COBRA Golf Get Fast Go Low in 2019 – Fitness

Editor Mike Harris turns his attention to fitness in the third phase of his quest for improvement with the help of COBRA Puma Golf…

(Image credit: Tom Miles)

Editor Mike Harris turns his attention to fitness in the third phase of his quest for improvement with the help of COBRA Puma Golf with this COBRA Golf Get Fast Go Low Fitness instalment...

COBRA Golf Get Fast Go Low - Fitness

Throughout 2019, GM editor Mike Harris has immersed himself in a comprehensive ‘Get Fast Go Low’ campaign with COBRA PUMA Golf, eager to get his faltering golf game back on track.

Mike in action during his full driver-to-wedge COBRA Golf fitting in March

Phase one saw a full COBRA Golf driver-to-wedge custom-fitting in March while phase two saw Mike receiving expert swing advice from the brand’s popular YouTube coach, Alex Elliott.

Alex manouevres Mike's club further away from him on the takeaway to help create more width

In phase three, Mike turned his attention to fitness, looking to build on some of the Theraband exercises Alex introduced during his lesson. “The stretching work with the Theraband has really helped,” Mike told Alex, “not so much in terms of scores yet, but I’m definitely hitting it further off the tee and am hitting my irons better as a result of improved flexibility.”

Alex expanded on the Theraband work he had introduced Mike to during his initial lesson

“I think the important thing about fitness is understanding that sometimes our body limits how we can swing the golf club,” Alex explained. “If you’ve got a shoulder injury, for example, it may limit your ability to release the club. It’s about understanding what stretches and mobility exercises we can actually do to improve our body, and hopefully the way we swing.

Alex demonstrated some golf-specific stretching exercises focusing on the thoracic spine

"You don’t have to swing it or be like Brooks Koepka, but rather in the best physical shape for you so you can swing it the best you can. It’s understanding the limitations of your body and how you can improve things a little to find those marginal gains on the course.”

Mike worked on dumbbell deadlifts to strengthen his glutes and hamstrings and improve his golf swing posture

You can watch demonstrations of the specific exercises Mike worked on with Alex in the video accompanying this story.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response