When it comes to the game of golf, practice improves your skills, but developing a more powerful swing requires golf-specific workouts that strengthen your core muscles. "They work with and stabilize the larger muscles in your torso, shoulders, hips, and upper legs that provide the solid foundation on which most of the golf swing is built," explains Cindy Reid, a former LPGA player and author of Get Yourself In Golf Shape.

By perfecting your posture and training those muscles you use the most in golf -- the abs, back, shoulders, and hips -- you'll protect your body from injuries, too. Go through this workout four times a week for the best results.

1. Stability ball crunch

A strong core lays the foundation of a powerful swing and add distance to your shots. In addition to enhancing the rotation of your torso, strong abs also complement the back muscles. This exercise strengthens your abs.

Sets: 2
Reps: 15

1. Lie faceup on a stability ball with your back completely supported, with your head, neck and shoulders off one end of the ball. Keep knees bent and aligned over your ankles, and place hands behind your head.
2. Exhale as your curl your torso upward. Slowly lower to starting position.

2. Barbell deadlift

Good golf posture involves the slight flexing of the knees and bending forward from the hips -- not from the waist -- just like a deadlift. This exercise helps strengths your thighs and glutes for proper form.

Sets: 2
Reps: 12

1. Stand with a barbell in front of you over your toes, with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
2. Hold the barbell with one hand under and the other over the bar. Keeping your shoulders back and head up, lift barbell up as you straighten your legs. Pause at the top then lower until almost touching the floor.