and legs to support the lateral weight shift, which requires strength and balance.
To do one, start with your feet together and out to one side, then lower your hips while keeping the leg straight. Then you drive back to your starting position. Do a few sets of 10 of these on each side.
10. Throwing a medicine ball
This is best done with a partner. Get a good medicine ball (anywhere from 2 to 8 pounds). Facing the partner a few meters, turn back and load on your right or left leg, then throw the ball to your partner.
To throw the ball, you will have to load and not move. These exercises include the core, shoulders, obliques, chest, arms, and lower body, all of which are great for building the strength needed for the Golf Swing. In addition to throwing, you can also switch it up with Medicine Ball Slams. Doing a few sets of these three times a week can pay big dividends for next season.
11. The exact beast of Lat puldown
This strength training exercise is great for building strength and speed. It works many large muscles, especially the latissimus dorsi, or lats, which are the muscles you use to pull the arms down and lock in the power and precision of a good golf swing.
To do this, you are faced with a bar or cable attached to a machine that you can set with a resistance to the weight. Then, with your arms straight, pull the bar or rope down your body using your lats and shoulders. This also strengthens your hands and arms.
12. HIP HINGE or DeandLift
There are many variations on this, but basically it’s taking some type of weight (dumbbells, kettlebells, or a bar) off the ground using your legs and glutes, while keeping your back straight. The idea is to sink your hips, while pressing down to lift the weight.
DeadLifts will help you build strength and distance in your golf swing because they train the golf swing. It will strengthen your glutes and hamstrings and help you gain strength in your waist. It also improved the grip strength. Be sure to start with the lighter weights and work your way up. A few sets of 8-10 reps can be a starting point.
13. Hand Strength Exercises
While there is some debate about how tightly you should grip the club, there is no disputing that this has powerful benefits in golf swing. Many previous exercises will help with grip strength, but if you want to work on it more, here are a few suggestions.
Constantly brushing a tennis ball while watching TV can help. Or you can get a Hand Gripper, which is a handheld device with two handles and ends that resist as you try to squeeze the handles together. Again, this can be done almost anywhere. Three sets of 10, three or four times a week, can help you develop a stronger grip, which can mean better control in your golf swing.
14. Simple kneeling hip flexor
HIP movement is important to the golf swing, so practicing HIP Fleveres routines can be very beneficial.
To do this move, start with one knee on the ground and the other leg on the burning surface. Hold the club in front of you with both hands, then lift it straight up and hold it for 30 seconds or so. Make sure you keep your back straight, your hip is more aligned, and the full leg should have a 90-degree angle at the knee. You should feel a stretch in the hip flexor as you lift the club.
15. Work on your mental game
There may be no better time to work on your mental game than the offseason. It will give you a new vision for the future and a new mindset.
Another way to do that would be to read one of the popular sports psychology books. One of the Classics Golf is not a perfect game by Dr. Bob Rothla. His clients include many of the PGA’s best players and the LPGA Tour’s Best to create a better competitive mindset. This book has helped countless amateurs, as well, to teach them low cuts, stay current, and enjoy the process. Indoor game of golf By W. Timthy Galley, who wrote this very popular book, is also a great season to read.
Final thoughts
Then we added more exercises to our Offseason Workout list, but, but what’s the point? You can only do so many. Just doing all of this can be quite an effort.
So find the areas that need improvement and choose a few of these to help address your weaknesses. Or maybe you can choose a couple. The most important part is commitment. Come up with a routine that you can stick to, and you might be surprised come spring when you start playing golf again.
