I’ve always had an interest in wellness, but it became my career path after leaving the medical field early in 2013. I found that my purpose would be better served working from a preventative approach with people who wanted to stay well enough to enjoy their favorite activities late into their senior years.
Since 2014, I have worked at some stellar Florida country clubs that were managed by such industry leaders as Escalante Golf, Billy Casper Golf and now Troon. I have enjoyed just more than two years at Colonial Country Club in Fort Myers, but have been with Troon for about a decade.
My professional fitness journey began with yoga, but quickly moved into fitness training. I got my golf fitness certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and began facilitating a small group training class just for golfers. I snuck in elements of yoga and mindfulness because, as we all know, golf is not just physical, it is a head game that requires focus. This holistic approach helped our golfers feel better, play better and even think more clearly.
Over the past decade, I have worked with many levels of golfers - from beginners to experienced, longtime players. All of these individuals were retired, social golfers. None were pro-level, but many were incredibly skilled. My most rewarding experiences were in helping these groups overcome injuries to get back into the game they love and often play better than ever as they improved mobility and power.
When working with this demographic of country club members, most of the issues I see are the ones you would expect: lower back, shoulder, elbow, knee and mobility restrictions that come rather naturally with aging. I have, however, run across some unique scenarios with some clients, such as one gentleman who had a full ankle replacement. In his case, we worked together to adjust his movement patterns and adapt his swing. He went on to win his club’s couples championship that very year!
As Director of Health & Wellness, I am continually learning and growing within our industry to provide my members with quality, science-backed training methods. I specialize in nutrition, mindful strength training, flexibility and balance training.
I oversee a superb team of certified fitness professionals at Colonial Country Club, including Senior Fitness Specialist and New Jersey-native Brian McKnight, who has an extensive sports background. Brian moved to Florida in 2018 to continue his mission of helping people attain better overall health and fitness. Here, he has expanded his knowledge of corrective exercise and prepares custom training plans for each member he sees.
Additionally, Grace Elston, our Mobility and Balance Instructor, emphasizes the fun aspect of health and wellness. She’s been a certified trainer since 2009, and her specialty is functional fitness, balance and mobility. Despite her extensive industry experience, she understands that we never stop learning and growing as fitness educators.
Finally, Pilates coach Melissa Shepherd feels that progress comes from challenging yourself. As an AFAA/NASM Certified Personal Trainer with over 15 years of experience, she holds certifications in various fitness and training disciplines, such as strength, yoga, Pilates and more.
We have temporarily shut down our community and fitness center to fully renovate our facility. We look forward to serving our members with new facilities and state-of-the-art equipment, and we will reopen with additional team members who will focus on sports-specific training, physical therapy, and massage therapy. These renovations and upgrades are part of an extensive facility-wide project that has the club and our members buzzing with anticipation.
Looking ahead, I look forward to furthering the collaborative golf and fitness approach that I initiated with our PGA of America Golf Professionals when I originally came on board. This is a work in progress that really started to blossom last year. We offered collaborative workshops where I would assess strength and mobility while the teaching pro would assess technique. After the assessment, the pro and I would each give the member homework and exercises to practice. I also implemented a golf and racquet fitness class that focused on single-sided power and mobility exercises. Adding to our current menu of services, I would like to introduce golf yoga for flexibility when we get back at it in our new fitness center.
Cara Corr is the Director of Health & Wellness at Colonial Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida.