What’s New in Golf: Week of 9 November 2026

Research corner

Three more recent papers that caught my eye this week. I read the abstracts so you don’t have to, and I’ll tell you how much weight I’d put on each one.

Resisting rotation beat the classic core routine at changing how golfers rotate. In a randomised trial, amateur golfers were split into three groups: eight weeks of anti-movement core training (exercises that resist twisting rather than create it), traditional core training, or no training. Both training groups trained three times a week under supervision. Both training groups improved clubhead speed, but only the anti-movement group significantly increased peak X-factor velocity and peak thorax rotational velocity (p less than 0.05), and its abdominal muscles showed a different timing pattern during the swing. Pelvis rotation speed didn’t change. The abstract doesn’t give the sample size or the size of the speed gains, and this measured movement in a lab rather than scores on the course. My take: it fits what I teach, that the core’s job in the swing is mostly to control and transfer force, so pallof presses and similar anti-rotation work earn their place next to the sit-ups.

Source: Wu et al., Sports Biomechanics (2026), randomised controlled trial. Read the paper.

Foam rolling instead of stretching: a hint of extra speed, with big caveats. Sixteen male collegiate golfers from two Chinese universities did either self-myofascial release (foam rolling and similar) or conventional static stretching for two weeks, three 30-minute sessions a week. The foam rolling group showed a bigger improvement in clubhead speed, ball speed and carry distance by the final test, but no change in accuracy. The abstract gives no figures. The bigger problem is the design: whole universities were allocated to each group rather than individual golfers, so differences between the two campuses could be part of the result, and the authors themselves call it preliminary. My take: foam rolling before a round is harmless and many golfers like it, but this doesn’t show it beats stretching.

Source: Yang et al., International Journal of Education and Training (2026), pilot cluster-randomised trial. Read the paper.

Brain training for nerves: calmer hearts under pressure, but no better putting. Forty-two amateur and semi-professional golfers (21 per group, average age 43) did either eight weeks of slow cortical potential neurofeedback (training your brain activity with live feedback) or sat on a wait-list. Everyone played a simulated tournament before and after, with saliva samples and heart rate variability tracked. Both groups had lower cortisol and higher DHEA in the second tournament, which looks like simple familiarity with the situation. During play the trained group had higher heart rate variability (a sign of better regulated stress response) than the controls, though the authors say to read that cautiously. Putting performance did not improve significantly. It’s an exploratory trial, so it’s a lead, not a result. My take: the most useful finding might be that both groups handled the second tournament better, which is a nice argument for practising under pressure at your club comps.

Source: Lizama et al., Psychoneuroendocrinology (2026), exploratory randomised controlled trial. Read the paper.