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.
Thor Parrish, PGA,Director of Instruction,Junior Golf Performance Academy and Thunder Performance,Naples, Florida
Shooting your age is the ultimate goal for any golfer. For me, my goal is to walk 18 holes when I am 100 years old. I set this goal when I was 18 and it has in fluenced the way I train, practice and play the game, and it has shaped my career in blending golf and fitness to drive people of all ages to train to play for life. In my personal daily training and in coaching my athletes, I focus on four core principles with my clients:
1. Exercise with intensity: Exercising at an intensity that is greater than golf demands will help you maintain your ability. Focus on 45 minutes of intensive exercise using functional movements and you’ll see improvements off the course, as well.
2. Eat real food: Instead of focusing on what not to eat, focus on what you should eat, like meats, vegetables and fruits.
3. Practice and play with a purpose: Focusing on important fundamentals like grip, posture and alignment is key for long-term development.
4. Playing with the end in mind: Break your goals into more manageable smaller goals. This makes your ultimate goal more realistic and allows you to take daily action toward a goal that seems extremely far away.
Do all of these things and you will be more than a golf coach or personal trainer in your clients’ lives. You will be a mentor who cares for and about these individuals.
Kian O’Donnell, PGA,Golf Fitness Coach,Seattle Golf Fitness,Mercer Island, Washington
There is an undeniable correlation between driving distance and success on the PGA TOUR. Hitting the ball a long way di rectly impacts how your student scores. If you think about it, hitting an 8- or 9-iron into every green vs. a 5- or 6-iron will likely lead to more greens in regulation and a better score. So how can you help your students hit if farther? First, look at their flexibility and mobility. A full turn in the backswing is a 90-degree turn – 45 degrees from their hips and 45 degrees from their torso. If they are restricted in either upper or lower body mobility, it will likely lead to a lack of speed in the swing, not to mention a breakdown within their swing with one or more swing flaws.
Another factor that impacts distance is how stable one is. Students need to be able to load into their trail leg on the backswing and transfer their weight to their lead leg in the downswing. Without stability it will be very difficult to load into either leg effectively, resulting in inefficient movement patterns that don’t provide much distance. Moving a student’s body through the kinematic sequence is imperative to hitting the ball far.
This sequence goes as follows: on the backswing, the arms move first, torso second and hips last. On the downswing, hips should fire first, torso second, arms third and, lastly, the clubhead just before impact. Without this sequence, students will lose a lot of potential distance in their golf games. Lastly, help your students hit the weights to work on strength and speed for the golf swing. They may be flexible, stable and have an efficient golf swing, but without strength and power, they’re missing out on a huge opportunity to lower their scores.