By PGA.com news services

Increasing your strength will add yards to your drives and give you the endurance to finish your round as powerfully as you started. In addition, improved strength can help prevent injuries, especially to the arms, legs and back and also will add power and accuracy to your game.

In fact, one study reported that golfers who lifted weights regularly experienced an increase in muscle control and were able to hit the ball more accurately and consistently throughout each round. To maximize the benefit of strength-training, you should train on a regular basis. But remember, you do not need to lift weights to increase strength.

Building your endurance can help you lower your handicap, too. If you aren't tired at the end of a round of golf, you have a better chance of improving your game or winning. Improving your endurance by increasing your cardiovascular fitness will reduce fatigue at the end of the round.

Choose a cardiovascular activity that you enjoy, such as swimming, walking or running, and aim to accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on most – preferably all – days of the week.

Increased cardiovascular fitness can do more than help you lower your handicap. It can:

· Cut the risk of heart disease, and also may help prevent major risk factors, such as -obesity and high blood pressure.

· Improve blood cholesterol profiles by raising HDL levels (good cholesterol) and lowering triglycerides, another fat carried in the blood.

· Improve the body's muscle-to-fat ratio by building or preserving muscle mass, which, in turn, increases calorie-burning efficiency to reduce body fat.

· Slow the bone loss associated with advancing age - a major cause of fractures later in life.

· Enable the body to use insulin more efficiently, helping to control adult-onset diabetes.

· Lower the risk of certain cancers, by helping to combat obesity.

· Reduce anxiety and depression, improve self-esteem and help you better manage stress.