….and what does it mean for your golf game!

Have you ever purchased Titleist golf balls and golf equipment?  The answer most likely is yes.  That’s because the Titleist company has been around since 1935 when it introduced the first commercially viable golf ball.  The company coined its name, Titleist, from the word “titlist” which means “title holder” because the golfer who uses their golf balls would have a higher probability of winning the golf match and the coveted “title” as the best golfer. And, I love how they developed their logo…the very identifiable script logo, which is still in use today, was written out by the office secretary who had beautiful penmanship.

The First Golf Company to Embrace Fitness

Prior to 2003, exercise and golf were barely uttered in the same sentence.  Players in past generations, for some unknown reason, were stigmatized for spending anytime at the gym instead of spending their time at the driving range. The correlation between great golf and exercise was fairly non-existent… until Tiger Woods came onto the scene.  Many credit Tiger Woods for changing the acceptance of golf fitness and the Titleist Company took notice.

So, it makes perfect sense that this company would, almost 70 years later, be the first company to embrace the fitness movement started by golfers to improve their game.  They did this when they founded the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) in 2003 with Dr. Greg Rose and David Philips along with a 52-member advisory staff of leading experts. Today, TPI is the worlds leading educational organization dedicated to the study of how the human body functions in relation to the golf swing. It was the organization that developed the fundamental concepts that changed the course of the golf fitness industry and what it means to be fit and play golf today.

Find Your Most Efficient Golf Swing

Since its inception in 2003, The Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) has studied thousands of golfers ranging from top professional tour players to weekend enthusiasts.  They have accumulated an incredible amount of data on players of all shapes, sizes, ages, and fitness levels. Using this data, TPI discovered how a properly functioning body allows a player to swing a golf club in the most efficient way for them.  They were also able to analyze how physical limitations in a player’s body can adversely affect the golf swing and potentially lead to injury.

How Can TPI Benefit the Casual Golfer?

When I tell people, I have my TPI Fitness Certification …. I either get “glazed eyes” or the polite comment “that’s nice” or the very silent quizzical look of “so what?”  Golf physical fitness is still not important to many players. From my observation, many golfers still don’t “understand” or embrace how important golf fitness is to their game…. that is until their game starts to deteriorate or they can no longer play due to physical injury or some other limitation. Then they either begin physical therapy to heal their injury or stop playing.   Fitness, and the ability to play golf well, or well into their later years, directly correlates back to a golfer’s functional fitness level. Check out my articles about the benefits of the TPI Assessment, golf fitness pointers, and my favorite exercises to keep you in the game.