I swing the golf club too fast most of the time. And though I’m lucky enough to have a long drive when I hit it the ball correctly, my swing can send me flying off my center. I lose my balance and the shot hooks left or slices to the right. What I need to do is first —slow down my swing and second— strengthen my core muscles so I don’t fall off my center of gravity.

Watch this short video of John Daly’s swing at the Canadian Open to see how important a strong core is to a powerful golf swing.

John Daly is amazing. It’s not the length of his golf drives (over 300 yards, most days) that is so impressive, but the fact that he can hit those drives so fast, so far, and not lose his balance. This guy must have a core of iron.

If you are someone who often loses your balance when you swing, or you feel as if you are about to, you need to strengthen the muscles of your core. Kathy Ekdahl, our resident golf fitness guru has put a few pointers about core strengthening in the Getting Golf Ready report you receive when you subscribe to GolfGurls.com (We are preparing a more comprehensive publication for release this fall.)

In the meantime you can follow her suggestions for strengthening your core using yoga at her website, PersonalBestPersonalTraining.com

What exercises do you use to prepare for golf? to strengthen your core? and improve your torso flexibility?