Can you identify someone who is
fit for golf by looking at them?
By Brian Buffie MPT, BKin, TPI Certified Physical Therapist
What if I told you that when it comes
to golf, John Daly is one of the fittest
out there? That’s right, you read that
correctly. For those of you who don’t
know who John Daly is, he is a PGA
tour golfer for the last 30 years that
was 100 pounds overweight, smokes,
drinks and spends most of his free
time at Red Lobster. In fairness to big
John, he has lost weight in the last
five to ten years.
To understand golf fitness one has
to recognize what physically makes
a good golf swing. In the simplest
of terms, a great golf swing is one
where certain joints move and other
joints don’t. It is a perfect harmony
of stability and mobility that when
put in the right sequence produces
an efficient, reproducible swing that
limits stress on the body. It really
doesn’t matter what it looks like, as
long as the proper joints move and
the proper joints stabilize.
Let’s get back to big John. If I put
him next to Lebron James, we would
all agree Lebron James looks like a
“real” athlete. However, if I were to
physically assess both of these guys
for golf, big John would embarrass
Lebron James. Sure Lebron James
can jump ten feet in the air, run the
40 in five seconds flat and complete
100 pushups in a minute, but last
time I checked you don’t jump, run,
or drop down and do pushups during
a golf swing.
If you’re a golf nerd like myself,
you will know lots of controversy
has been stirred up by my favorite
(insert sarcasm) golf channel analyst
Brandel Chamblee talking about
Rory Mcilroy’s fitness regimen.
Brandel believes that Rory is going to
hurt himself while training much like
Tiger Woods has.
Here’s why Brandel is wrong. Tiger
trained like a US Marine; in fact he
trained with them. Rory trains like a
golfer. He has Titleist Performance
Institute (TPI) trained professionals
training him specifically for golf.
Rory isn’t trying to be Lebron James.
I can guarantee you Rory went
through a complete physical
assessment to identify joints that
weren’t moving and joints that
weren’t stabilizing. He will spend
significant time correcting these
limitations before being allowed to
load his body and work on power and
speed. He would not be allowed to
train using heavier, faster movements
until his team was satisfied his joints
were moving and stabilizing properly.
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