The Gym Is Now Golf’s Off-Season Essential—And Tour Players Already Know It

After 35 years covering professional golf, I’ve watched the sport evolve in ways that would’ve seemed impossible in the ’80s and ’90s. But here’s what strikes me most about the current landscape: the conversation around physical conditioning has fundamentally shifted. It’s no longer optional. It’s foundational.

The article making rounds this week—a deep dive into one golfer’s pursuit of swing speed through structured strength training—might seem like a niche fitness story. But it’s actually a window into how seriously the modern game takes athleticism. And frankly, it’s about time recreational golfers caught up to what Tour players have known for years.

The Speed Arms Race Is Real

I’ve caddied for tour pros, covered 15 Masters, and sat courtside for countless Tour events. One thing I’ve learned: technology and equipment innovations only take you so far. Eventually, you need the engine to match the machine.

We’ve all seen the numbers. Driver distances have climbed steadily over the past decade. Courses are getting longer. Scoring averages have shifted. But what often gets lost in that conversation is *why* this happened. It wasn’t just better equipment. It was better athletes.

The article touches on something David Sundberg, who trains Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay among others, frames beautifully:

“Whether you’re a Tour player or a recreational golfer, the principles are the same. Move well, get strong, and the speed will come.”

That’s not revolutionary thinking, but it represents a philosophical shift. For decades, golf was treated as something separate from traditional athletic training. You hit balls. You worked on mechanics. You didn’t necessarily spend your winter in a squat rack. Now? That’s exactly where you spend your winter if you’re serious about performance.

The Endurance Revelation Nobody Talks About

Here’s where the article gets genuinely interesting, and where my experience on tour really resonates. One of the most underrated factors in professional golf isn’t raw power—it’s maintaining consistency over 18 holes, then doing it again the next day, then again the day after.

I’ve watched some of the best ball strikers on the planet fade down the stretch because fatigue crept in. Bad posture on hole 15. A sloppy sequence on 17. That’s not talent failing—that’s an engine that ran out of gas.

The article highlights something Sundberg mentioned that deserves to be underlined:

“Even when you’re training for max strength, there’s a downstream effect on endurance and overall capacity. You’re able to do more for longer before you fatigue.”

That’s the real story here. Yes, more speed is nice. But the ability to hold your mechanics together over four-plus hours of golf—or a grinding tournament week—that’s where strokes actually get saved. That’s where championships get won.

The Foundation-First Approach Matters

What I appreciated most about this piece is that it didn’t promise overnight transformation. The author didn’t hit the gym and immediately start crushing drives. Instead, there was a deliberate progression: start simple, build a foundation, then layer in complexity.

Sundberg’s framework is telling:

“I’d like to see where we’re at from a strength-development standpoint and how your strength-to-bodyweight ratios look. We want a good amount of strength in comparison to body weight before we fully lean into speed-strength training.”

In my experience, that’s the difference between sustainable improvement and injury. Too many golfers want to skip the groundwork. They see a headline about explosive plyometrics and think that’s where they should start. Then they blow out a shoulder in week two and call it quits.

The 90-day offseason structure laid out in the article—lower body on Monday, upper body on Wednesday, full body on Friday, with active recovery on weekends—is genuinely solid programming. It’s the kind of thing I wish more recreational golfers had access to. And frankly, it’s the kind of thing more courses should be promoting to their members.

Why This Matters Beyond the Range

I’ve covered enough Tour events to know that the gap between a PGA Tour player and a really good amateur has narrowed in some ways. Better coaching, better technology, better access to information. But one thing hasn’t narrowed: athletic preparation.

The players competing at the highest level treat their bodies like Tour athletes in any sport. They’re in the gym. They’re monitoring their strength-to-bodyweight ratios. They’re thinking about endurance capacity. That’s not ego—that’s professionalism.

What this article does is democratize that knowledge. It shows that you don’t need to be sponsored by a major equipment company or training with Schauffele’s crew to understand the principles. You just need structure, consistency, and patience.

The offseason isn’t a time to get lazy anymore. For the serious golfer, it’s the most important three months of the year.