Golf is a great sport for gentle exercise coupled with an excellent social potential. But is it so gentle? In order to make a powerful, accurate drive we need to have our muscles well tuned and all synchronised. In fact, we need to be in trim both mentally and physically to cope with success on the greens.

Many golfers think they can get away with little or no exercise, but this is definitely not the case. As we get older our postures aren't what they were and the right exercises conducted in front of a mirror which allows us to watch our backs and the positions of our legs will work wonders for our posture both on and off the green. A good posture will greatly affect how we're seen by others and can easily make you look ten years younger.

We all tend to think that we're younger and more able than perhaps we are so don't start on a program that you won't be able to maintain because it's designed for a twenty year old body builder! If you're concerned about either your health or the program, talk it over with your doctor. We can achieve much better results by being realistic and listening to our bodies rather than by being a bull in a china shop!

Many of us start a new training program off with the best of intentions but fall by the wayside. Very often this is because we've overstretched ourselves and the exercise is painful and not much fun. We make excuses but we know in our heart of hearts that this is a failure and we don't like failures! You need to visualise what you want. It's not being vain to spend time on your own body; by visualising a perfect swing and powerful drives you will also visualise yourself as fit, strong and lean.  Spend time on this because unless you can totally convince yourself that this is what you want, your exercise program will fail. If you really, really want to improve your golf (and your body) powerful visualisation will inspire you to keep going when it's tough on the body and tough on the mind.

You really need a trainer who you feel comfortable with and who you feel will motivate you. It could be expensive, but, what price is health and fitness? It will also make your task much easier if you know which exercises to do for improvement in a specific area. Tell your family and friends that you're investing your finances and time in a revitalised body, mind and swing. The more you can make of it, the less you'll feel inclined to give up and be humiliated!

Most of us need some help and exercise even when we start playing after the winter. In addition, each year we're older and we get aches and pains and stiffness in our joints coupled with a general loss of flexibility. Even if we're totally fit, we still fall into bad habits which we only recognise when we find we've lost some of our power and distance. Most of us also suffer from a bit of arthritis and the right exercise will greatly help. The important thing is to keep up with any program - keep motivated!