Fitness with Averee: Quick and easy dynamic golf warm up

Heading to the tee with no warm up and straight to driver is a recipe for injury.

Heading to the tee with no warm up and straight to your driver is a recipe for injury.

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This week, Golfweek’s fitness guru and long driver Averee Dovsek and Bradley Borne from Lab 18 are in the gym demonstrating a quick and easy dynamic warm up that can be done anywhere with just a golf club. This exercise is great for extension and rotation.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” above and check here for previous episodes.

If you’re interested in instructional content, check here to see Averee out on the course.

Golfweek‘s Get Better newsletter covers everything instruction and fitness-related. Sign up for Get Better here.

Fitness with Averee: How to combat poor shoulder mobility and rotation

Shoulder mobility can play a big role in how you swing.

Whether it be your takeaway or follow through, shoulder mobility can play a big role in how you swing.

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This week, Golfweek’s fitness guru and long driver Averee Dovsek and Bradley Borne from Lab 18, are in the gym demonstrating how to improve shoulder mobility and rotation. This exercise is great for golf because you are getting external and core rotation.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” above and check here for previous episodes.

If you’re interested in instructional content, check here to see Averee out on the course.

Golfweek‘s Get Better newsletter covers everything instruction and fitness-related. Sign up for Get Better here.

Final-round fatigue at the 2021 WM Phoenix Open sparked Scottie Scheffler to get over the hump and become a worldbeater

“I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Scottie yet, for sure.”

As the two-time defending champion of the WM Phoenix Open, Scottie Scheffler has a chance to do something only one golfer has done before in the long and illustrious history of this tournament: three-peat.

Arnold Palmer did it from 1961-63 when the event was played at Phoenix Country Club. Since the tournament moved to TPC Scottsdale in 1987, only Hideki Matsuyama (2016-17) had won back-to-back Phoenix Opens before Scheffler’s current run.

But it was Scheffler’s failure to earn his first PGA Tour title at the 2021 WM Phoenix Open, a year before his winning ways began, that may have been the turning point in his career. That’s when Scheffler realized he needed to take his fitness to the next level.

Scheffler played in the final group in 2021 and closed in 1-under 70 but got passed by Brooks Koepka’s 65 and settled for a T-7 finish.

“We found out he didn’t have the cardiovascular endurance,” said Troy Van Biezen, a chiropractor whose stable of players won 12 majors and more than 100 tournaments while under his care. “He had some fatigue on the back nine. I worked with Tiger when he won the 2019 Masters and he told me I want to be as physically, emotionally and mentally strong when I tee off on Thursday as when I’m going down the back nine on Sunday. That always stuck in my head.”

2021 WM Phoenix Open
Scottie Scheffler plays his tee shot on the 10th hole during the second round of the 2021 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic)

So, after falling short at TPC Scottsdale, Van Biezen sat down with Scheffler and constructed a new exercise regime built around stability, mobility and flexibility but that also included everything from nutrition to hydration and recovery, taxing the body with sled pushes and finishing sessions with burners or hits.

“I told him, ‘I’m going to beat the crap out of you,’ ” Van Biezen recalled. “We’re going to do a lot of high intensity aerobic work, build up your aerobic capacity and your endurance.’ Let’s make sure we control the controllables.”

Scheffler made endurance training a point of emphasis that off-season so he’d never feel gassed again. Not only did he return to the Valley of the Sun and notched his maiden Tour title in a playoff over then-reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay in 2022, but he went on to have a remarkable year, winning the Masters among four victories and being named PGA Tour Player of the Year.

He reached No. 1 in the world and followed up his breakthrough season by holding off Jon Rahm and Nick Taylor to defend his WM title, adding the Players Championship a month later and producing one of the most consistent seasons in memory – in 23 starts, Scheffler recorded 13 top-fives and 17 top-10s, both high marks for any player in a single season on Tour since 2005 – to repeat as 2022-23 PGA Tour Player of the Year. In doing so, Scheffler became the first player since Tiger Woods to win the Jack Nicklaus Award in back-to-back seasons since he captured the award three straight years from 2005-07.

Golf at the highest level has become a power game played by a collection of the most physically fit athletes to play the game. Van Biezen spent 21 years on the PGA Tour, providing consistent chiropractic care while witnessing the evolution in how pro golfers care for their bodies. (He recently took a full-time post with the NHL’s Dallas Stars as director of sports performance and science, but still works with Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and other Dallas-based clients when they are in town but no longer is available to them on the road for 200 days a year.)

“Back in the day, after a round, the guys were having a smoke and a beer. Now it’s a protein shake, recovery bike ride or a flush on the table, cryotherapy, Normatec (leg compression) boots. They’re athletes now, so you’ve got to treat them that way,” Van Biezen said.

Initially, Scheffler didn’t take the off-course training seriously. That is until his back, which troubled him during his final two years at University of Texas, forced him to pull out of a tournament due to injury during his senior season. When Van Biezen received a phone call from Texas men’s golf coach John Fields asking for his guidance, he told Scheffler, who he began training at age 14, that if he wanted to be the best golfer in the world someday he needed to take better care of his body. Scheffler finally bought in and the synergy between Randy Smith, Scheffler’s longtime swing instructor, and Van Biezen has been a key ingredient to his success.

2022 WM Phoenix Open
Scottie Scheffler and his caddie celebrate a birdie on the 17th hole during the third round of the 2022 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Patrick Breen/The Arizona Republic)

“They love working together and it’s been pretty easy for me just to kind of follow their ideas,” Scheffler said. “Randy’s always been the swing guy and a lot of the imbalances I had in my body were causing my swing to become a certain way, so when Randy wanted to change my swing a little bit and make little changes, it’s pretty easy for us just to go to Troy and say hey, ‘My right hips been a little bit tight, it’s hard for me to get in my right side,’ and that’s something that we can work on in the gym very easily.”

Van Biezen tries to reverse engineer movement patterns in the gym to train Scheffler’s nervous system to move properly so he can go on the golf course and execute more consistently. For Scheffler that’s included an emphasis on loading into his trail hip and building the core strength needed to stay in Smith’s preferred positions for maximum efficiency.

Van Biezen considers Scheffler to be the equivalent of a Formula 1 race car and he’s the pit crew chief.

“I’m the guy looking under the hood seeing how the engine is running,” Van Biezen said. “My goal with Scottie is injury prevention, make sure he’s mobile and pliable but still get him strong, fast and powerful. It’s been a methodical process intended to avoid the body breaking down and includes a lot of soft tissue work. I can always generate a really big engine to generate a lot of power but you’ve got to make sure that the chassis can handle the torque that the engine can provide.”

Regular golfers can benefit from Scheffler’s workout programs via Golf Forever, an app-based exercise and pain relief program with a proprietary trainer, which he began using the week before winning at TPC Scottsdale for this first time in 2022. Several tour pros have followed suit as well as more than 40 college golf programs. The trainer is sold at more than 400 retail stores, allowing any golfer to follow virtually the same workout routine as the two-time defending WM Phoenix Open champion. To hear Van Biezen tell it, the 27-year-old Scheffler hasn’t tapped his potential yet.

“He plays the game because he loves it. He wants to get better and he’s a huge competitor,” Van Biezen said. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Scottie yet, for sure.”

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Golf fitness items to keep your 2024 New Year’s resolutions

Do your best to stay healthy so you can spend as much time as possible on the golf course in 2024!

Welcome to 2024! It’s another year, and that means it’s time to set goals for the next 360 days or so.

Many people decide around this time of year that it’s time to get into shape and pay more attention to their health. Golfers can do the same!

Fitness and physical health are incredibly important when you’re trying to shoot lower scores.

So, we’ve decided to put together a list of some fantastic golf fitness items from brands like WHOOP, Therabody, Hyperice and more.

Check out some of our other equipment lists here: Best golf beanies for fall and winter golf | Best jackets for cold-weather golf | Best golf hoodies

Fitness with Averee: How to take advantage of hotel gyms when traveling

Watch this week’s tip here.

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It’s rare to find a hotel with a complete gym full of all types of equipment.

Minimal equipment makes it difficult to get creative with your workouts and stay on track with your training program.

This week, Golfweek’s fitness guru and long driver Averee Dovsek demonstrates a full-body workout you can do in a hotel gym with a single dumbbell.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” above and check here for previous episodes.

If you’re interested in instructional content, check here to see Averee out on the course.

Golfweek‘s Get Better newsletter covers everything instruction and fitness-related. Sign up for the Get Better newsletter here.

Six helpful tips golfers can use to prevent injuries

Mobility can be a great place to start in your training.

As most of the country is beginning to defrost after a long winter, your body may not be used to playing long rounds of golf or even practicing.

In preparation to swinging a club in the cold weather, many golfers fail to properly warm-up for a range session or their round and that can be a recipe for injury.

Common injuries among golfers affect the back, knees, wrists, shoulders and more. The back is not designed to rotate for a golf swing, so mobility can be a great place to start in your training.

Members of the NYU Langone Health Sports Performance Center team spoke to Golfweek’s fitness guru Averee Dovsek and gave some helpful tips on preventing injuries for golfers.

Contributors: Heather Milton MS, RCEP, CSCS, Jamie Nguyen MS, OTR/L, Monica Seu OTR/L, CHT, CLT

10 days of winter workouts: Box jumps for power

Everyone is on the hunt for more power in the golf swing and half the battle comes from lower body strength.

Everyone is on the hunt for more power in the golf swing and half the battle of speed comes from lower body strength.

Golfweek’s Averee Dovsek demonstrates how to do a plyometric box jump, which will help with lower body strength and will get players to use the ground during their golf swing. Start on a low box and work up to a higher box. Rushing into higher boxes off the bat could result in injury.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” and check here for previous episodes.

If you’re looking for more instruction, click here.

Golfweek‘s Get Better newsletter covers everything instruction and fitness-related. Sign up for Get Better here.

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10 days of winter workouts: Medicine ball rotational throws

Better rotation, more power.

Exercises using a medicine ball can be a great start in developing a better turn, weight transfer and pivot.

Averee Dovsek is in the gym demonstrating a medicine ball rotational throw that helps with rotational power in the golf swing.

Many people are looking to gain speed in 2023 and this exercise is a great place to start. A lot of speed comes from your lower body and the rotation you can make, so a medicine ball is a great tool to increase your power and get comfortable with rotating.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” and check here for previous episodes.

If you’re looking for more instruction, click here.

Golfweek‘s Get Better newsletter covers everything instruction and fitness-related. Sign up for Get Better here.

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10 days of winter workouts: Medicine ball slams

Averee Dovsek is in the gym demonstrating a medicine ball slam that helps with the power of your golf swing.

There are many different variations of medicine ball exercises that can help you achieve rotational and power goals.

Averee Dovsek is in the gym demonstrating a medicine ball slam that helps with the power of your golf swing.

Many people struggle with controlling and implementing power at the proper time during their golf swing. The weight of a light medicine ball is a great tool to feel weight transfer and where to make impact with your power.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” and check here for previous episodes.

If you’re looking for more instruction, click here.

Golfweek‘s Get Better newsletter covers everything instruction and fitness-related. Sign up for Get Better here.

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