Golf Fitness Summit 1

The TPI 2012 World Golf Fitness Summit (WGFS) was held in Orlando this past week where we heard presentations by more than 40 illuminaries in golf fitness and golf instruction. Topics ranged far and wide. We learned how top instructors and trainers apply their craft, and we were exposed to current thinking on what's most important for improving golf performance.

The best of the talks coalesced around a central theme: movement patterns define the golf swing. When we see a swing fault, the best way to correct it is to understand the underlying movement patterns. When a progression of golf-specific exercises is prescribed by the trainer, they are most effective when the focus is on movement patterns generated by two or more interacting joints. Top instructor Chuck Cook showed how K-Vest 3D motion capture technologies bridge the knowledge gaps between swing technique and range-of-motion exercise schemes.   

It's a rare conference where the exhibitors have products and discussions that equal the caliber of the featured speakers, but this year's WGFS was a model for hosting superb companies with clever products that all of us in the field should know about and experience. They were a vital part of the conference.

Hearing Dr. Joe LaCaze (Dr. of Chiropractic and former Navy Seal) explain novel Rotex exercises for hip and shoulder joints, seeing Dave Herman (developer of SuperFlex bands) demonstrate versatile techniques for resistance training, and learning about the novel glucose polymer formulation in the UCAN energy drinks were highlights for me. We are already incorporating these exciting products into our golf technologies, and we'll be sure to review each one in detail as we gain more experience with them.

The WGFS was dynamic proof that when creative thinkers look at how to improve golf performance for pros and amateurs alike, new and effective ways of doing things are certain to emerge. The WGFS gave us triumphs of evidence-based approaches over opinion-based alternatives.