Monday, October 29, 2007
John Hinds is a licensed Physical Therapist located on the Central Coast who is a lifelong golfer who specializes in Golf Conditioning, Injury Prevention and Orthopedic Rehabilitation. He is included among the Titleist Performance Institute's Approved Fitness Professionals.
John utilizes his education in biomechanics, kinesiology, exercise physiology and knowledge of the game to design scientifically sound, practical and customized programs that optimize golf specific flexibility, strength, balance and coordination. He works one on one with each client and realizes that while all golfers can benefit from a golf specific conditioning program everybody is different. Juniors, seniors, men, women, and those with a history of injury have unique strengths and weaknesses that need to be addressed.
Some of the more common goals in the game of golf are improved consistency, scoring and increased distance. One sure way to improve these is to develop a reliable, repeatable swing. Lessons from your golf pro, practice and more lessons are priceless and players of all levels must possess and continually practice the fundamentals. A basic understanding of technique and swing mechanics is also invaluable. Proper weight shift, timing and sequencing (among others) are qualities better players share and essential to consistent ball striking as well as distance, no matter individual style or the swing type.
Another quality that better player's share is efficiency. An efficient golf swing is virtually free of compensations or wasted movement and produces greater club head speed with less effort; less effort is less stressful on the body and reduces the risk of injury. Practice and knowledge is one thing but the ability to physically execute and execute consistently is another. The golf swing is an athletic movement that requires flexibility, strength, balance, and coordination. Adequate flexibility and strength allows the energy generated through the legs, hips, trunk, back, shoulders, and arms to be efficiently transferred and sequenced into the club head. If your body is physically unable to perform the required movement pattern consistently then your ball striking will be inconsistent.
A common denominator to a consistent, repeatable and efficient swing is conditioning. Whether you are a recreational player or professional, a junior, senior, man or woman, you have unique strengths and weaknesses. Of the hundreds of training devices on the market today, not one is more effective at improving your overall ability to play the game of golf better than your own body. Golfers are athletes and should be treated as such. Flexibility and strength are two variables of the conditioning equation that provide and contribute to the mobility, stability, posture, balance, power, endurance and ultimately, the coordination needed for an efficient golf swing. Proper conditioning maximizes your ability to play the game.
As a golfer and Physical Therapist specializing in Golf Conditioning, Injury Prevention and Orthopedic Rehabilitation, John Hinds understands the game and the biomechanics involved. All exercises he teaches are biomechanically sound and safe, meaning they are effective in accomplishing their intended goal while NOT placing undue stress in other areas, such as the vulnerable back, neck or shoulders. John utilizes a scientific and practical approach in my golf conditioning programs and do not claim to reveal any 'secrets' or promise Tigeresque drives. What he will do is:
1. Discuss your experience, goals and any relevant medical history
2. Evaluate your golf swing and identify your strengths and weaknesses as they relate to your body throughout the swing
3. Perform a comprehensive flexibility, strength, posture and movement evaluation
4. Develop an individualized golf specific conditioning program to overcome your weaknesses and improve your strengths
Anybody can benefit from a golf specific conditioning program but everybody is different. Combined with lessons and practice, improved flexibility, strength, balance and coordination will provide a more consistent, repeatable and efficient swing while reducing your risk of injury. Better scores will follow. You will also be more confident over the ball and come away with a greater understanding and appreciation of the mechanics involved in the golf swing.
To learn more about John or to setup a golf conditioning session, see
www.golfconditioningpt.com.
Labels: Golf Conditioning, John Hinds, Physical Therapy