This past week Golf Digest put out its List of the 50 Best Golf Fitness Pros in America. I thought we could have a little fun while at the same time prevent you from making a mistake when searching for the right professional to help you get your body in golf shape over the winter months.
5 Golf Fitness Pros to Avoid:
1.) Nothing But Golf (NBG)
- ADVICE: A good program is not just about rotating and challenging your golf postures with resistance or balance devices.
2.) The Crusher
- ADVICE: The goal of a program shouldn’t simply be to break you down. It should be to improve on where you are weak, improve your quality of movement, increase your strength. Programs like these have a high risk of injury due to terrible form, exhaustion, and not addressing the real issues that may be impacting your golf game.
3.) Go heavy or go home (GH2)
- ADVICE: As much as I cringe when I say this, but I think Brandle might be right!! All of this talk about training being bad for golf probably stems mainly from this and the last category. Does a golfer need to deadlift and squat 500 pounds? Probably not. Going crazy heavy just doesn’t seem like it’s worth it to mee, much like standing on a Swiss ball with a golf club. The risk just seems too high.
4.) The Guru
- ADVICE: Maybe its just me, but working with someone like this would just get old and suck the fun out of what can be a very enjoyable process. Find someone that is always learning. Someone that has your interest at the forefront and actively seeks out ways to get better.
5.) The One Man Band
- ADVICE: Find someone that is great at being a golf fitness pro, not a golf instructor, not a mental game coach, not a medical professional. A Jack of all trades is a master of none!
What should you really look for in a golf fitness pro?
- Your golf fitness pro should be someone that has you and your goals in mind first and foremost.
- Someone that knows the game, knows the swing and has had some success with helping his or her golfers stay healthy and consistently get better.
- A focus on getting you to
- Move well
- Eliminate or balance out weaknesses (talked about this last week)
- Fitting a program into your lifestyle (time, enjoyment, goals, challenging)
- Someone that’s not afraid to push you, but knows the limits and has a reason for doing what they are doing, not just to exhaust you
- Certifications are great but everyone has a certification these days. As mentioned in the article a few of the bigger ones are (TPI, NSCA, NASM, FRC, CHEK)
- Someone that actually plays golf. Even if it’s only on occasion. Having an understanding of the game and what it literally feels like is much different than just putting together a workout program that “should” work for a golfer.
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