Bob Forman is the Health & Fitness Director at The Peninsula Club in Cornelius, North Carolina.
Bob Forman on the importance of implementing a golf fitness program:
Throughout my career, I have planned and implemented fitness programs at health and wellness centers and golf clubs from New York to North Carolina. These facilities had little to no fitness presence in place, which warranted a strategy that would serve as the framework for future growth. As the Health & Fitness Director at The Peninsula Club for the past year, we have already put programs in place to not only improve members’ overall health and wellness, but to positively affect their golf games as well. The biggest factor in these efforts is awareness. You have to provide the how’s and the why’s of participating in a golf fitness program – tell them why it’s important. We strive to help our members live healthier lives off the golf course too because many of the same deficiencies that are impacting their swing mechanics and playing performance are also impacting injury potential and general overall health. So, to educate members and increase that awareness, I write newsletter articles and implement other means of disseminating information to members. This serves a few purposes: 1) It provides the education people need to make decisions and piques their interest in the topic as it pertains to their own performance; 2) It provides an opportunity for the target audience to gain trust and confidence in you. Before COVID-19, I would conduct 45-60-minute live workshops that explained what golf fitness is and why individuals need to go through the screening process – essentially to identify their musculoskeletal deficiencies, discuss what we can do to correct them and the potential impact on their golf game and general health. In the past I have gone on radio talk shows to get my name out there and even provided video tips to gain the trust of my intended audience.
Bob Forman on the business impact of implementing a golf fitness program:
Once members gain a trust in you, they’ll start calling to discuss their physical ailments and the aspects of their golf game they feel are being affected, usually distance off the tee and stamina. This is how you start building a clientele. Of course, the live workshops are not happening now amid the coronavirus pandemic, but when I do have them, I could count on several individuals signing up on the spot for a screening and subsequent sessions. These sessions can now be conducted via Zoom or Facetime to groups or individuals, of course. On one hand, you miss that in-person engagement – but on the other, you are able to inform and educate a greater number of people at one time. Just as golf professionals must gain the trust of their potential students, so too do health and fitness professionals. It often helps to get some of the better players at the club on board – work with them and have them sing your praises. Educate the golf professional staff to the benefits of golf fitness so they can be a champion for your budding program as well.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email bob@golfitcarolina.com.
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