Cara Corr is the Director of Health & Wellness at Colonial Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida.
Cara Corr on the importance of teaming up with industry expertise:
My professional fitness journey began with yoga, but quickly moved into fitness training. I got my golf fitness certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and began facilitating a small group training class just for golfers. Over the past decade, I have worked with many levels of golfers – from beginners to experienced, longtime players. All of these individuals were retired, social golfers. None were pro-level, but many were incredibly skilled. My most rewarding experiences were in helping these groups overcome injuries to get back into the game they love and often play better than ever as they improved mobility and power. When working with this demographic of country club members, most of the issues I see are the ones you would expect: lower back, shoulder, elbow, knee and mobility restrictions that come rather naturally with aging. As Director of Health & Wellness, I am continually learning and growing within our industry to provide my members with quality, science-backed training methods. I oversee a superb team of certified fitness professionals at Colonial Country Club, including Senior Fitness Specialist and New Jersey-native Brian McKnight, who has an extensive sports background. Brian has expanded his knowledge of corrective exercise and prepares custom training plans for each member he sees. Grace Elston, our Mobility and Balance Instructor, emphasizes the fun aspect of health and wellness. She’s been a certified trainer since 2009, and her specialty is functional fitness, balance and mobility. Pilates coach Melissa Shepherd feels that progress comes from challenging yourself. As an AFAA/NASM Certified Personal Trainer with over 15 years of experience, she holds certifications in various fitness and training disciplines, such as strength, yoga, Pilates and more.
Cara Corr on the business impact of teaming up with industry expertise:
I look forward to furthering the collaborative golf and fitness approach that I initiated with our PGA of America Golf Professionals when I originally came on board. This is a work in progress that really started to blossom last year. We offered collaborative workshops where I would assess strength and mobility while the teaching pro would assess technique. After the assessment, the pro and I would each give the member homework and exercises to practice. I also implemented a golf and racquet fitness class that focused on single-sided power and mobility exercises. Adding to our current menu of services, I would like to introduce golf yoga for flexibility.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email cara.corr@troon.com.
