BARRINGTON, R.I. -- There's no denying the fact that the physique of golfers has changed dramatically over the last several years. A healthy lifestyle, along with a golf-specific fitness regimen, leads to a more enjoyable life and a better golf game.

That's a fact. Look no further than all the flat-bellies walking the fairways of the PGA Tour these days. Most of the players look athletic, strong and hit the ball a country mile.

Many of those players that you see have used the workings of the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) to transform their bodies in an effort to get the most out of their game.

Lucky for all of us casual golfers, TPI isn't limited to the pros.

Meet Doug Perron, President and Principal Trainer at the Barrington Fitness Studio in Barrington, R.I., home of eight-time PGA Tour champion Brad Faxon, who happens to be one of Perron's clients.

Perron, a personal trainer for 18 years, has countless impressive certifications that spread across the walls of the Barrington Fitness Studio. Many of them are for TPI, which Faxon led Perron to discover in 2005.

Since then, Perron has been hooked.

"Prior to TPI, I had worked with some amateur golfers and your average country club weekend warriors," Perron said. "But, it was really Brad Faxon who exposed me to TPI back in 2005. He took me out to Oceanside, Calif., to the TPI facility and it was love at first sight, as they say. Another way to put it is -- I drank the Kool-Aid right away, because I saw the program they designed and what they were offering. My first exposure to TPI, I was convinced that it was a superior model to testing and training the athletic golfer."

A TOP PLAYER AND TOP CLIENT

Faxon, a former two-time member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, has always been in great physical shape. However, he admits that his conditioning happened almost by accident.

"I was always a kid that played a lot of different sports growing up," Faxon said. "Like many players on Tour, you play a lot of sports growing up, not realizing it's for your well being. It was just fun. You weren't necessarily doing it to be in good shape. Plus, I always liked to workout. I didn't initially do it to be a better golfer."

Once Faxon visited the TPI facility in Oceanside, Calif., and met cofounders Dr. Greg Rose and Dave Phillips, he became a huge fan.

"It's my favorite place to go," Faxon said of TPI. "You feel rejuvenated and it almost feels like you get fit quick and on the right track. When I think about what changed the approach to fitness for golfers, two things stand out. Having seen David Duval go from overweight to fit and buff and No. 1 in world right as Tiger came out, I think those two things in the later '90s really sped up the process."

Perron's knowledge of TPI has worked wonders for Faxon, who estimates he trains with Perron 3-4 times per week when he's home in the Ocean State.

"What's great about Doug is he's a conscientious trainer," Faxon said. "I hurt myself prior to working with Doug with another trainer. I wouldn't say it was a career-wrecker, but I haven't been the same since I tore my ACL. When I met Doug, I thought things were a little slower than I wanted, but Doug's philosophy with me was to start slow and stay steady. Now I'm in really good shape and very balanced. We work out 3-4 days a week when I'm home and I have programs for on the road to train. When I have problems, I can call him and I know he's been through all the schools and TPI certifications, so that's peace of mind for me."

If you're serious about improving your game, Faxon explained, it takes a big commitment.

"There's a couple of things," he said. "I'm a big believer that fitness is great for overall health. It'll help you in whatever you do, and there's no doubt it will improve your quality of life. You feel good about yourself. And if you're trying to become a better golfer -- and there's a lot of different avenues to go down -- but your physical shape is one of the things to knock off and fix right away. If you're 30-40 lbs. overweight, address that. You'll be better off for it and so will your game.

"With that said, I don't think that you can completely substitute fitness for time on the practice tee or short game area. To be better you have to be on the course too. Chip and putt. Work on your swing. It's not just fitness. You need to be careful of that. Dedicate time to the fitness aspect, but don't overdo it. Work with a PGA Professional too. Play some tournament golf. All those things are important."

A TEAM APPROACH

More than anything, TPI captures a team-approach, which was incredibly appealing to Perron. Rather than a client seeing just Perron for personal training, Perron brings in the client's PGA Instructor, and, in some cases, a physical therapist in an effort to help the client achieve the optimum performance.

"The team approach is a win-win for everyone," Perron said. "It looks at the person's biggest red flag. If we can identify why this individual is having a hard time moving, we can pinpoint the exercise program to really improve that limitation. It's not always a movement limitation. Sometimes it's a stability limitation, which means a person may have a hard time just getting to a certain position because their joints and their muscles won't allow them there. We can pinpoint the training program to where we really focus on the limitations, or the needs. It's a needs-based program."
That team approach is also why PGA Professionals love the TPI program.

"This is the key component of the TPI system," said Kyle Phelps, PGA Head Professional at the prestigious Rhode Island Country Club, who works closely with Perron. "Just as an individual would have an accountant, financial advisor and attorney work together to help improve his or her financial future, a PGA Instructor, TPI trainer, and medical person work to help improve a player's golfing future. If an instructor tries to get a player to make a swing change that the player does not have the strength or mobility to make, he's wasting the player's time, money and could possibly injure the player. An instructor and trainer working as a team give a player the best chance at long-term improvement."

Phelps, whose course annually hosts the Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade's CVS/Caremark Charity Classic and will also be the venue for the U.S. Women's Amateur this August, insists that TPI has been revolutionary for golfers, no matter the level of ability.

"For so long instructors and students have been frustrated trying to make changes that the student does not have the physical ability to make," Phelps said. "The TPI Assessment gives the instructor, and student, an 'X-ray' of the student's capabilities. It allows them to understand what a student can or cannot do and decide a realistic course of action."
And that's where Perron comes into play. After the assessment and the discovery of what he terms, "red flags," he sets up a program for the client to help achieve certain physical goals and address those problem areas. For Perron, TPI is not limited simply to golf.

"After my exposure to the TPI model, which is really a system of testing and training, I use this model on all athletes, whether they're golfers, tennis players, or lacrosse and everything in between - baseball and soccer - because it's such a comprehensive way of looking at movement," Perron said. "Truly, golf is one of the most dynamic moving sports out there. This system looks at how the body moves from a static and dynamic standpoint. We take a look at a joint-by-joint approach of movement and that helps to identify any red flags, or weak links that a player may have that they need to really work on.

"For example, we do some balance testing," he added. "It seems very simple, but what we find here, is that many players in their 40s and 50s and beyond, really lack balance. By helping to identify where that's coming from - if it's from a joint perspective, like an ankle, knee or hip joint that's affected and limits your balance - in golf you need great balance and you need to work that particular area. We look at stability, mobility, balance, strength, strength endurance and also strength power. So we evaluate all those aspects of the player and we've found that this is a great way of looking at all athletes. Again, you're looking at movement and you're looking at the body's ability to access the movement."

Perron also enlists the services of physical therapist Greg Specht in nearby Swansea, Mass. Since TPI has been so successful with touring professionals, Specht was enthusiastic about teaming up with Perron and offering the program to golfers all over New England.

"A physical therapist, particularly one who has studied the biomechanics of golf, is able to analyze your physical capabilities and movements to identify areas that are moving inefficiently - whether you're in pain or not," Specht said. "Once we know where your limitations are, we can design an exercise program that fixes the problem areas before the injury happens, all the while improving flexibility, strength, posture, etc. I like the fact that the evaluation and training methods used by TPI are tour proven and based on the latest biomechanical and fitness research."

DON'T BE AFRAID TO GIVE TPI A TRY

It's not uncommon for people who aren't familiar with gym training to instantly be intimidated just by the sights - all those free weights, machines that look like the latest NASA project and, in some cases, people who look like they should be on the cover of bodybuilding magazines.

For starters, congratulations on your new gym membership. Now, wouldn't it be nice to get the most out of it? Perron sure thinks so.

"If you're going to be spending one or two hours a week in the gym, or maybe you're spending seven hours a week in the gym, make sure you're not wasting your time working on things that are superfluous," he said. "Make sure you're working on the right systems to improve not only your game, but to improve your health. There's a lot of wasted time in the gym, where people don't really know what they're doing. We're giving them direction to work on the right things."

And… sigh of relief… that doesn't involve moving a lot of weight.

Whether you're Brad Faxon, or a weekend golfer who wants to get the most out of your game, the team-approach theme taken with TPI is hard to beat.

"A player at any ability level would benefit from TPI," Phelps said. "I have yet to meet a player who does not want to hit it farther. Most of the best players at my club are the ones who are most serious about their fitness. All you need to do is turn on the TV to see how big fitness has become in golf. The players are better athletes and in better condition. The game has become such a power game and fitness is a huge part of it."

Q: Doug, can you explain how you got started in personal training? It's something you've been doing for 18 years now.

Perron: I was always in the gym growing up. I was exposed to fitness and exercise at the tender age of about 14, or so. I was always working out to get in better shape and improve my performance. I guess at the time, I had some problems with some growing pains and was exposed to a good doctor - Dr. Ernie Lowe, an orthopedic surgeon in Providence - who said, 'You should be into exercise.'

From there, I started lifting weights and had the influence of my brother-in-law, who was an avid weightlifter. We started in the gym around 14-15 years old and had gone through a couple of different careers before I became involved in personal training, but I always found that common denominator with exercise, staying fit and working out.

Q: In the last 15 years or so, there's really been a boom in golf. The game has gotten younger and these guys actually look like world-class athletes and aren't nearly as round in the midsection. I guess that's where the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) comes into play. For years you've been the personal trainer to eight-time PGA Tour champion Brad Faxon, right here in Barrington, R.I. He's the person who introduced you to TPI. Tell us about that.

Perron: Prior to TPI, I had worked with some amateur golfers and your average country club weekend warriors. But, it was really Brad Faxon who exposed me to TPI back in 2005. He took me out to Oceanside, Calif., to the TPI facility and it was love at first sight, as they say. Another way to put it is, I drank the Kool-Aid right away, because I saw the program they designed and what they were offering. My first exposure to TPI, I was convinced that it was a superior model to testing and training the athletic golfer.

Q: Prior to TPI, you spent most of your life in training. What was it that was so unique and eye-opening for you about TPI?

Perron: First of all, beyond the facility, the brain power of the founders. They put together a total dream team of an advisory board, stacked with the best people in the industry, from a fitness and medical standpoint. They were looking at breaking down the body and golf connection. They have a very systematic approach to looking at how the body works in the golf swing and they have a lot of data.

Well before 2005, they started looking at data, but 2005 is when TPI was born. They had a lot of data compiled. They had worked with a lot of Tour players, a lot of up and coming Tour players. It was just very impressive to me - the whole facility and the way they look at and interpret the body and golf connection.

Q: Your wall here at the Barrington Fitness Studio is loaded with various TPI certifications. How do those certification processes work?

Perron: The process has been ongoing for the last six years. TPI is a multi-level, certification process. There are four different tracks of certification and each track has two levels of certification. Anybody who enters into the TPI program has to first achieve their Level I, which is a base-knowledge certification process. It's pretty difficult and, again, looks at the body and golf swing connection.

My first exposure was a three-day process out at TPI and then my first certification was a two-day certification, which was followed by some testing. For the last six years, really, I've gone to multiple levels of multiple certifications, including their golf fitness certification; their medical certification; and their junior player development certification.

Q: For anyone reading this who might be a little intimidated because - more likely than not - they're certainly not on the level of a Brad Faxon, why would you recommend TPI? Is it just for those serious about the game, or also for the casual golfer?

Perron: I would absolutely recommend TPI to the casual golfer. After my exposure to the TPI model, which is really a system of testing and training, I use this model on all athletes, whether they're golfers, tennis players, or lacrosse and everything in between - baseball and soccer - because it's such a comprehensive way of looking at movement.

Truly, golf is one of the most dynamic moving sports out there. This system looks at how the body moves from a static and dynamic standpoint. We take a look at a joint-by-joint approach of movement and that helps to identify any red flags, or weak links that a player may have that they need to really work on.

For example, we do some balance testing. It seems very simple, but what we find here, is that many players in their 40s and 50s and beyond, really lack balance. By helping to identify where that's coming from - if it's from a joint perspective, like an ankle knee or hip joint that's affected and limits your balance - in golf you need great balance and you need to work that particular area. We look at stability, mobility, balance, strength, strength endurance and also strength power. So we evaluate all those aspects of the player and we've found that this is a great way of looking at all athletes.

Again, you're looking at movement and you're looking at the body's ability to access the movement.

Q: You set up TPI programs for your clients with varying degrees of difficulty that become more intense as they progress. Do you notice a spike in clientele during the non-golfing months, or is it a year round commitment to TPI?

Perron: Our clientele captures both those markets. We have people who are ongoing, who are 12-month clients and come every week, sometimes 2-3 times per week. We have other clients, who go on a six-week period and then we re-evaluate and build another program for another six-week period. So, it really depends upon the individual.

Q: Can you talk a little about your relationship with Kyle Phelps, the PGA Head Professional at Rhode Island Country Club, which will host the 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur?

Perron: Kyle and I work together with quite a few clients. Very often what happens is somebody may have a difficult time achieving something in their swing. If they're a right-handed player, they might have a problem loading their right hip on their backswing. It could be a physical limitation that's causing that, or it could be ankle, knee or hip on their right side that's not allowing them to get into that position. These players need mobility training.

If you think of the average club player, who let's say is a 50-, or 60-year-old male, who is having a hard time with consistency in his swing, it very well may be a physical limitation. We run that person through a screening process that looks over the individual's body and build a program from there.

So, my relationship with Kyle is a team-based approach, where Kyle will evaluate their swing and point out any particular swing faults a player may have and then we look at the body and try to develop a program to correct any physical limitations they may have.

Q: How beneficial is that team approach to the golfer? I mean, the golfer can literally come in here with his or her PGA Professional with a video of the swing where the instructor points out to you what he or she sees as the limitation and you use your expertise to devise a plan to fix that.

Perron: The team approach is a win-win for everyone. It looks at the person's biggest red flag. If we can identify why this individual is having a hard time moving, we can pinpoint the exercise program to really improve that limitation.

It's not always a movement limitation. Sometimes it's a stability limitation, which means a person may have a hard time just getting to a certain position because their joints and their muscles won't allow them there. We can pinpoint the training program to where we really focus on the limitations, or the needs. It's a needs-based program.

Another way to look at that is, if you're going to be spending one or two hours a week in the gym, or maybe you're spending seven hours a week in the gym, make sure you're not wasting your time working on things that are superfluous. Make sure you're working on the right systems to improve not only your game, but to improve your health. There's a lot of wasted time in the gym, where people don't really know what they're doing. We're giving them direction to work on the right things.

Q: What's your clientele like for the people on TPI? As you mentioned earlier, it's really for everyone… Maybe even for the average country club guy, who thinks he's too old to go to the gym, but still wants to get better at golf.

Perron: Our clientele spans generations. We have some juniors we work with, who are 15-17, 18 years old before they go off to college. Right now I'm working with a junior, who is on his way to the IMG Leadbetter Academy for a PG year before he goes off to college.

We work with men and women. I'd have to say that the majority of the people we work with are the 40-60-year-old people, who are trying to improve their physical performance through exercise and trying to improve their game through physical exercise.

Q: What has been your most rewarding moment so far in your six years with TPI?

Perron: Certainly I feel like we've been riding the wave with TPI, because it's evolved over the last six years. And being a part of that team approach has been a wonderful experience. Being a part of the meeting of the minds with this great team has probably been the best experience.

I enjoy working with beginners to professionals like Faxon. Obviously, that's been a great experience, working with Brad.

I enjoy working with kids, working with Button Hole. We do Brad Faxon Day at Button Hole, where you're exposing kids to exercise and making that connection between being healthy, being physically fit and being a better player. It's all been a wonderful experience.

Q: Clearly, you're a professional in the world of athletic training. Why is it that TPI is the best program out there for - not just golf - but all aspects of getting fit?

Perron: TPI looks at movement. Part of the TPI program is based upon one of the advisory board members, Gray Cook, and in my opinion and in the opinion of a lot of people, he's a pioneer in movement, movement assessment and movement correction. The model really looks at Gray's work along with Greg Rose and Dave Phillips (the co-founders of TPI) and is a very comprehensive program to fix movement and I just think it's where the future of training is going. You can quote me on that. Right now, they're working on a system of evaluation in exercise prescription that is truly going to change where exercise is going.

Q: What do you think was the main reason for something like TPI being created? Is it because golf has become much younger? Is it safe to say that Tiger Woods changed the physical look of a golfer?

Perron: Early on, Tiger was with Titleist and, back in those days, he worked with Greg and Dave. They looked at film, looked at movement and really where TPI changed the way golf is, they looked at the kinematics sequence with K-Vest and with the best ball-strikers, how their kinematics sequence works. They developed a way to look at 3-D imaging of the golf swing and they were able to look at the swing you have - there's no one perfect way to swing the club, but there's a more efficient way for your body to swing the club - so what they started to realize is that, the people who are most fit, are better able to make a more efficient swing.

It really comes down to having the proper stability and the proper mobility at the right places in your body. That joint-by-joint approach, a good way to put it, your foot needs to be stable, but your ankle needs to be mobile, your knee needs to be stable, but your hip needs to be mobile, your lumbar spine and your core needs to be stable, but your mid-back - your thoracic spine - needs to be mobile, your shoulder blade needs to be stable, but your shoulder joint needs to be mobile, your elbow joint needs to be stable and your wrists need to be mobile and your hands need to be stable. There's an alternating path of mobility and stability and if one of those joints is not working correctly - if it's stable when it should by mobile - it can set up some problems in the golf swing. Not only a golf swing, but in any sport.

Again, it's a way of looking at human movement and evaluating any flaws in the movement and then correcting those flaws so the body can move more efficiently.

Q: I know you don't play much seeing as you have a young family and a small business to run, but what results have you seen in your own game by applying TPI?

Perron: That's a great question. What I initially found out is that I have my limitations too. No one is immune to it. Everyone has certain limitations. With me, it helped me to identify some range of motion limitations within my hips that ultimately affected my back. With correcting those hip limitations, I relieved the pressure in my back and swing more efficiently. Not only that, but looking at the entire model, I now have almost X-ray eyes, where I can better understand my own body and how it feels and how it effects my golf swing. My hip joint is a little limited, which didn't allow me a very efficient backswing. In fact, the way my body is set up, I'm more efficient swinging to my left. If I were a left-handed player, I'd run a little more efficiently swinging that way. Not that I can play left-handed!

Lastly, I just want to say that earlier you mentioned some older folks are going to think, 'This isn't for me, it's for a younger person.' Well, it's really never too late to start and it's never too early to begin, either.

With the junior program, they really look at the Long-Term Athletic Development model (LTAD). Golf is a late-specialization sport and human movement from gymnastics to martial arts to soccer and baseball all work on improving your golfing ability.

If you're thinking about getting your young children started with golf, really because it is a late-specialization sport, they're involvement in any other sport is going to help them become a better golfer. Rather than try to teach your 4-year-old how to play golf, teach your 4-year-old how to move properly and give them athletic movements through other sports and then slowly expose them to golf and make sure they have the proper training.

Q: People should also know, there's not a whole lot of weights involved in TPI.

Perron: That's a good point. One way to think of this is, in many cases, after we evaluate somebody, we find what we term, 'a problem.' For example, if you have a mobility problem, which means you have limited range of motion over one, or two, or maybe three joints, if you bring a strength solution to a mobility problem, you're going to create more of a problem. If you have a weakness and you're just trying to stretch out that weakness, maybe the weakness on somebody doesn't involve any mobility restrictions. Maybe they're very supple and maybe they have a perfect range of motion. Now you're trying to stretch them even more and you're going to add more of a problem.

In this case, if somebody has a strength problem and you bring a mobility solution to the problem, you're not going to help them out. So, the idea is bringing the right correction to the limitation.

The Secret to Preventing Back Pain in Golfers… 

The incidence of low back pain among golfers is extremely high. In fact low back pain is the most common physical complaint affecting amateur and professional golfers. Unfortunately, research shows that ignoring the problem will not make the pain go away. In fact, not managing your back pain will often lead to progressive worsening symptoms and disability. So obviously, preventing back pain and injury in the first place, is the key to long-term spinal health and optimal performance. 

Commonly, back pain sufferers feel that their low back is “tight” and needs to be stretched. However, while stretching the low back may temporarily ease pain and stiffness, the real problem is often that the lower back is over-working to compensate for stiffness in the hips. So the secret to improving your performance while preventing back pain is… 

Improve your flexibility where you need it most. How do you know if your hips are tight?
See below for the windshield wiper test.  

An important consideration when performing any stretching program is the understanding that your body will move in the path of least resistance. Simply stated you will often stretch in the way that you move the easiest, while ignoring your greatest movement limitations. A great golf analogy to illustrate this point is the common practice of many golfers to hit their driver for hours on the range while ignoring the short game. 

The other crucial point is learning where your body needs the most attention. Understanding and respecting your ‘Mobility-Stability Pattern’ is paramount when addressing movement limitations. With regard to your hips, during a full swing each hip joint will ideally move through 45 degrees of internal rotation. The picture below demonstrates an easy way to assess your own hip internal rotation mobility. In this picture the left leg demonstrates adequate internal rotation range of motion while the right leg shows poor mobility. In this example with limited right hip internal rotation, a right-handed golfer will likely be forced to compensate on his back swing with poor swing mechanics and excessive strain on the low back and right knee. Not only will this result in inconsistent ball striking, over time this could cause injury to the lower back or knee. 

If your hip moves less than ideally, try the hip drop exercise as described on the exercise page at www.iGOLFfit.com. 

If you are looking for more information on golf fitness and physical therapy visit us at www.iGOLFfit.com. 

“Feel Good, Golf Great” 

Titleist's Fitness Program

Have you noticed the physical shapes of golfers on Tour? Wonder why players hit the ball so far today? Seen the two large golf fitness trailers set up at the Deutsche Bank Championship?

If you talk to the players, most all will say they are in great physical condition and that they follow a golf-specific training regimen to get the most from their bodies and help reduce injuries.

Titleist, a leading manufacturer of golf balls and golf equipment, developed a program in 2003 called the Titleist Performance Institute. The purpose of the program was to make golfers more fit, so that in the long run they will play better and longer and hence use more golf balls.

"Wally Uihlein and the top staff at Titleist had the foresight to see that the USGA was putting restrictions on balls and clubs and the only way to get more distance was to improve the ultimate source-the golfer's body," said PGA Tour professional Brad Faxon who has been going out to the Titleist Performance Institute facility (which is next door to the Equipment Testing Facility) in Oceanside, Cal. since soon after its inception.

"You are hooked up to wires and electrodes that test your legs, trunk and upper body to find the areas of strength and weakness, and then you are given a fitness program to help improve the areas you need," added Faxon. "The reason that young players absolutely kill the ball is that they are learning at an early age to best use their body for the golf swing," he said.

Two life-long friends from Pawtucket, Doug Perron and Greg Specht, have embraced this Titleist Performance Institute concept with the formation of iGOLFfit. Perron is a physical therapist assistant, personal trainer and fitness instructor who owns Barrington Fitness Studio. He is a graduate of Newbury College has been trained at the Titleist Performance Institute, the golf fitness program in Oceanside and has been honing his craft for 18 years.

He has earned the distinction of TPI's Level 3 Fitness Certification, Level 2 Medical Certification and is working towards his Level 3 Junior Development Certification.

Specht is a graduate of Northeastern University with a degree in physical therapy. He owns Specht Physical Therapy, an orthopedic and sports therapy center in Swansea and has been a physical therapist for 19 years. Greg has earned his Level 2 Medical and Level 2 Fitness Certification and is an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist.

"The goal of Titleist Performance Institute is to have everyday golfers have access to this golf-specific health and golf fitness information and technology through an internet program called MyTPI. Part of the program includes access to articles and exercises on their website www.mytpi.com.

"I really believe in the program. I've seen how it has improved the golfing ability of so many of my clients," said the enthusiastic Perron. "Doug is the best fitness trainer that I know. I've gone to him so often that we have become good friends," said Faxon who also mentioned that Doug's wife, Valerie, is the best massage therapist he's ever worked with.

"We try to work on strength, mobility, stability, balance and power," said Perron who does a complete evaluation of each client who comes to his studio. These evaluations are done compared to a standard, and he and Specht use many different tools in the evaluation process. Within a couple of days the client comes back into the studio and a targeted fitness and wellness plan has been developed with specific exercises to work on to improve your golf fitness.

"If I find that someone has a physical limitation or injury that would preclude doing some of the exercises or training regimen, then I send him or her to Greg," said Perron who also gets many referrals from golf professionals. Kyle Phelps at Rhode Island Country Club and Troy Pare at Wannamoisett are two local pros that are Titleist Performance Institute certified.

"Kyle is just down the street and he really gets it with regard to golf fitness training. I am always sending clients to him with the results of the TPI evaluation, and he often sends golfers to me," said Perron. "I've told many of my clients that they are wasting money by taking lessons when they won't improve substantially until they become more fit," said Phelps.

"The first thing I do when I want to make a change in someone's swing is to test the person and make sure that they have the ability to do what I am asking. If they can, we attack it, but if they can't I suggest that they go and see Doug, We work as a team for the benefit of our students and I've seen results from everyone I've sent to Doug," said Phelps.

"The TPI Model is great and Doug is the best. He is not only an expert in his field, but you will never find someone who will care more about your results than him," he added.

Steve Napoli, head professional at Carnegie Abbey and long-time member of the RIPGA and a proponent of the TPI program, admitted that he likes work but he hates working out. "I go to the Barrington Fitness Studio twice a week at about 5:30 in the morning. The time flies by and I find that Doug has really been helpful for me," said Napoli.

"I've been to Greg when I needed physical therapy and he's been very helpful," said Faxon who sees PT's across the country while on Tour. "Their (Perron and Specht) concept of feeling good and golfing great is wonderful for golfers and it will certainly help golfers perform at their peak," added Faxon.

Visit their website at www.iGOLFfit.com to find out more about this concept of physical fitness as it relates specifically to golf.

Editor's Note: Perron and Specht have agreed to write a golf fitness column in each issue of Ocean State Golf for the next year.

Stay tuned for more golf health and golf fitness techniques!