Want to swing a club like Rory McIlroy? Well, you can?t. Ever. No, really, don?t be offended, you can practice all you like but it?s probably a physical impossibility for you.
Rory, you see, has spent years honing that technique and, just as importantly, building and maintaining the body which supports it. That, and all the expertise behind it, is what sets the top pros apart from the rest of us.
It?s also the principle behind a drastic change in direction for golf tuition at the new Turnberry Performance Academy.
Under the management of head teaching pro Michael Sweenie, the TPA has introduced a ?holistic? approach to coaching based on the principles of the Titleist Performance Institute.
That means an assessment is made of an individual?s physical limitations as well as their technical ability, with the Academy using state of the art screening equipment to study every aspect of the golfer?s game.
A lesson plan is then built, in which rehab for old injuries, body conditioning and mental exercises are given equal billing with technical and tactical guidance.
The aim is to improve technique in line with the physical limitations of the individual. So, for Sweenie, it?s a strength to know your weaknesses.
?The majority of amateurs don?t take tuition and instead try to copy what they see the pros doing. But they may not be physically developed to swing a club like them,? said 28-year-old Sweenie?(pictured above right), who spent time over winter at the TPI in San Diego building his qualifications.
?So their practice ends up having a negative impact. For all the advances in technology, the average handicap has stayed the same for 30 years. Why is that??
Sweenie points out that a professional sportsman is the product of years of intensive practice and coaching, usually involving a team of specialists to cater for their physical, mental and technical needs.
The TPA aims to encapsulate those expertise for golfers of all levels, giving what Sweenie terms a ?Tour experience?.
Its labs have all sorts of gizmos to measure swing, power transfer, ball flight and putting accuracy but what most impresses is the attention given to the physical demands of golf and how the athleticism of the individual limits what they can do.
Spotted in the corner of Sweenie?s teaching room, for instance, was a football, a Frisbee, a balance board, kettle bells and bouncy balls ? all are used to measure and improve flexibility, co-ordination, balance and stability.
Since when did golf tuition involve sitting with your back flat against a wall? Since now. It?ll improve your posture, you see, which is apparently a problem for this 16-handicapper. As is the grip. And rotation in the hips. All of which explains the inconsistent long game, apparently.
Sweenie tells many of his middle-aged male clients to take up yoga and pilates to improve their flexibility. They need to loosen up. Their female counterparts are often told to start weight training to help with stability. They?re too loose.
Long-distance running is frowned upon because it leads to tightness in the hips.
The attack plan which is produced from all this will typically include gym work, corrective drills if the basics like grip or stance are wrong, swing method and mental exercises.
The initial screening costs ?100 ? about the price you might pay to replace a club which doesn?t seem to be working any more. Because it might be your body that?s the problem ? not the club.
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