What are the best golf exercises for seniors?

The most useful golf exercises for seniors build leg strength, power and balance. Sit-to-stands, wall press-ups, supported mini squats, calf raises and supported one-leg stands cover most of what a golfer needs, using only a chair and a wall. Pair them with gentle stretching for your hips, mid-back and shoulders so you can turn freely as well as swing with speed.

How often should a senior golfer do strength training?

The NHS advises adults aged 65 and over to do strength, balance and flexibility activities on at least two days a week, alongside 150 minutes of moderate activity such as walking. For most golfers, two or three short strength and balance sessions on non-consecutive days is a realistic target, with gentle mobility work on most other days and an easy day after your hardest session.

Can strength training increase swing speed after 70?

It can. In a small randomised trial, male golfers averaging about 71 years old followed an eight-week programme of flexibility, core, balance and resistance exercises and their maximum club head speed rose by roughly 4 mph, while a control group stayed level. The study was small, so results vary, but strength and power are the physical qualities most closely linked to club head speed.

Are balance exercises good for golfers?

Yes, though mainly for steadiness and safety rather than speed. Good balance helps you hold your finish, cope with sloping lies and walk the course confidently. Exercise programmes that include balance work have been shown to reduce falls in older adults, which keeps you playing. Always practise balance exercises next to a wall or sturdy chair, and progress slowly.

Is it safe to do golf exercises at home if I have arthritis?

For many people, gentle strength work within comfort is well suited to arthritic joints, but adjust it to how you feel. Use a higher chair for sit-to-stands, do wall press-ups on your forearms if your hands or wrists are sore, and stop anything that causes sharp or lasting joint pain. If you are unsure, ask your GP or a physiotherapist before you start.

Golf Exercises for Seniors: Strength and Balance at Home

The best golf exercises for seniors build three things that fade with age: leg strength, power (how quickly you can produce force) and balance. A short routine using a chair and a wall, done two or three times a week, is enough to start. Think sit-to-stands, wall press-ups, calf raises and supported one-leg stands, moving within comfort and building slowly.

Stretching keeps your turn free, and we cover that in our guide to golf stretches for seniors. This article is about the other half of senior golf fitness at home: the strength and steadiness that let you use that turn.

Why golf exercises for seniors should build strength, not just flexibility

Most older golfers reach for stretches first, which makes sense when you feel stiff. But the research points to strength and power as the qualities most closely tied to how fast you swing.

Power fades faster than strength

Strength is how much force you can produce. Power is how quickly you can produce it. In a study of 100 healthy people aged 65 to 89, the differences across that age range were equivalent to yearly losses of 1 to 2% in strength but about 3.5% in leg power (Skelton et al., Age and Ageing, 1994). The golf swing is a power movement, so this is the change most golfers feel first, usually as lost distance.

What links most closely to club head speed

A 2024 meta-analysis pooled 20 studies of golfers of all skill levels. Club head speed with a driver was significantly associated with lower body strength, upper body strength and jumping power, but not with flexibility or balance (Brennan et al., Sports Medicine, 2024).

That does not mean flexibility and balance are unimportant. You still need a free turn to make a full swing, and you need balance to stay steady on a sloping lie and to walk the course safely. It means that if you only stretch, you are leaving the biggest driver of speed untrained.

What the research says about exercise for older golfers

Training can add club head speed after 70

In a small randomised trial, 18 male golfers with an average age of 70.7 were split into an exercise group and a control group. The exercise group followed an eight-week progressive programme of flexibility, core stability, balance and resistance exercises. Their maximum club head speed rose from 127.3 to 133.6 km/h (about 79.1 to 83.0 mph), while the control group stayed roughly level. Most of their senior fitness test scores improved too (Thompson et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2007).

The sample was small, so treat it as encouragement rather than a promise. If speed is your main goal, our guide on how to increase swing speed for seniors goes deeper.

Golfers already tend to have better balance

A University of Southampton study compared 57 recreational golfers with 17 non-golfers, all aged 65 to 79. The golfers had stronger grip, stood longer on one leg, and reached further on a dynamic balance test (Wilson et al., Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 2023). The authors are careful to say this is an association, not proof that golf caused it, and that a larger long-term study is needed. Still, it is a useful reminder that your game is worth protecting.

Balance training protects you off the course too

The CDC reports that more than one in four people aged 65 and over falls each year (CDC, Facts About Older Adult Falls). A Cochrane review of 108 randomised trials, with participants averaging 76 years old, found that exercise reduced the rate of falls by 23%, rated as high-certainty evidence (Sherrington et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019). Fewer falls means fewer weeks off the course.

How often should older golfers do strength and balance work?

The NHS advises adults aged 65 and over to do activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week, alongside at least 150 minutes of moderate activity such as walking (NHS, Physical activity guidelines for older adults).

Walking a round counts towards the 150 minutes. The strength and balance sessions are the part most golfers miss. A sensible week looks like this:

Two or three short strength and balance sessions on non-consecutive days
Gentle mobility or stretching on most days, especially before a round
Your usual golf and walking for the moderate activity
At least one easy day after your hardest session

Check your starting point: the 30-second chair stand

Before you start, it helps to know where your legs are. The CDC's STEADI programme uses a simple 30-second chair stand to check leg strength and endurance. Sit in the middle of a sturdy chair without arms, cross your arms on your chest, and count how many times you can stand fully and sit back down in 30 seconds. If you need your arms to stand, stop. Do this with someone nearby.

The figures below come only from the CDC STEADI 30-Second Chair Stand assessment. A score below these numbers is described as below average and is linked to a higher risk of falls.

Age	Men: below average if fewer than	Women: below average if fewer than
60 to 64	14	12
65 to 69	12	11
70 to 74	12	10
75 to 79	11	10
80 to 84	10	9

Our free golf mobility test includes this chair stand and a balance check alongside four mobility checks, so you can see your whole picture in about five minutes. Retest every four to six weeks to see how you are getting on.

A 12-minute golf strength and balance routine at home

You need a sturdy chair without wheels or arms, placed against a wall so it cannot slide, and a clear patch of wall. Wear comfortable shoes. Warm up first with two minutes of marching on the spot and a few gentle arm swings.

Move within comfort throughout. Mild effort in the muscles is fine. Sharp pain or pain in a joint is not.

Strength (about 6 minutes)

Sit-to-stand. Sit near the front of the chair, feet hip-width apart and slightly behind your knees. Lean forward a little and stand up using your legs, then sit back down slowly over a count of three. Use your hands on your thighs if you need them. Do 2 sets of 5 to 8, resting a minute between. This is the single most useful golf strength exercise for seniors, because it trains the legs and hips that start the downswing.
Wall press-up. Stand an arm's length from the wall with your hands flat at chest height. Bend your elbows to bring your chest towards the wall, keeping your body in a straight line, then push back. Do 2 sets of 6 to 10.
Supported mini squat. Hold the chair back with both hands, feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees only as far as is comfortable, keeping them in line with your toes, then stand up tall and squeeze your buttocks. Do 2 sets of 5 to 8.
Calf raises. Hold the chair back and rise slowly onto the balls of your feet, then lower under control. Do 2 sets of 8 to 10. Strong calves help you push off the ground and stay steady through the finish.
Sideways leg lift. Hold the chair back and lift one leg out to the side, keeping your trunk upright and your hips level. Lower slowly. Do 6 to 8 on each leg. This works the muscles on the outside of the hip that keep your pelvis stable as you turn.

Power (about 2 minutes)

Brisk sit-to-stand. Only add this once the slow version feels easy. Stand up briskly, as if someone had called your name, then sit down slowly over three seconds. Do 1 or 2 sets of 5. Speed comes from the standing phase only, and never at the cost of control.
Quick wall push. From the wall press-up position, lower slowly, then push away from the wall a little more briskly. Do 6 to 8. Keep your feet still and your movement smooth.

Balance (about 4 minutes)

Heel-to-toe walk. Stand side-on to the wall with your fingertips on it. Place one heel directly in front of the other foot's toes and walk slowly along the wall for 8 to 10 steps, looking ahead. Turn and come back.
One-leg stand. Face the wall with your fingertips touching it. Lift one foot slightly, keeping your hips level and a soft bend in the standing knee. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Do 3 on each leg.
Golf posture balance. Stand in your address posture next to the chair, one hand resting on it. Cross your other arm over your chest and slowly turn back as if making a backswing, then through to a tall, balanced finish on your lead leg. Hold the finish for 3 seconds. Do 5 slowly on each side, swapping which hand holds the chair.

How to progress golf exercises over 60 safely

Progress one thing at a time, and only when the current level feels comfortably easy for two sessions in a row.

Add 1 or 2 repetitions per set before adding a third set
Use your hands less on the sit-to-stand, then not at all
Move the wall press-up hands slightly lower, for example to a kitchen worktop
Do calf raises with lighter fingertip support
Lengthen the one-leg stand towards 20 to 30 seconds, still near the wall
Keep power work to the end of the strength section and stop it on tired days

If you would rather add weight, the NHS suggests filled water bottles for biceps curls as a simple start (NHS, Strength exercises). The NHS balance routine, which includes sideways walking and step-ups near a rail, is a good next step once these feel easy (NHS, Balance exercises).

If you have a sore back, hip or knee

Strength work usually suits sore joints well when it is kept within comfort, but adjust it to suit you.

Lower back: keep the sit-to-stand slow and hinge from the hips with a long back. Skip the brisk version until your back is settled.
Hip or knee replacement: follow your surgeon's or physiotherapist's guidance on depth and timing. A higher chair or a cushion makes sit-to-stands easier.
Arthritic hands or wrists: do the wall press-up on your forearms instead of your hands.
Dizziness or poor balance: keep a hand on the chair for every balance exercise, and have someone nearby.

When to see a professional

These exercises are designed to be gentle, but stop and speak to your GP, doctor or a physiotherapist if any of the following apply:

Chest pain, unusual breathlessness, palpitations or feeling faint during exercise
Pain that spreads down a leg, or numbness, tingling or weakness in a leg or arm
Joint pain that is worse the next day, or that has lasted more than a few weeks
Pain at night or at rest, or pain after a fall
Loss of bladder or bowel control, which needs urgent medical attention
A recent fall, a new joint replacement or recent surgery, before you start

If you have a heart condition or have been inactive for a long time, it is sensible to check with your GP before starting any new exercise programme.

Making it part of your week

The routine above works best when it becomes a habit rather than a project. Evergreen, coming soon to iPhone, builds a personalised 10-minute daily plan from a short assessment of where you feel stiff, how often you play and what you want to improve, with illustrated step-by-step demonstrations and a timer. It tracks your driver distance, a stiffness check-in and mobility benchmarks so you can see progress over time. You can read more about how Evergreen builds your daily plan.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have pain, a medical condition or a recent injury or operation, speak to your GP, doctor or physiotherapist before starting a new exercise routine.

Golf exercises for seniors: strength, power and balance at home