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By Sean Cochran
Special to PGATOUR.com

This week we continue on with our series of golf fitness exercises for the improvement of your golf game. We are now at the tee box and ready to discuss this segment of the game. If you have been following this series of articles we began with exercises to assist with your putting, moved onto the short game, and then covered long iron shots.

GET TO KNOW SEAN COCHRAN

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA TOUR regularly and works with TOUR professionals, most notably Masters and PGA Champion Phil Mickelson.   He has been involved in the production of numerous golf fitness videos and books including Core Golf Fitness. He has authored numerous articles with publication credits in Golf Digest, Sports Illustrated, and Golf Magazine.   In addition to working with Mickelson, Cochran has worked with LPGA Champion Hee Won Han, U.S. Open Champion Corey Pavin, world-renowned golf instructor Rick Smith and short game expert Dave Pelz.   Cochran continues to speak at seminars and clinics around the country on golf fitness. In his free time he enjoys golf and surfing. He resides in Del Mar, Calif.   To learn more about Sean and his golf fitness programs,  click here • Training tips archive,  click here • Off-season workout,  click here • Set-up exercises,  Click here • Tightness?  Here's your help

We are now ready to discuss tee shots and more specifically your driver. In my experience this is the segment of the game where most amateurs would like to see the most improvement. The areas in which they would like to see changes basically fall into two categories: distance and accuracy.

Additionally, for many amateurs the driver can be one of the most difficult clubs in the bag to hit, causing numerous problems with their game from tee box. It is easy to understand why the desire for improvement in this aspect of the game tops most amateurs' wish lists as well as why the driver can be one of the most difficult clubs to hit.

The answer to both of these questions simply requires a quick look at the biomechanics of hitting the driver. Basically, the driver is the longest club in the bag, requiring you to draw it upon a long arc with little room for error. It necessitates maintaining the correct swing plane throughout the swing with the correct sequencing, timing, and tempo. Making an error in any of these categories will cause difficulties at impact, resulting in miss-hits and a loss of distance.

We are also aware from previous articles the connection that exists between your body and the mechanics of the golf swing. As stated previously, it is your body executing the mechanics of the golf swing and, if your body lacks the flexibility, balance, strength, or power to execute the mechanics of the golf swing correctly, compensations will occur -- driver included.

To provide you the opportunity to increase the accuracy and distance of your tee shots, we can utilize golf fitness exercises to develop these physical parameters within your body. Through my experiences I have found the areas requiring the most attention as it relates to hitting driver are flexibility, strength, and power. The development of these physical parameters within your body can assist you in executing the mechanics required of this club.

We will begin this process with developing your flexibility parameters. Basically, your body must have the flexibility within it to draw the club on the long arc required of the driver. If it does not, changes within the swing plane are most likely to occur. We can guard against such occurrences with the implementation of flexibility exercises to develop this parameter within your body. Over time this will assist you in drawing the driver through the long range of motion required of this club.

A golf flexibility exercise I find very beneficial as it pertains to the swing mechanics of the driver is the Physio-Ball Seated Rotation. Begin this exercise by sitting on top of a physio-ball, feet shoulder width apart, torso upright, and arms extended grasping a golf club.

Slowly with the arms extended rotate your shoulders and torso to the left. Continue to rotate to the left until the shoulders are perpendicular to your hips. Pause for five seconds, return to the starting position of the exercise, and repeat to the right. Maintain an upright torso position throughout the exercise and alternate back and forth for 10 to 15 repetitions.

Remember your body is responsible for executing the biomechanics of the golf swing, driver included. Flexibility is one requirement of the body in the execution of these mechanics.