Newport Beach Country Club Magazine Winter 2020 | Page 15

Far left: A back pull stretch requires you to place both hands on the cart, sitting back for 10-20 seconds. Middle two: For a lat stretch, place one hand (thumb down) on the cart, then
rotate your other arm under and through, repeating on both sides. Far right: Stretch glutes and hamstrings by placing your foot on the opposite knee and sitting back, repeating on
both sides for the ultimate Figure Four stretch.
NBCCM: Is there anything that golf-
ers should avoid doing in the gym?
AB: The thing that golfers want to
avoid is overexerting themselves in
the gym. There’s a balance between
wanting to get stronger and more
conditioned if you’re playing golf
while going through this transition.
If you’re pushing yourself too hard
in one aspect, then it’s not going to
correlate. So you have to find that
balance. As you start to feel better,
you can incorporate going for a run
and then playing golf or going to the
gym for 20 minutes before a round.
NBCCM: How have you seen the
application of a fitness routine affect
professional players?
AB: Years ago, golf and fitness
weren’t really classified together.
Then Tiger Woods came out and
said he was constantly in the gym.
Well, he came in first on the scene
and dominated everybody: He was
hitting it harder, hitting it straighter
and playing a long time. Now he’s
had some injuries, probably related
to going too hard, but incorporating
fitness has come back.
Now you see all these TOUR-level
golfers, all these serious golfers, that
have a trainer, they’re getting stron-
ger, they’re working on those muscles
we talked about, consistently getting
stronger and consistently maintain-
ing their flexibility when they’re
doing that. That’s why these guys are
going to be able to play until they’re
50 at the highest competitive level,
and even then, they’re going to play
for another 30 or 40 years, whether
it’s on the Champions TOUR or with
their kids.
NBCCM: What about the mental
aspect of it all?
AB: When I’m at the gym, I’m
always locked in and trying to be
focused when going through spe-
cific movements. I like to be
there to focus as hard as I can, so
when I go to the golf course, it’s eas-
ier to maintain that level of focus. In
Execute thoracic rotation by placing one hand on the cart and the other
hand on the back of your head. Rotate up, keeping the lower body stable;
repeat on both sides.
N E WP O R T B E A CHCC .CO M
golf, it takes one or two seconds to
hit a golf shot and then it takes five
to 10 minutes to get the next shot,
so you have all this time in between
and then you have to only lock in
for a few seconds.
NBCCM: Are there any holes on
the country club’s golf course that
will be extra strenuous for those
who don’t exercise?
AB: You play the first 14 holes
out here and they’re relatively
flat. There’s a little uphill, a little
downhill, but 15 is a long par-5
and you have to walk up a big hill.
And then 16 and 17 are relatively
flat, then you get to 18 and you
have to walk back up that hill
again. So a lot of people who have
already played 14 holes and are
tired, you get to the last four and
now you have to walk uphill.
If you can build yourself up to
have more stamina and more lon-
gevity, conditioning wise, whether
it’s running or biking or meeting
with a trainer, then hopefully, when
you get to 15, you’re not tired and
it’s easier for you to make that walk
up the hill.
NBCCM: Which fitness instructors
would you recommend, who are
available to members at the club?
AB: Natalie and Jack are both
TPI certified, which is Titleist
Performance Institute’s golf-specific
movements and strength and flexi-
bility. Billy goes on the range two or
three times a week and does stretch-
ing, so he actually will lay you down
and stretch your muscles to an end
range that you might not think you
were capable of.
So many people come out and
they stretch a little bit and then
they go and play golf. They really
haven’t done anything, but if they
go to Billy, they get stretched out
and then utilize Jack or Natalie,
they get the strength to maintain
that flexibility; now, all of a sudden,
it all works together.
Increase movement with an active leg swing warmup by holding on to the cart and swinging one leg
at a time, left to right, while continuously opening and closing your hips; repeat between 10-15 times
per leg.
NEWPORT BEACH COUNTRY CLUB MAGAZINE
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