iger Woods doesn't dodge menacing linebackers on the fairway, but after playing 18 holes, his body endures a physical toll surprisingly greater than being tackled to the turf.

Whether you're on the PGA Tour or a weekend golfer, each club swing you make places tremendous stress on your spine and puts a lot of torque on your lower back. The spine is not designed to accommodate the body rotating around it with each golf swing.

	Warm Up Before You Tee Off Before you tee off, try this stretching exercise — recommended by personal trainer Don Imamura -- to help increase range of motion and strength to your legs, hips and lower back. Lie flat on your back on the ground. Extend your arms straight out at shoulder level. Slowly and steadily lift your right leg up while keeping your left leg on the ground. Aim for lifting your right leg up 90 degrees. Hold that lift for five seconds before lowering your leg back to the ground. Alternate lifting each leg five to 10 times.

Experts say that swinging a golf club requires the same muscular effort as hoisting a 100-pound weight above your head four times. The contact between the club and the ball translates into 2,000 pounds of pressure being felt on the joints.

The secret to adding distance arid consistency to your game and walking off the course injury- and ache-free lies more in the condition of your body than in the brand of equipment you use.

As important as practicing chip shots, drives and putting are, so are pre- and post-round therapeutic massages and golf-specific gym workouts. "If you want to improve your golf game, your body is your biggest investment," says Laird Small, golf pro and director of Pebble Beach Golf Academy. "The game demands players to have flexibility, balance, strength and proper posture."

That's why at places where golf is revered, off-the-links programs such as golf massage therapy and customized exercise plans are gaining in popularity among dedicated players. For example, The Spa at Pebble Beach offers pre- and post-golf massage, as well as sports bodywork on off-days, designed to increase range of motion, flexibility and circulation.

"Golf can be taxing on the body," says Lara Davidson, director of The Spa at Pebble Beach. "We offer golf therapy massages to help prevent injuries."

he 25-minute pre-golf warm-up involves specifically designed golf stretches and soft tissue I massages. Davidson suggests scheduling these therapies an hour or 90 minutes before tee time. "You wear comfortable clothes and receive the massage in a chair or on a table," she says. "The focus is on improving range of motion and flexibility by warming and stretching the muscles to increase blood flow throughout the body."

Davidson recommends the post-golf therapy treatment to properly wind down. "You may have had a great game but your back may feel a little tight," she says. "A therapeutic massage after a round of golf helps flush out the lactic acid that builds up in your muscles and creates soreness. This aids in the recovery from any sport."

In this 50— to 80— minute treatment, you don a towel as a massage therapist uses a combination of apricot and jojoba oils (loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants) on trigger points associated with common sore spots in golfers: backs, forearms, necks, and hips. In some cases, the therapist may apply a gel with seaweed, menthol and arnica to help repair capillaries, increase blood flow and hasten healing.

During down times, ideally two days before your next golf round, Davidson recommends the 80-minute sports bodywork treatment.

"Sports bodywork is a form of deep tissue massage that will realign and stretch muscles, work out deep knots, and improve range of motion," she explains. "You may be sore the next day after this treatment because of the deep massage that flushes out the lactic acid from your muscles."

In addition to these sports massages, golfers at Pebble Beach can receive one-on-one training using weights and isometric exercises with personal trainers. These workouts are designed to correct body mechanics and add strength, balance and flexibility.

	Avoid Golfer's Elbow The flexor muscles in the forearm and wrists can go into spasm by hitting a divot instead of the ball. You're left with tenderness and pain over the inside of your elbow. Keep these muscles in shape by daily performing this "fold and hold" exercise created by Dale Anderson, M.D., a physician in Minneapolis and author of Muscle Pain Relief in 90 Seconds (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Bring the upper arm in close to the body and bend the elbow into a tight angle with the back of the wrist held close to the chest and shoulder. Bend and flex the wrist with the fingers pointing forward and downward and the palm of the hand facing down. Find the position where your tender spot is located, usually on the inside of the elbow toward the body. Hold down with the fingers of your opposite hand on this position for 90 seconds. Then release your finger pressure slowly. Repeat these steps.

For Pebble Beach Company President Cody Plott, the massages and workouts have cut two strokes from his now 5-handicap and left him feeling more fit.

n initial flexibility assessment with personal trainer Don Imamura alerted Plott about the need for flexibility exercises to loosen his hamstrings and gain more trunk rotation for a smoother, stronger swing.

The assessment identifies physiological limits that may prevent you from getting into optimal swing positions. Tight hips or lower back muscles, for example, can impede you from getting a complete swing with the golf club, says Imamura.

"In golf, the swing works in different planes and with different muscles," says Imamura, a 10-handicapper. "The two worst motions on your back are bending and twisting with the added load of a fast-moving club in your hand. That's the physical demand of the game of golf."

Within six months of these programs, Plott, age 52, noticed major improvements. "I have been able to add 20 yards to my drives, and have more effectiveness and accuracy with my irons," he says. "When my ball lands in the rough, I've got more strength with my club to get out of trouble."

Small, voted one of the top 100 golf teachers in America by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, encourages golfers of all levels to invest in improving their overall fitness. He hopes golfers devote more time to properly warming up before a round, and cooling down their muscles after a round of golf.

"In the final analysis, golf is a stability game," he says. "It's all about how stable you are, how balanced you are and how consistently you can repeatedly deliver the club to the correct place every time. If you invest the time to have massages, exercise and work on your strength and flexibility, you don't have to play golf in pain."