Just took the TPI fitness and mobility test

[grantc79]

Anyone else done this?

My Thoracic rotation is half of what it needs to be. Internal left hip rotation sucks. External right hip rotation also sucks. Left ankle doesn't move as well as it should.

Basically it all leads into I can't rotate in posture long enough to get to the ball which means I lose a little lag, speed, and club face control.

I got some work to do.

 

[Golfbeat]

Would be very interested what work you were prescribed.

[jonsnow]

So would I. Haven't been through the screening but pretty sure I have similar issues.

[grantc79]

Ill keep the thread updated.

I have a friend who is a physical therapist I'll probably start working with him.

[Golfbeat]

So they told you what was wrong but not how to fix it?

 

[grantc79]

The person who gave me the test is a physical therapist

 

I start seeing him Monday.

[Ri_Redneck]

Just gotta stretch more or less. Doing it without injury is why you need a PT. My arthritis limits me and till I get new joints, it is what it is.

BT

[jggerard9]

How and where do you take the assessment??

[bluedot]

I did this back at the beginning of December at the urging/insistence of the teaching pro that I had been working with. We had worked for several months, and we finally decided that a lot (most?) of my persistent swing issues weren't fixable until I got better hip mobility. I went to the place he recommended and did an assessment, and had mobility issues in both shoulders and both hips, especially the left hip. They designed a series of workouts for me based on my particular weaknesses; I'm 6 months in now, and I've got to tell you, the difference is night and day. I've picked up about 15 yards off the tee, and my consistency from round to round is vastly improved. My index was over 8 and rising when I went to them; I'm back down under 6 again, and that's without having had access to a range to either practice or even warmup for nearly three months now because of the pandemic.

I wish I had done all of this several years ago. I was working out regularly anyway, but the difference between a golf-specific workout designed by a TPI type and a "normal" weight room session is just huge. I'd urge you if at all possible to take the next step by going to a TPI type of guy, rather than hoping that a physical therapist will be able to do as well for you. That is in NO way meant to be disrespectful of a PT; I love 'em! But mobility work is a special category, and not everybody is equally well versed in how to improve it.

I'll also mention one other thing; myofascial release work. The guy I work with is big on myofascial release techniques, as are most of the TPI types, and I must say that I agree with him. But there are MANY really good PT's that do not do ANY myofascial work.

Anyway, good luck; you've taken the first step toward better fitness and better golf!

[grantc79]

Agree with you on the PT but its more in depth than that.

If you have muscular imbalances that are making you tight in areas because joints are not functioning properly stretching can make you a lot worse.

[grantc79]

I'll take a physical therapist over a TPI person any day of the week.

I saw one TPI person that knew just enough to get someone in trouble. I have tight hamstrings and all she wanted to do was stretch them non-stop which ruined my back. Hamstrings are attached to the back of the pelvis and if the pelvis is leaning forward then the hamstrings are taut and need to be strengthened to pull the pelvis back to loosen the hamstrings. So basically hamstrings werent too tight they were always stretched due to poor pelvis position.

That TPI certified person was not a physical therapist, didn't really understand the body, and stretched my hamstrings out until my pelvis has so much pelvic tilt that I couldn't rotate properly and developed lower back pain.

Becoming TPI certified is basically an online degree. That's really all they are is golf personal trainers.

Becoming a physical therapist isn't much short of being a doctor and takes about 7 years. They understand the human body and how its supposed to move in ways that a TPI person can't possibly fathom.

I went to go see a physical therapist that is TPI certified because he knows the body really well and then took time to understand the anatomy of the golf swing.

[braincramp52]

Congrats on getting yourself in shape! Now, excuse me while I grab a beer and order a pizza.

[bluedot]

Fwiw, the guy I work with is a licensed PT, including certification to do dry needling, which not all PT's are. He happens to have a "practice' that specializes in golf, but does standard PT as well. I would be the last person to recommend going to someone who had an online certification for much of anything, and having been a HS basketball coach for 40 years, I have tremendous respect for PT's. I'm sorry if that wasn't clear.

All of that said, going to someone who specializes in mobility and strength workouts FOR GOLFERS is a far cry from just going to a PT and hoping for the best. It's not much different than going to a GP doctor when a specialist is called for. All PT's are not the same, just like all doctors are not the same.

[Ri_Redneck]

You make great points in this and your next post. Most office workers are burdened with muscle imbalances and unless they are made aware of them, simply languish in frustration. Great posts!

BT

[COACH9]

Does that TPI screening include any of that BioSwing Dynamics of Mike Adams and E.A. Tischler to determine the natural swing type for your body?

[grantc79]

I dont believe so

[indianagolf2]

Wow, technology is great. How much did the evaluation cost ?

[grantc79]

He actually didn’t charge me anything for it because I’ll be seeing him quite a bit

[Z1ggy16]

My wife is a DPT and doesn't know much about the golf swing but has given me a few things I need to work on but I do want to see a TPI person just because I want that specific golf related insight.

The biggest things she's told me is that thoracic mobility is hugely important and so is your mobility of shoulder and hips. Having a tight back from being an office worker is a real killer.. and I stretch, foam roll and theragun almost every day and I feel like I'm barely making a dent in my mobility issues.

I think one thing though I've heard... don't the TPI tests compare you to like... what pro's should or are able to do? There's almost no way a 'regular' adult male who has a day job is going to pass every test. I'd need physical therapy 5x a week plus 2-3 hours additionally each day to work on every little deficiency I've built up over the years from sports injuries and working in an office. Literally every aspect of my body has problems. Tight ankles, tight hips, tight chest, back.. you name it, I'm probably lacking mobility. My guess is minimum of 2 hours a day on conditioning and stretching would be needed for me to start really correcting some of my issues.

[Soloman1]

TPI screens are nonsense.

[bluedot]

A good screening and assessment is NOT going to compare you to pros; it'll be to golfers in your age group. If it's done well, you'll be assessed in at least four aspects of rotation (neck, shoulders, thoracic spine, and hips) as well as some power numbers, and then swing speed. The results will be put into percentiles for golfers your age, and then used to determine where you are deficient. And that's the key in figuring out how to structure the work you do going forward.

Also, let me reassure you about the amount of time that you have to put in on a daily basis. You would probably do soft tissue work every day, at least at the beginning, but unless your rehabbing an injury, workouts are going to be much shorter that you are thinking, and NOT every day. A really good myofasial release program can be done in 30 minutes or less each day, and has HUGE benefits over time, and feels great. A good workout schedule might be an hour or so three times a week, with plenty or rest in between.

I think that well-designed mobility work for golfers is the greatest development out there besides better equipment. The guys on TV have been doing it for quite some time now, and it's beginning to filter down to the rest of us. The trick is to know what your specific needs are, and get a program started to address that.

[grantc79]

Stretching likely isn’t the answer.

if you have muscle imbalances that will pull your bones out of proper alignment meaning you will lose mobility.

the answer may be to tighten the weak ones to get your body neutral

[glk]

I'm in the camp of do something to improve your strength through out your life and go to a golf coach that can teach you proper motion. It's a myth that golfers are held back by their mobility/flexibility.

They are more held back by poor motion and a lack of understanding of how to move to have an efficient swing.

An example

https://twitter.com/nickclearwater/status/1232024452239478784/photo/1

[jonsnow]

Is that Rush Limbaugh?

[MountainGoat]

Stretching accomplishes very little, unless you're rehabbing an injury.

[bluedot]

With all due respect, physical issues with mobility and flexibility aren't myths; far from it. And as we age, it becomes more true.

I am the opposite case study from the guy in your video; at 67, I'm as fit as I've ever been. I'm 6-1, 175; I run, I do yoga, I practice a LOT, and so forth. Last summer, I went to work with one of the top teaching pros in NC, Tom Ream at Prestonwood CC in Cary, and after 3 months of weekly work, he basically insisted that I go get evaluated for what he suspected were mobility issues in my hips. He did that because, despite really hard work on my part, I just could not consistently clear my hips and get into my left side, with the result being that I couldn't maintain spine angle or hit down on irons properly a lot of the time

I love to work out anyway, so I took his advice and went to a golf specific PT facility; Tom had been right, of course, and I went to work on the stuff workouts that they gave me. I'm 6 months into those now, and the difference is night and day. My index is back down to where it was 5=10 years ago, and I've regained 15 yards that I though were gone forever.

There are two points to this. One is that the technical aspects of a golf swing can be impossible to perform correctly if your body simply won't allow that motion. And the second is that neither the guy in the video nor me are anything but case studies, and case studies should never be confused with research. There are a zillion golfers out there who don't swing as fast or play as well as they used to, even though their swing is technically good, or who know what to do but can't do it anymore, because of physical liimitations that can be addressed thru mobility, flexibility or strength work. That does NOT mean that getting technically better isn't critical; that's a false choice.