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Journal26 Pilates tips

GOLFER’S Journal

the country club lifestyle

COMBINING FLEXIBILITY WITH CORE STRENGTH WILL ALLOW YOUR BODY TO PERFORM AT IT’S FULL POTENTIAL.

Improving your golf game is big business. You can buy a nearly infinite number of gadgets, gizmos, videos, books, ergonomic supplements and more, any of which may promise to affect your strength, flexibility and technique and lower your handicap. Some of these products may indeed work well, but for a more holistic, long-term approach to better health and a better game, a growing number of golfers are turning to Pilates. If you haven’t heard of it, Pilates is a system or exercises akin to Yoga or aerobics, but with some major differences.

Pilates can be entirely attributed to one person, its founder and namesake Joseph Pilates. Born in Germany in 1880, Joseph was a sickly child who grew into a deeply devoted athlete. While interned by the British during World War I, Joseph began training his fellow inmates in physical fitness. After migrating to the United States he refined his method, which built upon principles of core strength and balance. Soon, his studio became very popular among the dancers, gymnasts and boxers of New York City. Joseph Pilates was quoted as saying that the genius of his work wouldn’t be fully appreciated until 50 years after his. death. He was largely right. Today, Pilates is a sophisticated fitness system taught by certified trainers across the world. Various types of athletes rely on It to help improve their performance, including ballet dancers, football players & golfers. But why would golfers need the same training as gymnasts and wrestlers? Pilates is entirely based on improving strength while increasing flexibility, balance, posture and control over the body’s movements - all the ingredients of a smooth, controlled and powerful golf swing. Because Pilates is low-impact (no weights are used, and in most workouts participants won’t even break a sweat), it is appropriate for people of any age and gender.

In the last few years, Golf Pilates has become a major subset of the Pilates industry, with a growing member of instructors offering golf-specific classes and training videos. Many PGA pros (including Tiger Woods, Rocco Mediate and Camilo Villegas, to name a few) tout its ability to help boost power off the tee, improve swing regularity and increase short game control.