Frank Krystyniak The Huntsville Item Thu Apr 02, 2009, 11:41 PM CDT
Thursday was a pro golfer’s nightmare at the Shell Houston Open.
On a typical day the typical pro does some physical preparation such as stretching, warms up on the driving range, hits putts on the putting green, plays 18 holes and heads for the practice area again, or the fitness vans.
There are two vans that travel to each PGA Tour event — one for medical support such as massage and skeletal adjustments and another with machines for cardio and weight training. They aren’t nearly big enough when everyone gets off work at the same time, which was around 3 p.m. Thursday when the SHO’s first day of play was suspended because of high winds.
“We got swamped,” said Troy Van Biezen. He’s one of five staffers hired by the PGA to keep its players in the best possible physical condition.
That tour pro’s daily routine has been pretty standard for years, except for a less-sophisticated workout van that came on tour in the mid-1980s. Then along came Tiger.
“It’s a different game these days when it comes to fitness,” said Van Biezen, who is a chiropractor. “The young guys coming up are athletes and the old guys are trying to keep up with the younger guys. Tiger has brought all this to the forefront.”
Van Biezen was raised in Canada, earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Calgary and played collegiate hockey. He played professional hockey in Europe, then moved to Dallas for his Doctor of Chiropractic degree.
He’s one of 12 chiropractors who rotate service in the vans. He’s affiliated with ChiroSport Specialists of Dallas and practices a therapy called the Active Release Technique (ART), often on athletes other than golfers. His list of clients ranges from hockey players Mike Modano and Marty Turco, baseball player Mark Teixeira and even former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann.
“The golf swing is a one-sided movement,” he said. “This causes the body to compensate and causes muscle imbalances that lead to injuries.”
These disorders are also known as repetitive stress injuries or “overuse” injuries — tendonitis, tennis elbow, sprains and strains are just a few of their names. There is often tingling, burning, aching or weaknesses. Scar tissue forms, and that is the focus for the ART treatments.
Overall conditioning, especially flexibility and stretching exercises, can help prevent such injuries, Van Biezen said, and they can be treated. He claims a 97 percent success rate when applying the Active Release Treatment.
Van Biezen has also worked with the North Texas PGA with kids beginning at about 11 to 12 years old. That program emphasizes all-around athleticism and making learning golf fun.
They use such aids as a Frisbee, because throwing a Frisbee imitates the golf swing. They use a soft soccer-ball sized “bowling ball” to teach kids how to read greens.
“The better athlete you are all-around, the better golfer you will be,” he said.
So how can anyone improve their golf game with fitness — from beginners to those who may have given up because they think they’re too old? Van Biezen’s answer is the Titleist Performance Institute. It’s online at http://www.mytpi.com/.
The Golf Channel also has a Web site with an excellent “Health and Fitness” section at http://www.thegolfchannel.com/golf-fitness/.
Among the subjects covered on the TPI site are Golf Fitness, The Swing, Health, Learning Technology, Book Reviews and an Ask the Expert section. It invites the user to “Get your own custom workout program!” and lists TPI certified professionals who can help.
There is an “Approved Fitness Professional” listed in Bryan and three in The Woodlands. The TPI Store has exercise aids like exercise bands, medicine balls and Swiss balls, as well as books, videos and DVDs.
The Golf Channel site covers The Body, Wellness, Nutrition and Injury.
The top golfers — the ones we know by the first names Tiger, Phil, and Vijay, as well as a few others, travel with personal trainers. The others have those fitness vans that follow them around, staffed with people like Van Biezen.
The average amateur golfer, on the other hand, has computer Web sites, and the friendly neighborhood pro. With all that, nightmarish rounds should be few and far between.