Montana Pritchard/PGA of America

Take a close look at a player during their first moments on the driving range, and there’s a good chance you’ll spot them doing one, specific stretch.

Don’t believe it? Here’s Rory McIlroy doing it.

Ross Kinnaird

And here’s Collin Morikawa doing it, too.

Maddie Meyer

They’re called resistance band pull aparts, and they’re the topic of our most recent episode of the Golf IQ podcast after Maddi MacClurg and I spotted multiple players doing it on the range over the last month.

Why pros like band pull aparts

The exercise itself basically involves stretching a resistance band across your chest, getting into golf posture, and keeping it stretched as you turn back and through. There are other exercises involving resistance bands.

There’s a few good reasons why players and coaches love this exercise, especially before rounds:

• It opens up the range of motion in your chest, upper back, and shoulders, which can help you make a bigger backswing turn.
• It mirrors the kind of stretch-contract movement that happens in your body in transition from backswing to downswing. The more you can stretch, the more forcefully your muscles can contract and generate speed on the downswing.
• It’s an active mobility exercise. More intensive than stretching, but less so than lifting weights. Pros, like Jon Rahm, love doing these kind of exercises, because it gets the blood pumping.

All of which is to say, this would probably be a great exercise for you to incorporate into your routine, either at home or before your rounds.