SWG is kicking off the 2025 "Spiel' Dein Spiel" season with a donation to Jugendgolf Lich e. V.
Despite a silver medal at the women's Olympic tournament in Paris, golf is still seen by many in this country as an activity for older people - with an elitist touch to boot. The Licher Golf Club has been disproving this prejudice for many years. One of the ways it does this is through its exemplary youth work. In fact, the club repeatedly produces young players who successfully compete in Hessian and German championships as well as international youth tournaments. The current club champion is 14 years old and the current club champion is 13.
In order to lay the foundations for such achievements, the club offers its young golfers from a certain level of ability special athletics training in addition to traditional, sport-specific training. "This is exactly what we are now taking to a whole new level with the new rack and the technical dumbbell from Stadtwerke Gießen," says a delighted Meike Ronge. The youth manager at Lich Golf Club is also involved in the Lich Youth Golf Association and approached the Stadtwerke Giessen (SWG) "Play your game" campaign with this request. "Admittedly, we were also surprised when we read the form for the first time," recalls Stephanie Orlik, who is responsible for sponsorship at SWG. "But the way in which the club approaches youth work and the value placed on it by those responsible really impressed us."
Extremely physically demanding
Anyone who has never hit the little white ball with a golf club will find it difficult to understand why ambitious young golfers need athletic training. "The idea that golf isn't really a sport persists, but it's simply wrong," says Thorsten Walter, regional coach and responsible for youngsters aged twelve and over at Licher Golf Club. The fact is that a full golf swing involves a lot of muscles. They need to be strengthened. But not just to hit the ball further. "We attach great importance to prevention, especially in the youth sector," adds Thorsten Walter. And there is a good reason for this: when a 16-year-old top player really gets going, the club head of his driver - the club with which the ball can be propelled the furthest - reaches speeds of well over 190 kilometres per hour. As a result, enormous forces are exerted on the players' bodies, especially on their spine and some joints. "Strong muscles protect these sensitive structures," says Thorsten Walter, describing the most important aspect of athletics training.
Like umpteen years ago
In Lich, however, the equipment familiar from a modern gym is not used to build up strength. "We work with body weight, barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells," explains Thorsten Walter. Although this is much more demanding, it is more effective for the young golfers. This is because practically all correctly performed exercises with free weights require a stable upper body. As a result, the core muscles are always automatically trained in some way. What's more, classic exercises such as squats, deadlifts, power presses, pull-ups etc. target relatively large areas of the body instead of just small muscle groups or even isolated individual muscles. "Our aim is not to build up as much muscle mass as possible. Our goals are to have evenly developed muscles and a good strength-to-mass ratio," summarises Thorsten Walter.
To achieve this, many exercises from classic weightlifting are used in the Lich athletics training programme - naturally tailored to the needs of golfers. And the new rack and the technical barbell with the two technical discs are a great help here. In fact, the rack optimises the training process enormously. Thanks to several shelves that can be quickly adjusted in height, two athletes of different sizes can easily alternate. One of them can train while their partner takes a short break. "Because we don't have to reorganise so much, we can make much better use of the time," says the golf professional happily. The rack also offers the option of lifting a barbell from a higher level than the floor and limiting the lowest point with the help of the two safety struts. "This means we can limit the range of movement for deadlifts or squats to suit everyone," says Thorsten Walter happily.
Low weight for clean technique
As with the golf swing, athletic training also focuses on technically flawless movements. Only when these are properly honed does the actual strength building begin. "Otherwise, we would do more harm than good in the long run," the experienced trainer points out. In concrete terms, this means that the younger ones first practise the various movements with broomsticks or water pipes before they are given a barbell. The new technical barbell with the corresponding discs comes into play at precisely this transition point. At just ten kilograms, it is only half the weight of a standard barbell. It is also easier to control with smaller hands due to its smaller grip diameter. "Together with the lightweight technique discs, it makes it easier for young athletes to learn the right technique," Thorsten Walter is certain. "And that's exactly what matters."