This is a link to a golf fitness trainer certification. When I saw it, I thought it was one of the smartest things I had ever seen. It makes sense to target richer clients especially in a recession. And from what I can tell, it marries a functional fitness approach to improving your golf swing. Seems really smart.
Seems like a good specialty and a way to separate yourself from the crowd.
Has anyone gotten this cert? Know anything about it?
I am contemplating getting the Level 1 cert in October. There are a few golf pros that I know that have the TPI cert. I think it is a good "marriage" between golf and functional anatomy. As far as targeting wealthy clients...I think it will help, but they are all about getting fast results with minimal work. And most of them need maximal work...
That is a potential problem, isn't it? Agreed most of the golfers I've seen look like they need extensive work. There must be a way to convince them that their game will improve if they get fit rather than just try a quick fix.
I find it interesting that I'm teaching many of the those functional exercises already. Cool how it all crosses over no matter what sport you're in.
Well, either your golfers will listen to what you tell them and adhere, or they will listen to their Titliest instructor and spend $700 on a club that supposedly " add 100 yards to their distance".
I am asked this alot. And I work at a golf club, so alot of my trainees "think" I am an excellent golfer. Truth is, the golf swing is a skill acquired through proper instruction and repetition. A good golf pro can teach someone the proper technique, but a good trainer will tell the golf pro and client "why" the swing looks bad. Truth is, I suck at golf...frankly, I find the game long, boring, and slow. I will play when I have about 3.5 hours to kill...but honestly, about 60 minutes into a game, I am thinking to myself, "man, I could be doing that load of laundry", or "I could be washing the car", etc, etc...
Thank goodness. I thought I was the only one. I find the fitness needed to play the game well fascinating, but like you I have better things to do with 3-4 hours of my time.
Are you kidding me? You want to build a business around old white guys who think they know it all? I know this niche sounds like a great business idea, and I've heard this many times, not only in the PT field but in my field with chiropractic, this model never works. Yes, you may know one or two PT's who are doing well in this field, but for the most part, OLD WHITE GUYS who love golfing, are the smallest percentage of people who seek out personal trainers. They are the smallest percentage of ANY group of people who spend money on how they look. Women spend money on how they look, they make up 70% of all doctor visits and I know from consulting, they pretty much make up 70% of all personal training clients. For most men, golfing is important to them, but to actually get them to exercise to improve their golf game is an entirely different ball game. Read my blog post on Fitness Sales Strategies, especially the 1st one, myfitnessmarketing.com and you'll see how to get clients that will actually pay for your services.
Dr. Roman,
I read your blog post and I agree that building your business solely around this type of client may not be a good idea. But I'm wondering if it could be part of an overall CPT business.
For example, the functional exercises are the same it's just aimed at a separate group.
But I do agree that women need to make up the bulk of your clients. Good insight, thanks.
I have found that golfers are an excellent demographic. Even if the golfers individually don't seek you out for training, high-end country clubs are usually very eager to get their hands on talented trainers.
I'm currently studying for the Back to Golf program created by Bud Ferrante. The course that wants me to run the program for them actually paid for it. Between that and my Motion DNA certification I will do pretty well.
I guess I'm back in the fitness industry after all. [inside comment for jp-ers]
Jean-Paul,
I appreciate your input on this thread. I tried to do a search of your posts with the keyword golf included but couldn't seem to make it work. However I do remember you talking once in a thread about being able to retain golfers as clients, but I don't remember if you hinted at how you're doing that.
If you've got the time and interest, could you give some of us who are interested some hints about how you've managed to retain golfers long-term?
I also Goggled Back to Golf and got the gist of the system but Motion DNA didn't seem to bring up a concrete site that explained the product. For example, http://www.motiondnacorp.fitnesssite.com/ seems to be down. Can you give us a brief breakdown of the system? Is it still viable?
I've only worked with one golfer who was a 70 year old that played in a lot of local senior tournaments. My biggest challenge was convincing him to cut down on the number of times per week he was exercising. Once I taught him about over training, I had him do a simple full body routine with dumbbells 2-3 times per week. Specifically for golf I had him do some tai chi waist turns to help him transfer power from his legs through his core; and some forearm work for club head speed. In only a few weeks, he was beaming about a 15 yard increase on his drives. Not bad for a 70 year old.
Yeah, basing it only on golfers might be tough, but if the golf club is also a country club with tennis, spa, etc., and you can get some of those clients or get in as a trainer there, then it might be great.
I agree that a certification targeting a specific niche such as golfers is a great idea. It's great because they are focusing their efforts on a small piece of the market instead of generalizing and trying to attract all interested in fitness. I wonder how many other opportunities like this exists. Perhaps their are certifications for training baseball players, swimmers, the elderly or something else. Something to think about.
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Victor Macias
Personal Trainer Business Coach
Golf fitness trainer?
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