Most club golfers will be familiar with the scene. After a string of bad holes towards the end of a round, the player leans on a club like a walking stick and, sighing heavily, complains "I'm tired, dead beat." And as the voice tails off "but I played great for the first 12 holes," nobody is really listening.

Sadly, playing partners don't much care how tired you may be. From experience, they consider it a safe bet that the winner of the tournament will almost certainly finish strongly. While energy-levels drop, scores rise.

A full golf swing is an athletic movement placing some heavy demands on muscles, ligaments and tendons. And though walking 18 holes may not be as demanding as a distance race, it is still a five-mile hike, burning about 500 calories and requiring a reasonable amount of energy.

So, it is safe to assume that a golfer's performance will be either enhanced or reduced by the physical condition of his or her body. And as we get older, we experience increasing difficulty with the turning and twisting associated with normal, everyday living, let alone with the demands of the golf swing.

These physical limitations start to become obvious when we pass our 35th birthday. By that stage, the connective tissues have begun to lose some of their ability to hold water, so rendering our soft tissues less flexible and more brittle.

Research shows, however, that regular exercise and stretching will improve and maintain flexibility. And experts agree that any physical training programme for golfers should place special emphasis upon developing a strong back.

As we noted last week, spinal injuries are the most common ailments among tournament professionals, to the extent of being considered something of an occupational hazard. While the golf swing has a direct impact on injuries of the neck and lower back, however, a progressive restriction of movement in the mid-back will have an indirect influence on these same areas.

Meanwhile, it may be no harm to point out that back problems are also extremely prevalent among the normal, non-golfing population.

It may also be appropriate at this stage to consider the contrasting demands of the amateur and professional game. Firstly, it is a fact that amateurs rotate more slowly than professionals, both on the backswing and downswing, indicating a more efficient connection between torso and arm motions among professionals.

On the downswing, amateurs require an average of 30 per cent more time to rotate the same distance as professionals, so accounting for a significant difference in clubhead speed and consequent disparity in the distance between their best shots.

In terms of flexibility, the most noticeable difference between the tour professional and the club golfer is in sideways bending, both at the top of the backswing and at impact. The deeper left-side bending by amateurs during the backswing results from sliding the hips away from the target and dropping the left shoulder towards the ground, perhaps in an attempt to keep the head still over the ball.

In contrast, tour players turn the hips without sliding and they rotate the upper body on a more level plane. Then, on the downswing, amateurs typically don't achieve the dramatic right-side bending of professionals, again probably because they slide their hips more towards the target and move their right shoulders out instead of down, to start the backswing.

The average club player should be aware that strength is of little value, without the ability to utilise it by creating an adequate range of motion. Effectively, power cannot be achieved without flexibility.

Here are some useful ways of assessing your flexibility. Firstly, it is important to know if you have lost flexibility in your arms while your back has remained supple. Clearly your needs are going to be different from a player whose back simply won't loosen up.

Without holding a club, assume a normal stance and cross your arms over your chest. Keeping your weight on the inside of the right foot, turn your torso clockwise, with the objective of rotating until your left shoulder is under your chin.

If you fall well short of that mark, your back flexibility is obviously limited. The result will be a shorter backswing and reduced clubhead speed. To counter this, the player should employ a stronger grip (so you can see three knuckles on the left hand) and allow the left arm to bend at the top of the swing.

The strong grip encourages more active hands while bending the arm lengthens the backswing, providing a longer arc to create more clubhead speed.

If the torso turn is adequate and the player still can't approach the parallel at the top of the backswing, the problem is a restriction of the arms and shoulders. In this case, the player should make the most of the shoulder turn.

Rather than bending the elbow and trying to force the club towards parallel, extend it as far away from you as possible on the backswing, without swaying to the outside of your right foot. Also, rotate your torso as far as possible, keeping your left arm straight.

In terms of helping the mid-back and rib-cage to rotate, a broom-handle placed behind the neck and across the shoulders (see illustration) can be a useful aid. With the arms supported on the implement, you go through a smooth, gently-applied swing pattern. The arms act as levers to apply torsion to the mid and upper-back while the front of the shoulders is also being stretched.

This should be done to a slow to medium rhythmic speed and can be varied by performing the exercise while sitting on a stool or backless chair. The sitting position will afford a more concentrated stretch to the mid-back and is performed for the same, non-stop, 30-second interval.

The process should be repeated twice, as you move through your pain-free range of motion. And remember, regular stretching exercises are the only way to maintain flexibility in your golf swing. It should also be noted that if the player decides to use the practice ground as part of his or her pre-round preparation, it should take the form of a gentle warm-up, not an energy-sapping exercise in ball-bashing. The overall objective should be to get loose in a slow, leisurely fashion.

The normal mental, emotional and physical stresses of life, all tend to have a tightening effect on the body. Stretching your body through its full range of motion, however, will make your joints and muscles elastic and supple. Even for arthritis sufferers, working towards being more flexible may prevent tight joints all over.

Likewise, it should be noted that bending, stretching and reaching are natural body movements that should be practised at all stages of one's life. In this context, it can be self-defeating to move appliances and shelves to where they are always within easy reach.

Meanwhile, walking is much better for the back than riding in a golf buggy. But, if you use a buggy, you should sit on the front edge of the seat and hold onto a roof support so as to be ready to reduce the shock from bumps. When sleeping on your side, pull one or both knees up. If on your back, put a pillow under your knees.

Though the objective remains the same, men and women may approach the issue of fitness in different ways. For instance, women may prefer dance and yoga as activities aimed at improving their flexibility. Ballet is a very disciplined form of dance and builds flexibility and leg strength, both vital to better performance on the golf course.

Modern dance, jazz or belly-dancing may be considered preferable, however, in that they leave more room for individual tastes. Yoga is considered to be excellent for flexibility while the individual concentrates on controlling muscle-movement and breathing.

In terms of strength and endurance, however, yoga may not be as beneficial as dance, though it can get you much more in tune with your body and at peace with yourself.

The greatest requirement for a woman golfer is to build upper-body strength. This can be achieved by raising and lowering a weight, such as a small barbell. Though perhaps difficult at first, these exercises will gradually become easier while achieving the objective of toning the upper body without increasing muscle size.

Exercises of this nature should not be attempted, however, without some expert supervision, especially in the beginning. Many health clubs and fitness centres have weight-training programmes designed specifically for women in a supportive atmosphere where the individual is encouraged to feel good about working out.

If you love the game and wish to play it better, take care of yourself. Research provides irrefutable proof that the overall benefits of loosening up and increasing one's strength and muscle-tone will show up as improvements in your golf game.

And when your game is doing well, it seems like everything else goes well, too.