ProDreamUSA clients are set to benefit from an extended partnership with Dr Golf Global, one of the game’s leading providers of strength and conditioning performance programmes for golfers.
Founded by former GB&I Boys international turned strength and conditioning expert Dr Zachariah Gould, the company has now worked with over 2,000 golfers of all ages and abilities in providing bespoke expert coaching and the new partnership will offer ProDreamUSA clients a fully encompassing service to support a player’s ongoing development in the build up to and throughout their time at college.
Dr Golf Global’s strength and conditioning programmes give each player a specific training plan to help them peak for competitions during the playing season while also supporting their transition for going out to college in the United States, as Zach explains:
“We want to make golfers more independent with their strength and conditioning work and provide education so they can understand the purpose and benefits better for themselves. The more we can get golfers to understand the benefits of aspects such as the warm-up, posture, mobility, power and core stability, they will make better decisions, become more self-sufficient and in turn improve their technique.”
One of the key benefits of the partnership is helping ProDreamUSA clients become more attractive to US colleges and universities, through sharing strength and conditioning data with potential recruiters.
“By using our services, we can give ProDreamUSA clients a competitive advantage when it comes to marketing their profile to the network of US coaches. A client can genuinely say they have upskilled themselves in this aspect of their golf, demonstrate that they are already committed to this aspect of their game and bring an understanding of what’s required to their team. It’s a great asset to have when you are pitching yourself out there in the market.”
Their online presence has been growing rapidly in the last year and they currently have around 1,100 golfers using the platform, with each aspect of their work presented in detail on video, in addition to ongoing coaching and support.
“The pandemic has helped in some respects over the last year as its given people more time to focus on this side of the game, particularly during the lockdowns when golfers haven’t been able to get out on the course. It’s enabled younger golfers to have more time to develop a better understanding of what’s required on this aspect of performance.
“A few years ago, strength and conditioning probably wasn’t something too many golfers considered and culturally it wasn’t taken too seriously within coaching, but the trends have emerged from the top down. Tiger Woods started it and others have followed him and now you wouldn’t find many top golfers who don’t invest time in it.
“It’s become the new ‘need’ and you don’t take this side of the game seriously you are likely to fall behind. There are always outliers, but in the main if a golfer invests time and energy in a strength and conditioning programme, they are more than likely to see the benefits. You only have to look at the top golfers on Instagram to see what they are doing which has increased awareness among your average club golfer too.”
Gould, who competed regularly alongside the likes of Rory McIlory as a junior, represented Wales and Boys’ and Men’s level, playing in the Junior Ryder Cup in 2004 and earning GB&I Walker Cup squad selection in 2005 and 07. He has since qualified with a Bachelor Sport and Exercise Science and a PhD in Strength and Conditioning to become one of the leaders in his field.
“Being a golfer with some experience of playing at a high level has certainly given me credibility as there weren’t too many coaches doing this type of work previously. There was probably a culture within the game of ‘if you don’t play, you don’t know’. But that is changing now as more and more coaches are getting involved in this aspect. We’re really starting to see a trend of coaches having a far better understanding of strength and conditioning, or integrating experts into their team, whether that be a National Governing Body or a County.”
The Dr. Golf Global team are also seeing a growth of recreational golfers using their services, which Zach believes can only be good for the game.
“If we can help keep older golfers playing for longer it will benefit the game and keep club membership high. It’s important that golfers stay flexible for longer, particularly when they retire and start playing golf more regularly. When someone reaches the age of 50, they are far more likely to sustain lower back injuries, but if we can start influencing this age bracket into working on strength and conditioning programmes, we can increase their longevity and hopefully get an extra few years of playing out of them.”
ProDreamUSA clients will be contacted directly with more detailed information on how they can benefit from the service, while further details can also be found on the Dr Golf Global website.
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