I have been a certified personal trainer since 2006 and have conducted remote coaching since 2010. Today, as the founder of Superior Fitness Solutions, roughly two-thirds of my engagement with clients is in person, with the rest being via online platforms.
As fitness in golf continues to grow, I pride myself on positively impacting my clients' overall health and well-being, and my goal is to feel like I’m giving twice as much value as what I am charging a client. I also strive to be my client's biggest fan, working with a lot of youth athletes, and always make it a point to watch them play their sport. I recently prepared a client for a bodybuilding contest over 24 weeks and went out of town for the weekend to support him.
But these are just some of the ways I go above and beyond what some other coaches might do. When it comes to golfers, one of the things that sets me apart is the ability to create the most efficient program possible. I need to know what they want to accomplish, how many days/week they can commit to and for how many minutes each of those sessions can be. With that information, I put them through a TPI screen and build an outstanding program.
One golf-specific program that has been very successful is a collaboration I have enjoyed with Rati Thamcharoneket (pictured right). Rati and I worked together in the pro shop at Maple Meadows Golf Course of the DuPage County Forest Preserve in Wood Dale, Illinois. It was a part-time industry role for both of us, and I am still a part of the team there. It's great for marketing and meeting new clients. Plus, some of the greatest people I have ever met are part of the team there.
Rati was transitioning into coaching more than playing at the time and was working for GOLFTEC. He eventually took the leap into coaching on his own full-time and hasn't slowed down since. In fact, he’s the most popular golf coach in the Chicagoland area because he can help anyone from a beginner to a scratch golfer improve their golf game while making the process fun. His attention to detail and his efforts with remote clients are second to none. He will respond to clients with a club in his hand, giving them a drill from anywhere - the gym, the parking lot, the range, the airport, a hotel room, his living room or wherever he is at the time.
Together, we have created The Ultimate Golf Program. This program can be done online or in person and offers a Lite option and an All-In option. The Lite Plan consists of one fitness session and one golf lesson, a TPI screen, a custom workout plan and personalized instruction and drills.
The All-In Plan includes four fitness sessions and four golf lessons, as well as the TPI screen, custom workout and personalized instruction and drills. Both plans include a 24/7 group chat to answer any questions clients may have between sessions. Implemented this past winter, The Ultimate Golf Program continues to be popular as we head into a new golf season here in Chicago.
Whether it’s this or any of my other programs and services, I believe in the “Assess, Don’t Guess” mantra. Every golfer I work with goes through a physical TPI screen to help gather the information needed to make an optimal program. I am continuously re-evaluating my in-person clients and make it a point to have progressions of each exercise so that they are continuously moving forward. I typically screen my golf clients every 4-8 weeks. Because I see them moving so frequently, we can usually guess correctly when it comes to which areas of the screen have improved. I will create a new program after each screen, with some of the exercises remaining the same and some new ones to keep the engagement high and the body from getting too adapted to certain movements.
Bobby Rupcich is a personal trainer, sports nutritionist, post-rehab medical exercise specialist and the founder of Superior Fitness Solutions in Villa Park, Illinois.