Recently I have been going to visit trainers and gyms in Calgary that offer golf fitness programs. For me the visits have been very educational and inspiring! As with the golf swing there are many techniques and theories on how to hit the ball. In fitness, there are many ways to improve strength, agility, power, and flexibility. Which is right for you? What are your goals? Do you know what your body limitations and strengths are? This is where I would start – have a thorough Physical Assessment to identify the areas in yourgolfbody that needs to be addressed and get educated on the best strategy to improve that limitation. Sometimes exercise alone will not improve dysfunction – look to a medical professional to help correct these imbalances: physiotherapist, massage therapist, chiropractor…etc. BUT REMEMBER – what you have corrected through passive strategies (the hands of others) you need to support actively (exercises). What can YourGolfBody do?

This weekend I was lucky enough to get to know one of Canada’s finest athletes at the Glencoe Invitational Awards night hosted by Kinnear Financial. Melissa Hollingsworth was our guest speaker where she shared her story of persistence and passion for excellence to all the participants and volunteers of the event. Over dinner, we spent time chatting about the experiences she has had from the beginning of her skeleton career, being an Olympian, travel and competing in the World Cup events, and her training both physical and mental. There are a lot of parallels that can be made even though we are comparing sliding down an icy slope at 145km/h and golf!
1) An inch can be the difference between finishing 1st or 5th
2) Letting go of a mistake at the beginning and pressing through to the finish
3) Trusting your equipment, your body, and your training/practice
4) Not letting fear dictate your performance
I have attached a link to Melissa’s website and blog. She is challenging herself this summer on the pro rodeo circuit in barrel racing with her horse Rascal. This blog is a great read and has some great insights to performance that can be related back to the great game of golf and golfers at all levels.
http://mellisahollingsworth.ca/blog.php
Thanks for sharing your passion for excellence – it is contagious!!

Great golf performance can lead to a win. But to get there you need to understand all the factors that influence your game. These factors can be described under two categories – Intrinsic (within you) and Extrinsic (outside you). Physical limitation is an intrinsic factor that can have a cummulative effect with other factors. Simple Screening is available to identify areas of limitation or weakness in your body! Once they are understood, then they can be corrected or compensated for in a safe manner.

Tiger is a great example right now – his left knee and achilles injury is an intrinsic factor that is limiting his golf career currently. The pain and phyical weakness he has in these areas of his body will limit how he plays the game. He may not trust the leg to withstand his strong follow through, which may lead to doubt on where to aim, or compensation strategy with other areas in the body. If he continued to play in this state – there could be a snowball effect of doubt, pain in other areas, slow healing of injured tissue, swing mechanic alterations due to pain inhibition, and more time away from this great game.

I believe Tiger stepping away from the game to take care of his body under the pressure of sponsor and PGA to play instead…is the greatest thing Tiger has done in the past 2 years. It is hard to step back and take the time to heal – especially here in Calgary with such a short season. In the long run it pays off. You will be back playing the game better and stronger if you let the injury heal.

This morning on the Golf Channel – Morning Drive, Phil Mickelson was speaking of his psoriatic arthritis diagnosis and how he is managing his symptoms.  Controlling symptoms like pain, swelling, and stiffness will impact your golf game in multiple areas.  To learn more of how Phil is getting the word out on arthritic diagnosis look at:   http://www.oncoursewithphil.com/