I say this in jest, but this is often the case with many golfers, and with the pandemic of golf-cart golf in South Africa, our fitness levels are just not what they used to be. There are many countries overseas where you need to furnish the golf pro shop with a medical certificate stating a reason why you need to take a golf cart!

Golf can be classified as an endurance sport with bursts of explosiveness, and good levels of cardiovascular fitness can really help your performance on the golf course:

• Improved recovery between shots or walks.
• Better energy levels on the golf course.
• Ability to hold your posture for longer as the round progresses.
• Improved mood and emotional response on the course.

There are a number of ways to improve your cardiovascular fitness. One of them is to just start walking your rounds instead of carting, but if the idea of slogging away at the gym treadmill scares you, why don’t you try skipping?

Skipping is one of the best exercises you can do, especially for golf. Here are a few of the reasons behind my statement:

• It is a whole body exercise, in other words, it loads the entire body, not just the legs or arms.
• It is explosive: in order to jump over the skipping rope, an element of explosiveness is needed to jump so the rope clears your feet.
• It is great for posture: have you ever seen someone skip with a hunched upper body like you would find on a spinning bike? Me neither.
• It is great for shoulder strength and rotator cuff: the centrifugal force of the rope, coupled with the upright posture of your shoulders while jumping can lead to better shoulder and scapular integrity.
• It is rhythmical: there is nothing quite like watching a person who can skip move effortlessly as that rope glides under their feet while they jump.
• It is mobile: no need to brave the crowds at the commercial gym, or the traffic. You can skip at home; all you need is a bit of space, skipping rope of your choice and 10 minutes a day.

I use skipping a lot with my professional golfers, as it is also extremely helpful for a travelling golfer to pack the skipping rope so that they can continue their fitness progression on Tour, but it is also extremely beneficial to the recreational golfer.

Why don’t you document your progress with a weekly video, and over a three-month period you will be able to watch your progression in technique, duration, quality of movement and perhaps even throw a trick in there or two.

TYRONE WINFIELD/SUNSHINE TOUR/OCTAVIO PASSOS/R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES/SUPPLIED

Gavin Groves graduated with honours in biokinetics from the University of Pretoria in 2007 after completing his undergraduate degree in human movement sciences. He started at the World of Golf in 2007 as a golf fitness professional, working with beginners, elite amateurs and professionals. A year later, he started at the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) and completed all three levels by 2012. He is also an AA-member of the PGA of South Africa. Gavin joined the University of Pretoria's High Performance golf programme in 2013, and in 2018 he moved full time to the DP World Tour, where he has worked with players including Brandon Stone, Andy Sullivan and Darren Fichardt. He also counts numerous past and present Sunshine Tour professionals as clients. In a career spanning over 16 years, Gavin has worked with over 50 South African professionals and continues to grow the fitness aspect of golf internationally and locally. He has been the full-time fitness consultant of the GolfRSA National Squad since 2017 and has worked with some of the best SA amateur golfers, including Jovan Rebula, Aldrich Potgieter and Christo Lamprecht.

Dr Kirsten van Heerden is one of only a few people in South Africa to have represented her country as an athlete and hold a PhD in sport psychology. She has worked and travelled extensively within high performance sport for more than 15 years. She has published a book on the challenges athletes face when they retire from elite sport called Waking from the Dream and hosts her own podcast called ‘Behind the Dream’ where she talks with some of the world’s best athletes about the ups and downs of being a professional athlete. She is also the founder and chairperson of Girls Only Project – a non-profit company focusing on women in sport issues. She is in private practice at Newton Sports Agency.