5 Exercises I Have My Junior Golfers Do to Build On-Course Endurance
A junior golfer’s conditioning guide from JPGA
I’ve lost count of how many talented juniors I’ve watched fall apart on the back nine, not because their swing broke down, but because their body did. A kid can have a beautiful, repeatable motion on the range and still lose four strokes over 18 holes simply because their legs are shot and their focus goes with them.
That’s the part nobody tells young golfers when they’re starting out: endurance isn’t a nice to have. It’s the difference between the swing you rehearsed on hole 1 and the swing you’re stuck with on hole 16. I see it every season at Junior Players Golf Academy, which is why our junior training program treats physical conditioning as part of the golf lesson, not something separate from it.
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Below are the 5 exercises I actually use with our players, why each one earns its spot in the program, and a few things I tell parents that matter just as much as the reps themselves.
Why Endurance Quietly Decides Who Wins a Round?
A round of golf isn’t one athletic movement. It’s 60 to 100-plus full-effort swings, four to five miles of walking, often on hilly or uneven ground, often while carrying or pulling a bag, spread across four hours or more. Add in summer heat, tournament nerves, and the mental load of tracking a scorecard, and you’ve got a sport that quietly demands a lot more stamina than people give it credit for.
Fatigue doesn’t happen all at once. It shows up in small ways. A player’s swing may feel rushed, their timing may be slightly off, or they might miss an easy putt because they’re not fully focused. By the time they realize they’re tired, their swing has already started to change. That’s why I prefer building a junior’s endurance at the start of the season instead of trying to fix these problems later.
A good swing is important, but it’s no use if it falls apart by the last few holes. That’s why we combine our swing fundamentals program with these endurance exercises, so players can stay strong for the entire round.
The 5 Exercises for Endurance
1. Interval Cardio, Not Steady-State Cardio
Steady jogging builds a base, but golf itself isn’t steady. It’s short bursts of intensity (the swing, the walk up a hill) followed by recovery (the walk down the fairway). I have players train that same pattern instead of just logging miles.
How do I coach it?
- 5-minute light jog warm-up
- 6 to 8 rounds of 1 minute hard effort followed by 2 minutes of walking or light jogging
- 5-minute cool-down walk
Why does it matter?
Interval work trains the body to recover quickly between efforts, which is exactly what a round demands: swing, walk, recover, repeat, for four hours straight. I usually have players build up to this twice a week during the season and three times a week in the off-season.
2. Medicine Ball Rotational Throws
The golf swing is a rotational, whole-body movement, and the muscles that create that rotation (obliques, lower back, hips) are the first to fatigue late in a round if they’re undertrained.
How do I coach it?
- Stand side-on to a wall, a few feet away, medicine ball held at hip height
- Rotate through the hips and throw the ball into the wall with control
- Catch the rebound and reset before the next rep
- 10 reps per side, 3 sets total
Why does it matter?
It builds rotational endurance specifically, so swing 80 still has close to the same core stability as swing 1. Most juniors I coach notice this one first, usually as “my back doesn’t ache anymore on the last few holes.”
3. Bodyweight or Loaded Squats
Golfers cover miles of ground, often walking hilly or uneven terrain while carrying or pulling a bag. Tired legs don’t just slow a player down; they cost them the stable base a swing is built on.
How do I coach it?
- Feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, hips sitting back like lowering into a chair
- 15 to 20 reps per set, 3 to 4 sets
- Once bodyweight feels easy, add a light dumbbell or kettlebell for resistance
Why does it matter?
Stronger legs delay the fatigue that shows up as poor weight transfer and lost balance late in a round, which is one of the more common swing faults we work on correcting during private lessons.
4. Plank Variations (Forearm Plank with Shoulder Taps)
Posture holds a swing together. A player who’s slouching by hole 15 has already lost part of their swing before they even take the club back.
How do I coach it?
- Get into a forearm plank, body in a straight line from head to heels
- Alternate tapping one hand to the opposite shoulder while keeping the hips still
- 20 total taps, rest, then repeat for 3 sets
Why does it matter?
Core and shoulder endurance keeps posture, and therefore swing mechanics, consistent from the first tee to the last green. This is one of the easiest exercises for parents to supervise at home between our on-course sessions.
5. Weighted Walking Lunges
This is the closest gym exercise to what a golfer’s legs actually do on course: repeated single-leg loading while walking, often with weight on their back or a bag on their shoulder.
How do I coach it?
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand
- Step forward into a lunge, letting the back knee hover just above the ground
- Push off the front leg into the next step forward
- 10 to 12 steps per leg, 3 sets
Why does it matter?
It builds the specific muscular endurance in the glutes, quads, and hamstrings that keeps legs steady on the 18th hole the way they were on the first.
A Sample Week for a Junior Golfer
I get asked a lot how to fit this in around practice and school. Here’s roughly how I’ll lay it out for a player during the season, adjusting based on tournament schedule:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Monday | Interval cardio + planks |
| Wednesday | Squats + medicine ball throws |
| Friday | Walking lunges + light mobility work |
| Weekend | Play or tournament, focus on hydration & pacing |
This isn’t a rigid template. Some weeks I’ll swap days around a tournament, or drop volume entirely if a player is dealing with school exams or fatigue. The goal is consistency across a season, not perfection in any single week.
What I Tell Parents: It's Not Just the Gym Work
Exercises matter, but I’ve also coached plenty of physically fit juniors who still faded late in a round because of two things I emphasize just as much as the reps above.
- Hydration and fueling: A player who hasn’t had water or a snack since the turn is running on empty by hole 15, no matter how strong their legs are. I have players carry a refillable bottle and a simple snack (a banana, a granola bar) for every round over two hours.
- Mobility work: A few minutes of stretching or yoga before and after a round keeps players loose enough to keep generating a full turn even when they’re tired. We touch on this briefly during warm-ups in our group clinics, but it’s worth building into a home routine too.
Progression matters as well. I have players add reps, sets, or weight gradually rather than jumping in too hard, too fast. Endurance training that causes an injury defeats the entire purpose of doing it.
A quick note: If your junior is returning from an injury or has an underlying health condition, check with a doctor or physical therapist before starting a new conditioning program. That’s just good practice, and not something we can advise on remotely.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should a junior golfer do these exercises?
I generally have players train 2 to 3 times a week during the season and can push closer to 4 in the off-season, when there’s no tournament fatigue to manage. Rest days matter as much as training days, especially for younger players still developing.
What age should a junior start endurance training for golf?
Most of the exercises above are safe for players around 10 and up, using bodyweight only until their coach or a trainer confirms they’re ready for added weight. Younger players can still benefit from the interval cardio and mobility pieces without any loading at all.
Will strength training hurt a junior's swing or slow their growth?
No, not when it’s programmed appropriately. Bodyweight and lightly loaded strength work is widely considered safe for young athletes and, if anything, tends to support better swing mechanics by improving stability and control. I’d still recommend working with a coach or trainer familiar with youth athletes rather than copying an adult program.
How long before a player notices a difference on the course?
Most of the juniors I coach start noticing steadier ball-striking in the back nine within 4 to 6 weeks of consistent training, though it varies by player and how much golf they’re already playing.
Can these exercises be done at home without a gym?
Yes. All five only need a small amount of space, and only the squats and lunges benefit from added weight, which a couple of light dumbbells or a loaded backpack can cover. None of it requires a gym membership.
Where This Comes From?
This isn’t a generic fitness list pulled from a magazine. It’s the conditioning framework I actually use with players at Junior Players Golf Academy (JPGA), refined over 30+ years of coaching junior golfers at every level. If you’d like to see it built into a complete training plan rather than five exercises done in isolation, take a look at our junior training programs.
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