cross training with golf

dozu

Banned
This is quite a win win situation if time/expense allows.

Golf forces the player to become more technical... many tennis players can get by with faulty swings, because the margin for error is much larger... racket can still meet the ball, even if he just arms the ball, without all that core clearance... but if the same motion is used in golf, the player is in for a much bigger headache... club will dig into the ground all day, and ball wont even go 10 yards. Actually the average golfer, probably know a lot more technical stuff than the average tennis player.... balance, tempo, core clearance... if any is missing, golf makes you pay dearly... but the flaws may never be exposed on the tennis court, until the player runs into tougher competition.

Golf also brings better touch... working on chipping/pitching for a while, will train some really soft hands for those drop shots / drop volleys on the tennis court.

Golf is also a bonus sport for the tennis player.. if one can hit a down the line forehand correctly, he can play golf, it's such a short cut, a luxury that non tennis players can't have. The view is better than some cement rectangles in a steel wire cage, and it also gives the body some rest from all the pounding on the cement.

Highly recommended.
 

tonygao

Rookie
I would totally agree. but as pointed out by Dozu, time/expense are key. But I can only dream about the life in which I am able to practice both regularly. that'd be the heaven for me.......
 

dozu

Banned
thru the past few days of competition against a fairly good opponent (has recorded several 70's rounds, with best of 71), I realized it's true that golf is more mentally challenging.... and this should help a tennis player on the mental aspect.

I am a golf hack (but believe will be much better this summer, due to significant improvement lately), but these days on the simulator has let me feel the pressure that I rarely feel on the tennis court.

I mean we are only playing for pride, no trophies or money on the line, but since a round is only 70-80 strokes including putting, seems every shot is a game point or break point equivalent of tennis.

the pressure after the opponent put in a 300 yard drive in the fair way, or stick the approach by the flag, and then it's my turn... plus the longer lapse time between shots, can really create some anxiety.
 

coach

Semi-Pro
I think basketball is great for cross training as are soccer and ice hockey. They all involve antipating the opponent, and are often gently aerobic followed by intense anaerobic sprinting and effort, much like tennis. The benefit to these other sports is less cost, less time but all three I mentioned need others (for the most part) to make them enjoyable. I love golf very much but with 2young kids there is no time for 5+ hour rounds when tennis can be great in 90 minutes for a fraction of the cost.
 

Hewex

Semi-Pro
Ironically, I took up tennis again after a 25 year lull to get in shape for golf. Now, tennis has overtaken golf as my focus.
 

dozu

Banned
soccer is no brainer... rafa, roger, marcos etc were all real good footballers.

understand the 2 kids thing... same situation here... so I set up this simulator in my garage, for the purpose just to kill time due to this crazy winter.... I never thought it would be so much fun (I have a great retiree buddy who is good golfer), and helped my game so much (got rid of the swing flaws I had tried to work on for months)... and the flexibility is great, 5 minutes or 5 hours, play any time.
 

HunterST

Hall of Fame
Baseball skills translate to tennis better than any other sport. The throwing motion is virtually the same as a serve, and the swing is similar to groundstrokes. I've seen quite a few baseball players improve very rapidly at tennis.
 

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
I started out as a baseball player and agree w/ the similarities there. Don't forget tennis is like fielding the ball like an infielder and instead of catching the ball and throwing it back; you hit it back.

In high school as a freshman, I became the #1 player. The #2 player was a golfer whose family owned the only local golf course. I'd beat him at tennis and he take me out and beat me at golf while givng me lessons at the same time. He was taking lessons from Jack Grout (Jack Nicklaus' coach). I used to play golf for the conditioning. I'd strap my clubs onto a golf cart and run bewteen shots from ball to ball. I agree w/ the mental part to a degree. That is, golf can have pressure but it is only on you. You can learn from golf because you have time and no outside forces influencing your decision. In tennis, you always have an opponent moving the ball and giving you different decisions to make. In golf the ball doesn't move and if it does, that's a penalty!

I stunk at golf at first. I then started shooting high 80s by the end of high school. My friend was older and went on to play at Ohio State. I continued to practice and continued to play golf w/ him and his new teammates. Later, I got as good as a 2 handicap golfer. Now I have 3 kids and no time. I can still play to a 5 or a 6 w/o much practice.

I just got back into tennis in the past couple of years. Mentally I am better because of the competitive golf I've played. I can change my game to use what works for me. I don't just go down in flames when a shot isn't working. I learned that in golf. I learned that some days you'll have a slight hook or slice and you just have to make it work. Tennis is the same. Some days your forehand might not be crisp. Make it work and don't beat yourself. It just gets really difficult to beat 4.5+ players when I'm not perfect just like it is tough to shoot par or lower when I'm not near perfect.

As far as pure leg conditioning, I love my basketball. I try to get out at least once a week against the 20-26 crowd. I go against former D1 athletes all of the time. Thankfully, they are just football and baseball players. My 5'9" 160lb frame can't play against D1 basketball players anymore. I'm 39 and just don't have the vertical or agility I had at 25. I'm working on it though. I'm near day 40 of P90!
 

mightyrick

Legend
Baseball skills translate to tennis better than any other sport. The throwing motion is virtually the same as a serve, and the swing is similar to groundstrokes. I've seen quite a few baseball players improve very rapidly at tennis.

^^^ This. Absolutely.

Serving is like pitching. Fielding an infield hit is like return of serve. Lining up and throwing someone out at first base is like lining up and hitting a winner to the corner.

I'm not sure about the baseball swing, though. I think that is more like golf. The only thing in tennis it probably translates to is a two-handed forehand.
 

dlesser13

Rookie
Why is it I use to have no trouble playing golf as a Jr, took up tennis and now have problems hittting a golf ball? There's something about the strokes in tennis and the idea of me skimming the ground to hit a golf ball that just doesn't translate. I use to be able to hit a decent swing everytime, but lately I have been topping my balls alot.

But the baseball analogy definitely holds true. I was a decent baseball player and picked up tennis pretty quick. Most baseball players have some range of a "live arm". I did struggle learning to hit a decent two handed backhand though, as I swung more like a baseball swing than a tennis stroke.
 

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
Why is it I use to have no trouble playing golf as a Jr, took up tennis and now have problems hittting a golf ball? There's something about the strokes in tennis and the idea of me skimming the ground to hit a golf ball that just doesn't translate. I use to be able to hit a decent swing everytime, but lately I have been topping my balls alot.

Without seeing you swing, I'd guess you are trying too hard w/ your backswing and getting a lateral sway i.e. breaking the swing plane. This will cause a slight lift and make it nearly impossible to get back to the ball properly.

Try less of a backswing (3/4 swing) for awhile to get your timing back. Also, work on a better shoulder turn as opposed to taking the club back. Start w/ the 3/4 swing and you'll get your timing back and hit it more pure than ever! Remember this, nobody ever hit a golf ball w/ their backswing! (insert ridiculous youtube video here)
 

goober

Legend
If you only had say 5 hours a week to cross train, golf would seriously be not a good choice- assuming your main goal was to get better in tennis.

Soccer, basketball, weight training, agility drills all would probably yield more results in tennis than golf wouldn't you think?
 

dozu

Banned
If you only had say 5 hours a week to cross train, golf would seriously be not a good choice- assuming your main goal was to get better in tennis.

Soccer, basketball, weight training, agility drills all would probably yield more results in tennis than golf wouldn't you think?

all have benefits... the ones mentioned above help on footwork, strength, cardio etc... the physical side of tennis.

golf helps more on the technical side.
 

Jonny S&V

Hall of Fame
Getting off your duff and actually doing something (anything) helps improve your game more than anything. :)
 

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
Golf is fine, aso long as you swing the human golf club and not the graphite one :)

Seriously though....if I have free time and can do tennis or golf, tennis wins every time.
 

dozu

Banned
not my best day today - shot 86 at Torrey North course, 10 strokes more than my record round.

had too much focus on the graphite club... swing was a bit flippy today.
 

dozu

Banned
a little funny story i thought i'd share.

so I've had much improvement with my swing, since I got this simulator set up.. and have been beating this golf buddy of mine who has played 40 years and quite proud of his game... (I think on a real course he'd still kill me, since I can't putt).

anyway, so one of his excuses was that the simulator is not accurate, and should never have given him all the hooks/slices he got as he believe he actually hit those straight.

so, yesterday being the first day warm enough for the range to open, he went out hit 2 large buckets, to see what's going on with his swing.. and later I called him, and he had to admit (in a subdue voice) that he actually hooked/sliced some, despite the majority of straight balls. and that the simulator is probably accurate after all.

so now he's out of excuses, and I look forward to beating him again fair and square in a couple of hours :)
 

HunterST

Hall of Fame
No offense man, but you need to stop posting completely off topic stuff on here. You're a good contributer to the section, but you can't keep posting things about your golf game and attractive TV announcers.
 
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