SPORTS CONDITIONING
BEN LANGDOWN – head of sports science at the PGA
T
he Professional Golfers’ Associa- tion (PGA) trains
and serves golfing professionals. Ben Langdown is respon-
sible for sports science on the PGA’s Foundation Degree in Professional Golf, BA Hons Degree in Applied Golf Man- agement Studies and Sports Science Continuing Professional Development for PGA members.
“Golfers on tour realised several years
ago that the myths about strength train- ing being bad for flexibility and their golf swing were simply not true. You only have to look at Tiger Woods to see the impact of fitness and conditioning. Golfers began to understand that to gain an edge over their opponents they needed a tailored training/nutrition/psy- chology programme. Once elite golfers started to change and the game became a power sport, this thinking began to fil- ter down to amateurs. “Sports science is now an integral as-
pect of any PGA professional’s training and will continue to grow and integrate with other subject areas. Having an un- derstanding of how the body works and being able to test for flexibility, strength, power, balance, stability and range of movement is essential for any
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PGA professional who wants to achive the most effective improvements in their players. Without a full understanding of what their clients can achieve physically, it’s impossible to know what to work on and could result in a coach trying to get a player into positions they can´t achieve. “As part of the sports science mod-
ules, we work with students in the gym to learn anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, fitness, strength and conditioning, nutrition, psychology, skill acquisition and motor control. All of these fitness aspects are applied to coaching and playing situations. “All golfers need to think about fitness
and conditioning. No one has a perfect body and there are always going to be limitations that impact upon the golf swing. A golfer who wants to be the very best they can needs to embrace this change in golf fitness. Junior golfers are no exception. They should be exposed to fitness for golf as soon as possible to establish good habits. Youngsters don’t always understand how their lifestyle can impact on their ambitions in golf. Sitting at home on the sofa or at a computer encourages poor posture and with poor posture comes limited rotation in the swing. But with corrective exercises and body resistance work, any junior can gain advantages on the course.
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“At the PGA we are not using sports
science to train people to become fitness instructors, we are giving them the tools to identify when a player could benefit from another expert’s services. Work- ing with a physiotherapist, fitness expert or strength and conditioning coach will help golfers get better results from their lessons and make them less susceptible to injury. Offering these services is therefore a good business opportunity for golf clubs.”
Langdown works with PGA professional Tim Cooper on his strength and flexibility
Vicky Kiernander talks to sports scientist Ben Langdown at the PGA and exercise professionals about how to help golf enthusiasts raise their game
GOLF
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