Love your golf but struggle with injury? Or got an old knee injury that limits your distance off the tee? If that’s you, you need to hear this!
The Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) is at the forefront of performance, injury prevention and rehabilitation in the golfing landscape.
It’s an educational organisation, committed to research and implementation of evidenced based practice to build on the relationship between strength, stability, flexibility and their role in the biomechanics of the golf swing.
Eighteen of the last 20 major winners and 25 of the worlds top 30 players actively work with TPI certified professionals, so they know what they’re doing!
The key to the success of the TPI philosophy is based on the body-swing connection.
“TPI does not believe in one way to swing a club, rather in an infinite number of swing styles. But, we do believe that there is once efficient way to for every player to swing and it is based on what the player can physically do.”
Through a thorough physical screen and assessment process, Tim O’Grady can help you to identify physical limitations that lead to common adverse swing characteristics and increased injury risk. The benefit of this approach gives you two options:
- To work on improving physical limitations and improving strength, mobility, stability where possible
- Work with the coach to modify their swing to accomodate for physical abilities
Max Homa and John Rahm are prime examples of these different approaches.
Max began working with TPI certified coach Mark Blackburn in 2020. The TPI screen identified Max had poor shoulder mobility that impacted his ability to control his pelvis through his swing. By working to improve this limitation, Max has gone on to win 6 times on the PGA tour in the last two years and climbed from 106th to 12th in the world. That’s the difference a proper biomechanical screening can make, figuring out where your deficits are and the best way around them.
John Rahm, world number three and US Open winner, currently leads the PGA tour in strokes gained driving. Exhibiting a remarkably short backswing, John was born with a condition that his impacted his hip and ankle mobility. John has been able to develop a swing that has allowed him to be one of the best drivers of the golf ball over the last few years.
“I didn’t take a full swing because my right ankle doesn’t have the mobility or stability to take it,” he said. “I learned at a very young age that I’m going to be more efficient at creating power and be consistent from a short swing. If I take a full to parallel, it might create more speed, but I have no stability. My ankle just can’t take it.”
John Rahm
Rahm credits his work with TPI professionals and the screening process that has allowed him to develop a swing utilising his upper body, particularly his wrists, to generate speed and power.
As a TPI certified professional, Tim will be able to provide:
- a thorough assessment,
- detailing your body-swing connection, and
- an individualised program based specifically on the results of your screen.
As a physiotherapist, Tim also has the ability to diagnose underlying musculoskeletal conditions and provide you a program to improve performance on the golf course, bulletproof you against re-injury and increase your longevity in the game. So if you’re serous about your game, or seriously frustrated by it, there are some pretty big returns waiting for you.
Written by
Tim O’Grady
Physiotherapist
Tim is a Physiotherapist who specialises in football/Rugby and golfing injuries. Tim doesn’t believe that rest will make you a better athlete and he focuses on performance-based rehab methods. Tim is also qualified in golf biomechanics and injuries.
