To help PGA Magazine readers learn more about the ways they can bring golf together with health and wellness, we’ve added this recurring department that will include best practices information from the Golf Fitness Association of America (GFAA).
The GFAA was started by the publishers of PGA Magazine in 2020 and is led by an advisory board of PGA of America Golf Coaches and highly regarded golf fitness experts, including GFAA President Dr. Steven Lorick. We hope you find this department beneficial and encourage you to learn more about the GFAA at golf.fitness.com.
Mike Malaska, PGA,2011 PGA of America Teacher & Coach of the Year,Founder, Malaska Golf,PGA of America Golf Instructor,Ocotillo Golf Resort,Chandler, Arizona
Fitness is like a golf swing. There are basic skills and movement patterns that you have to learn before you can start implementing the big global movement patterns. If the basic skills aren’t there, you have a swing that looks like it could work, but there is no consistency and sustainability is not possible.
Between 80 and 90 percent of people are out of balance front to back with any physical work they’ve done likely being abdominal work, sit-ups, curls, quads – frontal parts of their body. But some muscles go neglected. Muscles that work in pairs are not addressed equally, creating this imbalance. If you overwork one muscle, it gets stronger, but it overrides its partner in the muscle pair.
To rectify the tendency to spend too much time on the front of the body and not enough time on the back, I prescribe activities like walking backward on a treadmill to offset the kyphosis that arises as a result of this extended imbalance of attention to one’s body in the 45-plus age demographic. Walking backward is probably the best exercise people can do because if you turn someone around on a treadmill, you can see the effects on their posture almost immediately. When they start walking backward their glutes engage, as does their lower lumbar spine. They stand up straighter. This engages the back part of their body and balances out who they are.
Everyone is different, of course. We’re trying to get the body to do more without injury. Address the weaknesses to fortify the strengths. Help them understand what they can and can’t do for best results on the course and for prevention of injury. Without this engagement, their golf performance often gets worse and they are more prone to injury.
Lance GillPresident,Lance Gill Performance,Oceanside, California
Based out of Southern California, I see many of my in-person clients at the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) studios in Oceanside, California. However, much of my engagement is also online. Diversifying the time you spend with clients (some in-person and some remote) helps provide the best coverage to the athletes, extending your expertise so they can have more real-time access to solutions. Many athletes believe the first step in our relationship must be done in person, with an extensive assessment to gauge their current mobility, flexibility, strength and more. I have proven otherwise over the years, as I can evaluate their body and attain the data needed to create a specific program that addresses their goals.
Contrary to the days when I’d have to analyze a somewhat rudimentary video of a golf swing and text back a response with my professional diagnosis – a time-consuming process – I can now engage with clients live on Zoom or FaceTime and provide instant feedback on golf swings as they are happening. I can break down their physical movement screens to isolate any deficiencies using drawing and voiceover tools that result in the same program we’d end up with had that individual been right in front of me. It comes down to the client setting up the cameras correctly and getting the angles right. If I can get a good look at what the golfer is doing, I can assess his or her movement patterns and create that starting point that will serve as our foundation for progress.
However, for those clients who prefer that in-person attention, I will provide that option so they feel their needs are being met. Once we reach this point, the online option becomes the predominant method of engagement.
