Text Box: Source:  American Council On Exercise Golf is rapidly becoming the sport of choice for many Americans. While some view the sport as slow-paced, golf actually requires a great deal of strength and stamina, not to mention skill. While you may not have to be in the best cardiovascular shape to play golf, your muscles, particularly those of the legs and upper torso, must be both strong and flexible to keep your handicap below an embarrassing level.The key components Text Box: To be successful in golf there are three components of fitness that you should focus on: strength/power, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance. These also are the three most important components of any well-rounded fitness program. Strength and power Developing muscular strength and power is essential for generating club head speed, a determining factor in how far you can hit the ball. The box to the right lists specific exercises that will help you gener ate more power in your Text Box: upper body as well as stabilizing strength in your lower body. One or more sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise should be performed three days per week. A recent study found this regimen to be extremely effective. As similar studies have shown, strength training brings about significant improvements in lean body weight, reduced body fat, increased leg strength and joint flexibility and a reduction in systolic blood pressure. But more important, at Text Box: The Fit Effect Text Box: least to the golfers in this study, was the significant improvement in club head speed. The 17 exercisers increased the speed of their swing by an average of 5 mph. The control group experienced no such improvements. Flexibility Flexibility is another important key to developing a full, fluid golf swing. Simply swinging the club is not enough, but you can increase the range of motion in your shoulders, trunk, low back and ham Text Box: strings with just a few minutes of daily stretching. But don't save your stretching until five minutes before you tee off. Flexibility exercises must be done every day. And always warm up your muscles before you stretch them to increase your range of motion and prevent injury. Cardiovascular conditioning Finally, cardiovascular conditioning is essential to help you keep your energy up during a long Text Box: round of golf. That conditioning can help you deal with the stress of making a crucial putt or of getting out of a sand trap. Try to fit in at least 20 minutes of walking, cycling or whatever aerobic activity you prefer, three times per week. Improving your golf game requires a bit more than simply playing a lot of golf, but it doesn't mean you have to spend hours in the gym. Try the exercises outlined here Continued, Page 2 Text Box: Gearing Up For Golf Text Box: The fit Effect