Let the big dog bark; add 15 or so extra yards to your golf drive with this easy-to-follow training plan - Golf Special

Men's Fitness, July, 2002 by Steven J. Austin

You are never going to soar to the basket like Vince Carter, leg out an infield single like Ichiro Suzuki, return a serve like Andre Agassi, or make left turns like Jeff Gordon. Simply not going to happen.

However, there is a playing field where a guy in good shape--that's you--can have pretty much the same experience as the pros: the golf course. While you may never hit a high, sweeping 200-yard draw out of thick rough with a 6-iron, on the greens and the tee box all men can be equal. Sure, rolling the rock for a long birdie is sweet, but there's nothing quite like the feeling of making perfect contact with the big stick and sending the dimpled orb down the center of the fairway more than two and a half football fields away. With that in mind, we sought out the best in the world, 2001 ReMax World Long Drive Champion, 39-year-old Sean "the Beast" Fister, and his trainer, Robert Farqua, for practical training advice on how to have all your drives elicit cries of "Eudaman!"

Don't expect your current 230-yard tee shot to transform overnight into a 300-yard-plus bomb, but with focused physical training and a refined technique, adding 15 to 20 yards to your driver is very much within your grasp. You need only focus on four areas: cardio endurance, shoulder strength, leg strength and abdominal strength.

1 CARDIO

Exercise: Stationary bike. Frequency: Daily. Duration: Thirty minutes at up to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate * provides the necessary cardio conditioning for refining your technique at the driving range.

* To determine MHR, subtract your age from 220.

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2 SHOULDERS

Exercise: Standing barbell military press. Frequency:. Every other day twice a week. Duration: Six sets of six reps.

Form: Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip that's slightly wider than shoulder width, and lower it to your upper chest. Press upward until your arms are almost locked out and hold this position for a 30-count, then slowly lower the barbell to the starting position and repeat.

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3 LEGS

Exercise: Smith machine full squat (alternative: dumbbell squat). Frequency: Alternate between light and heavy workouts every other day, twice a week. Duration: Eight to 10 sets of 10 to 12 reps on light days; five sets of six reps on heavy days.

Form: Stand in the Smith machine and position the bar across your traps, your head up and back in its natural alignment. Position your feet the same width apart as you do for your driver stance, and place your feet slightly ahead of your upper body. Slowly lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and return to the starting position. Use a three-count on both the descent and the ascent. Perform the dumbbell squat using the same form.

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4 ABDOMINALS

Exercise: Three-step ab routine. Frequency: Daily. Duration: Three sets of 50 reps (each step). *

Step 1--Crunch: Lie on the floor with your knees bent, hands by your ears. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor by curling and contracting your abs. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position and repeat.

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Step 2--Leg scissor: After completing the crunches, straighten your legs and place your hands, palms down, under your buttocks. Simultaneously raise your torso and legs slightly off the ground; you should resemble an elongated U. Holding this position, scissor your legs open and closed for a count of 50.

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Step 3--Prone leg scissor: After completing the leg scissors, rest your upper body flat while keeping your feet elevated. Perform 50 more scissor movements.

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* Repeat this ab circuit two more times for a total of three working sets.

5 PLIABLE POWER

Strength without flexibility is not conducive to producing power in your golf swing. Here are three stretches two-time world long-drive champion Sean Fister performs at the end of every training session to keep his muscles limber. Remember to breathe while stretching. This should take no longer than 10 minutes.

Upper-body towel stretch: Stand straight and hold the end of a towel in one hand placed over your shoulder. Place the other hand at your lower back and grab the opposite end of the towel. Now slowly bring your hands together. The entire movement should last about 20 seconds. It may take a couple of weeks before you can get your hands to meet in the middle of the towel, but your progress should be surprisingly rapid.

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Lower back: Stretch out flat on a mat or floor, facedown, hands at your sides. While keeping your lower body still, slowly raise your head, bringing your torso up with it. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds.

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Legs: Use a chair (or other prop) that sits almost waist high. Stand beside the chair and put the leg closest to the chair on top of the seat, with your foot resting sideways. Turn your torso toward your upraised leg. Hold for 10 seconds.