I would like to share an experience with you that has greatly influenced my understanding of the body and how it relates to performing the motor skills of an efficient golf swing.

During the weekend of August 9th and 10th, I attended, completed, passed, and received certification from the Titleist Golf Performance Fitness Certification Program. I attended this program because I knew I needed to understand more about the anatomy of the body and the biomechanics involved as it pertains to the golf swing. Plain and simple, I just needed to get smarter. I was accompanied by my chiropractor/personal trainer and friend, Dr. Zac Burkett. Our conclusion from the weekend is that physical conditioning is paramount for an improved golf swing.

Sixteen years ago, I designed the Classic Swing Golf School curriculum around swing mechanics, short game, and equipment. This three-day school is very successful, and I will never change the approach of the program. Five years ago, I developed the Alumni Scoring School to introduce mental management into the curriculum and further complete the learning cycle. I knew several years ago that there was still a missing ingredient, but I could not put my finger on it. I began to explore and research the stretching, strengthening, and stamina needed for a more powerful and efficient motion. I found that proper physical conditioning was the missing link. Tiger Woods brought this to the forefront of the golfing world in 1996 when he stepped onto the PGA stage with his incredible physical condition.

To reiterate, the three-day program of the Classic Swing Golf School, which includes stretching, will not change. The two-day Alumni Scoring School, which includes stretching and instruction on the golf course, will remain the same. A new addition to our golf school menu for our alumni will be the Peak Performance Program, which will involve a golf specific fitness evaluation. This program will include a twelve-point physical evaluation designed to determine your body’s range of motion, a personal golf specific physical fitness program, and a take home workout program guaranteed to improve your golf swing mechanics. We will also continue to work on your full swing using video and drills in this school. It is an eight hour, two-day golf program personalized for each golfer. The combination of traditional video analysis with the twelve-point assessment is guaranteed to accelerate the improvement of your golf swing because it is based on your body’s range of motion. The evaluation will identify your body’s weaknesses as well as its strengths. The personalized workout will increase your flexibility, improve your stability, and enhance your mobility, all of which are imperatives for full swing improvement.

Completing the Titleist Performance Fitness Certification Program has opened my eyes to the need to share the importance and benefit of proper physical conditioning with all of my interested students. I know from first hand experience that this final ingredient can get a golfer over the hurdle with their full swing. For years, I experienced a swing flaw that I could not correct on my own or with the help of some of golf’s greatest teachers. When I was made aware that this flaw was the result of a limited range of motion, I found that I could not make the swing correction until I fixed my body. It must be understood that a thorough understanding of the proper swing mechanics is essential and irreplaceable; that is the basis of the original three-day golf school. Course management and mental preparation is addressed in our alumni scoring school. However, if you cannot get over the hurdle with a particular swing mechanic that has plagued your game, then physical conditioning must be addressed. The more I understood about my body’s need for proper conditioning along with the implementation of methods to do so, the better my golf swing got. Whether it is your pivot, your swing plane, power, or control, a proper individualized golf specific fitness program will help you play the best golf of your life. This program is designed for the golf enthusiast looking for the essential facet of physical conditioning guaranteed to improve their golf swing. Dr. Zac Burkett and I are excited about offering this program to our students in 2008 on October 10-11, November 7-8, and December 12-13 from 1:30 to 5:30 each day. We will announce 2009 dates later this year in the monthly Newsletter. The eight-hour program will cost $399 per golfer. If you would like breakfast, lunch, and two rounds of golf included with the PP School, the cost will be $569. The cost with three nights lodging, two rounds of golf, breakfast, and lunch, and the two-day PP School will be $894. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions, would like more information, or would like to reserve a spot for the alumni Peak Performance School, alumni Scoring School, or the traditional three-day golf school.

I will be back with a traditional teaching tip next month. For those of you still looking for the teaching tip on choosing the proper golf ball, I promise it is coming. I am still doing research to pass along the best information possible.

Ted Frick
2005 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year
Owner / Director of Instruction
Classic Swing Golf School (Located at Legends Resort)
P.O. Box 50955 Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
(843) 903-5560
1-800-827-2656
tfrick@classicswing.com
www.classicswing.com

$30 off any September three day schools with space available
(offer valid through Aug 31)
You must mention the Newsletter Special at the time of reservation

$30 off a 2008 Peak Performance School if reserved by Sept 15
You must mention the Newsletter Special at the time of reservation