So many aging golfers simply accept that losing distance and worsening scorecards are a normal part of getting older – and many of those same golfers have a self-fulfilling prophecy because they attempt to avoid losing distance and improve their game by doing exactly what everybody else is doing, which also isn’t working. This is almost the very definition of “insanity.”
Once you start losing distance, you usually start trying to improve by swinging harder, which any real golfer knows is one of the worst things you can do because it almost always leads to inconsistency. Or you decide you need increased backswing, so you try to wrap the club around your neck and turn so hard that you’ve slid over a foot to the right and then do your best to swing out of your shoes, flipping your hands back at the ball resulting in who knows what result.
Equipment Must Be the Problem, Right?
Your ball striking has gone to the dogs, and now you have no idea if you’ll chunk it, top it, shank it, or, perhaps once every nine holes, put it exactly how you wanted to. After a couple years of trying to fix it yourself by watching countless hours on YouTube and banging endless buckets of balls on the driving range, you decide it’s finally time to get a new driver – because Callaway has done a fantastic job of marketing their brand new, cutting edge technology in the Paradym. So you drop $600+ at the PGA Superstore only to discover that the club wasn’t the problem. The problem was you all along.
I’ll Just Ask the Club Pro!
So now it’s time to finally spend some money on “real” golf lessons with your club golf pro, and this is when it really hits the fan. Your instructor starts taking videos of your swing and comparing your swing to videos of the pros on the PGA Tour who play on Sundays (who happen to be half your age, by the way). Now you’re leaving lessons worse than when you got there, your brain feels like it’s twisted like a pretzel, and you start wondering if you’ll ever be able to keep up with your golf buddies. You have to start having an honest conversation with yourself about whether you’re going to suck up your pride and move up tee boxes or just quit this stupid game altogether because you can’t bear the thought of using the “old people” tees.
Now It’s Time to Get Real
But then, out of nowhere, you stumble across some luck and see an ad on Facebook or YouTube from Berman Golf out of Naples, FL, stating that they “Specialize in helping aging golfers gain distance off the tee, improve ball striking, and ease aches and pains so you can play more frequently.” And for whatever reason, that message resonates with you. You click on it to read more… Then you start to see video testimonial after video testimonial of people like you who have gained 20+ yards off the tee AND improved their ball striking and are enjoying the game of golf more now than they had been in years!
So now Berman Golf has got your attention, but you’re still thinking that it’s too good to be true, so instead of calling me, you decide that you’re going to spend the next 472 hours watching every one of my YouTube videos until finally, you decide this is worth trying. Berman Golf is worth trying to avoid the definition of insanity. You pick up your phone and make the call, and a small handful of sessions later, it feels like the clouds parted and the sun is shining through on you again.
Now, you can finally feel your glutes and core firing. Now, you can finally feel what it feels like to load your right side and then use your body to get through the ball. Now, you can finally feel what a proper shoulder turn feels like and how good it feels to finish your swing with your belt buckle to the target. And now you’re usually the long ball driver off the tee out of your buddies, and you’re hitting more greens in regulation, resulting in more green ($$$) in your pocket at the 19th hole. Then, for a brief moment, you reflect on why your game is so much better and enjoyable now than it was just a short time ago, and you realize it all comes down to one thing…body awareness! You know exactly how to use your body correctly and are working smarter and not harder. If this story sounds like anybody’s story you know, please make sure to forward this to them so they too can experience the clouds part and feel the sun shining down on them as they outdrive their buddies and stick more greens in regulation!
Dr. Jake Berman, PT, DPT, is a physical therapist and owner of Berman Golf, where they focus on helping aging golfers increase distance off the tee, shoot more consistently, and play more frequently. If you’re not ready to accept “getting old” as an excuse for a poor golf game, call Dr. Berman at 239.431.0232 to take advantage of a FREE 30-minute taster session!