Golf Fitness Bangkok

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This is a common dilemma to which there seems to be no good answer. The chicken and egg question for golfers is this: when you get hurt in golf is your body the problem or is it your swing? The answer to this question is a bit easier. The answer seems clear…your golf swing hurts your body, it’s that simple. The Thailand golf swing is a complex motion on a tilted plane with great torque and shearing, and swing faults that are injury inducing abound. End of story, right…well not really.

According to Greg Rose, DC, Co-founder of the Titleist Performance Institute, the reverse spine angle is the number one injury-inducing swing fault. I cannot agree more. But let’s examine that assertion: is the swing fault causing the injury, or is there something below the swing fault that is driving the fault and that is the real cause of the injury? I know that Dr Rose agrees with the second part of that statement as well.


Most of the Thailand golf instructors will tell the golfer “do not reverse the spine at the top”, and give drills to that end. They do not seem to clear concept that the physical makeup of the golfer seems to be driving the swing fault most of the time. It’s not that the world’s teacher bad teachers, on the contrary, Thailand golf instructors to me seem to be magicians. They take a person with all of his or her physical imperfections, imbalances and flaws, and somehow manage to help the golfer get the ball airborne and in the general direction of the target. They are really good at helping the golfer “fix” swing faults. Because golf instructors are not trained in human anatomy or biomechanics, the study of human motion, there is no way they could know that the body is responsible for most swing faults and as a result most golf injuries. Give these guys a break…they are doing the best they can with what you give them to work with.

Let’s study this concept of the body and the golf swing more closely. In healthcare we know that the human body is basically flawed. Even the perfect specimens on the tours are flawed in some way. Don’t be insulted ladies and gentlemen on the tour, it is the reality of being human. The Thailand golf tour players, like the rest of us have frame asymmetries, muscle imbalances, flexibility or strength issues, balance challenges, etc. Why would the best in the world still suffer with some of the inconsistencies that we see week to week in their play?

Golfer, you want to play golf, you want to be good at golf, you want to stay healthy so that you can play more at a higher level. You can control this…you can prevent problems…you CAN stay healthy and play good golf. It takes a little bit of work. All you need is a small a team of professionals to help you.

Your golf instructor is your team leader. He or she should be able to screen your body as a part of your lessons. It’s like going to your primary care physician when you are sick. Your primary care physician will evaluate your total situation, and make a diagnosis. If the problem is more involved or more serious your doctor may refer you to a specialist for further evaluation and treatment. We could view the process of being a better golfer in the same way.


Your teaching professional is like your primary care physician. You go to him or her for initial diagnosis of your swing. Sometimes the golf professional will prescribe treatment in the form of drills and practice and whalla you get better and stay healthy sometimes. Your Golf Asia teacher might be trained to fit clubs. If the evaluation proves your clubs are why your golf swing is sick you might be asked to get new clubs. Your teacher might also be trained to understand the body influence on the swing. If that is the case, part of the workup your teacher does might include some basic physical assessment. If your teacher screens your body he or she might find that your body is why your golf swing is ill and why you are injured. In that case he or she may send you to someone trained to deal with the anatomy and biomechanics of the human body.

The idea here is that in addition to your instruction, and club fitting, a quick 5-10 minute body assessment can help identify the risk factors that lead to swing faults and injuries. It is that simple.

There are few key areas that you can look at yourself. You need to look and some simple motions like touching your toes, squatting, trunk stability, range of motion in your hips, spine and shoulders, and how well you coordinated motion between the top and bottom of your torso.

There is the number one injury inducing swing fault Ah, but are the swing faults due to poor concept, poor body or bad habit? Stay tuned.

www.golfthink for golf lessons and golf instruction in Bangkok and thoughout Thailand

Driving The Ball in Thailand

Driving is one of the most important aspects to anybody’s golf game in Thailand. A strong, straight drive that land on the fairway every time is a good way to lower your handicap – but it certainly isn’t easy. Even the professionally have difficulties with their drives now and then, and an entire industry has sprung up around this very thing. Throughout golf in Asia Millions of dollars are spent every year on lessons, equipment, and magazines promising the weekend duffer tips on improving their drive. Yet all of the fancy equipment in the world won’t do much if your swing is faulty. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure that your form and your swing are doing their part to help you drive the golf ball the best you can.

Like many sports, golf in Phuket and other Asia golf destinations such as golf in Bali and golf in SIngapore is a largely mental game. The drive is no exception to this. Most great golfers have a pre-swing routine that they go into even before they approach the tee. Although these routines vary from golfer to golfer, the important thing is that they help you get into the proper mental frame of mind to drive your best. Tiger Woods, one of the great golfers of our time, recommends focusing on a point in the distance along the fairway, and visualizing the ball flying to that spot. Find a routine that works for you.


The proper mindset is important, but you must also have proper form if you expect to execute a good drive. A mistake many beginners make is to think that the key to a good drive is power. They rush to the tee and swing with all their might, thinking nothing of balance, control, or form. Although occasionally these golfers might hit a mammoth drive, they will usually find themselves the laughingstock of the course. Instead, they should be following a few simple rules for a solid drive.
First, you must take your stance. Stand with your feet a comfortable distance apart – enough so that you can shift your weight comfortably to get some momentum in your swing, but not too much so that you’re off balance. The tee should be closer to your front foot than your back foot, and your feet should be parallel. Lean on your back foot slightly, so that fifty-five to sixty-five percent of your weight is resting on it. Make sure your knees are not locked out. Your strong hand should be lower on the club than your weak hand. Find a grip that is comfortable – many golfers like to lock the pinky of their strong hand through the index finger of their off-hand, and clasp the thumb of their off-hand with their strong hand at the same time as they are clasping the club. This provides support and balance for the swing. Line the center of the club face up with the ball.

Next, begin the swing. On the backswing keep your head straight and your gaze on the ball. Keep your front arm locked; your back arm will bend to almost a ninety-degree angle. Rotate your hips back as your club rises into the air. Once your hands have reached head high, rotate back toward the tee, bringing the club down in a graceful arc, until you’ve made contact. Make sure your head is straight and your gaze is on the ball the entire time. Once you’ve made contact, follow through with the same clean stroke – the club should swing above and over your front shoulder, and your weight should have shifted onto your front foot.


A few important tips to remember: Driving requires intense concentration. Visualize your club following a perfect arc on both the upswing and downswing. Your body should be relaxed and your grip should not be too tight. Finally, remember that driving takes practice, so don’t get frustrated when your first few shots go awry. It sometimes seems that there are so many mechanical things to consider that you’ll never hit the perfect drive. But the more you practice, the more automatic these things will become. Don’t get too upset with yourself if you struggle here and there. Again, even the best golfers in Thailand have bad drives.

More Thailand golf tips at www.golfthink.com

The Perfect Golf Swing a Myth?

Here's this week's Thailand golf tip: Golfer's believe the perfect golf swing is a myth, but it is attainable all you need to do is practice the basics until the swing becomes second nature. Golfers, like everyone else, benefit from all four health-related categories of physical fitness.

These are cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, join flexibility, and body composition. Golfers end up playing with complete strangers at times. If the whole group does not know the golf rules, there could be dissention in the group when you play golf in Phuket or any other of Thailand's great golf destinations.


Golfers are also familiar with the term power. They know that power is directly related to clubhead speed. Golfers like Tiger Woods have been the subject of studies that show that their professional golf swing not only produces much longer drives but is consistent.

When Tiger Woods entered professional golf for the first time, he was at the tender of age of 20 and he played a major role in ushering in the modern exercise=program golfer.

Golfers that hook are victims of a blocked swing, as well. However, the manipulations they use to compensate are not well timed, causing them to over manipulate. Perform 15-25 repetitions of the exercise. Perform 10-15 repetitions back and forth. Repeat the exercise balancing on the right foot.

Strength exercises develop and improve this capacity within your body for the purpose of improving your golf swing. Strength, in terms of golf, is not about how much you can bench press or how much your biceps bulge! Golf strength and weight room strength, are very different. Power development in the golf swing is very important relative to clubhead speed. Assessing the power development levels of your body can be a key component of increasing clubhead speed in your swing. Power is the ability to create the greatest amount of force in a specified amount of time. Power is contingent upon the combination of strength and speed of motion.



Imagine that here and now as you read this, your unconscious mind has carved out a distinct way of you swinging your golf club and this way is well defined by repitition from the past.

Every time you step up to perform your golf swing, at any of the excellent Bangkok golf courses your unconscious mind carries on down that well trodden pathway that you have always gone down; your golf swing is the same. Imagine what the circle would look like if the metal point was moving. In the golf swing, the head represents this center point.

Training aides assist the body in developing the golf swing. Think of training aides as “training wheels” on a bicycle. Training the muscles of your body to properly perform specific movements takes time and practice. The effort spent improving your golf swing will pay off on the course.

For more golf tips in Thailand golf, check out www.golfthink.com or www.thailandgolfzone.com

Thailand Golf Putting Tips

Every golfer playing golf in Asia needs to work on their putts. I don't care how long you've been playing golf in Thailand or golf in Asia, or what kind of golf pro you are. We all need to practice putting. Here are some Thailand golf putting tips from the pros that will help you get your putting up to par. Try some of these and see what works best!

- Always do a couple practice putts before you start your game of golf in Phuket. Don't try to make a hole; just get the ball in the general direction. Focus on your swing, not making the hole. By doing some practice putts, you can also get a feel for how fast the ball will run on the green.

- Practice easy putts in Thailand. Don't worry about making a long shot. Definitely practice a few long ones, but for the most part, stick to within 6-feet. Missing every practice putt will only hurt your confidence, and there's more to a good putt than just making the hole. There are some good driving ranges at the best golf courses in Thailand.

- It's amazing how much confidence has to do with putting. In Asia golf, more than any other sport, player confidence is key. And, it's a problem that amateurs and pros alike have to deal with. Keep this in mind when you're putting, and train yourself to stay confident, even when the ball doesn't go where you want it to.


- Don't look at the ball when you're making your target - look just ahead of the ball. Focus on a spot right in front, a spot that you want that ball to roll over. After you hit it, you'll know if you've made the shot or not by whether you see it cross that spot.

- Don't move! Check your position before the shot and make sure it's perfect. But, don't move out of your position until the ball is well on its way. If you get impatient and want to watch that ball fly toward the hole you're playing in Thailand, you may straighten up too fast and lose control over your putt.

- There are some ways you can keep yourself from naturally following that ball and ruining your putt. For example, look at the spot the ball was on, after it rolls off. To practice this, you can lay a coin under the ball, and keep your eyes on the coin after the ball has rolled completely off. Your Thailand golf professional will help you with this.

- When you're practicing, there are putting drills specific to playing golf in Asia you can do. For example, put in 5 balls from a distance of 1 foot; then move back a foot. Then another and another, and if you miss one shot, you have to start the whole thing over again from one foot.

- For some really deep, heavy-duty putting practice, close your eyes when you putt. With your eyes closed, you'll be more aware of the way the rest of your body moves. You'll feel your torso twist and your shoulders swing steadily, just like a pendulum with the club swinging from it.

- Practice like crazy. That's the best golf putting tip anybody can give you. The longer you're out there practicing, the more you'll develop a feel for it. Like everything else, practice makes perfect!

Enjoy your golf in Thailand!

Toms Thailand Golf Tips

If You Shoot Over 100 on Thailand golf courses

If you currently shoot over 100, you are probably new to the game. Golf in Thailand is
game that takes plenty of practice and understanding. At your level, you're
probably very excited to just get out to play. You always have a big grin on your
face because you've found a new hobby that gives you a little exercise and
gets you breathing some fresh air. Unfortunately, shooting over 100 will get
old very quickly, especially if you're a competitive person by nature. So your
smile will start to turn into a frown, and you may end up giving the game up. It
is quite easy to break 100 if you know what to do.

What to Do To Break 100

If you're new to the game, you have not ingrained any bad habits yet. So before
you do, take some lessons from a qualified pro. It's usually quite easy to
teach you the proper fundamentals of the golf swing because you're eager to
learn and never second guess the teacher. If the relationship between the
student and teacher is good, the speed at which you will see results is very
quick. Usually within a month or two, the "over 100" shooter can easily take 10
- 20 shots off of their game. Once you break 100 on a regular basis, you'll start
to see the game differently. Although shooting in the 70's is a few years into
the future, it may be attainable because taking lessons initially has given you a
great start on the game of golf in Thailand.

If You Shoot Over 90

If you currently shoot over 90, you're someone who has to play more often.
You're probably playing about 20 - 30 rounds a year and most of these rounds
are in corporate tournaments. Corporate tournaments are a definite game
wrecker. The usual scramble format leads you to just bashing the ball as
hard as you can trying to get that one drive that helps your team. Unfortunately,
this leads to a HUGE slice with the driver -- which doesn't help your team at all.
I know it's fun to try to hit the ball as hard as you can, but If wailing away at it
was the way to play good golf in Thailand, everyone would be a pro. You will also find the
short game very difficult. Although the short shots around the green look easy,
they quickly become a nightmare to you because of the amount of touch that's
required.

What to Do To Break 90

For starters, you have to get out to the course more often. You can still play in
corporate events but you have to do so with a new attitude. You have to quit
trying to be the hero and start actually helping your team. This can be done by
swinging easy and trying to get the ball in the fairway or the middle of the
green. If you swing easier and try to become more accurate, you will be
amazed at how many of your shots the team actually uses. You would greatly
benefit from weekly lessons. The golf lessons in Bangkok would not only give you a better
swing but they would get you out to the range and course on a regular basis.
Finally, you have to take at least one short game lesson to see how easy it can
be. This will create a better understanding of the short game which will then
make practicing it more enjoyable.

If You Shoot Over 80

You're the kind of person the major club manufacturers love. You think that
you can "buy your game," so every opportunity you get to try the latest and
greatest clubs you take it -- because you don't think that your swing is the
problem. So you buy that new driver and for a while you hit it great. A few
weeks later that great new club isn't so great anymore, and it's back to your old
game. This leaves you scratching your head because you thought you had it
and now it's gone. At some point in your golf career you probably have taken 1
- 3 lessons and you always try every golf tip you hear about. Because of these
constant changes in both your swing and your clubs you never really have the
opportunity to get used to anything, so you are left in a state of limbo -- always
thinking that the elusive 70's are just around the corner.

What to Do To Break 80

In order to break 80, you have to admit that it's not the clubs. It's about
developing a repeatable swing and a great short game. To create this
repeatable swing and great short game, you have to work with a qualified
teacher on a weekly basis. You're going to forget trying different tips and quick
fixes because you will destroy the changes the teacher is trying to make. This
whole process is not going to be easy because you basically have to re-learn
the swing (making changes to your swing may cause you to hit some very
poor shots at first because you're not used to it and you're in between swings).
If you stay determined, you'll start to hit some shots that will totally amaze you.
These amazing shots are telling you that your hard work is paying off and
pretty soon you will be playing in the 70's.

If You Shoot Over 72

You have a great swing. It'll still go astray from time to time, but you can
usually get it back rather quickly. You usually make a few mistakes in a round
that you just can't seem to let go of. This creates stress and pressure that
affects the rest of your game. Your short game may not be as good it could be.
You know this but actually finding time to practice it is sometimes a challenge.
Finally, you may be taking the game a little too seriously -- causing you to try to
hit every shot perfectly. This may lead to second guessing your swing which is
definitely trouble when you are on the course.

What to Do To Break Par

You have to find the time to do some serious work on the short game. If it's
difficult to make it out to the course, you can always chip and pitch balls in your
backyard and putt on an indoor carpet every night. This dedication to the short
game is what will allow you to still shoot good numbers when your swing is
not at it's best. It will also reduce pressure on your approach shots because if
you can get the ball up and down regularly, it's not that big of a deal if you miss
the odd green. When you do work on your full swing try to work on the weaker
clubs in your bag and hitting the ball from poor lies. Also, forget distance. At
your level you are probably long enough. Concentrate on never swinging over
80% of your ability. If you can resist the temptation to hit the ball too hard your
miss hits will not stray to far off line, eliminating the need for that miraculous
shot to get you back it the game. Finally, have fun out there. If you lighten up a
little you will reduce your stress levels allowing you to switch into automatic
mode instead of having to grind it out all of the time.

Paul Wilson (paulwilsongolf.com) is the director of instruction at the Nicklaus
Golf Club at Lionsgate in Overland Park, KS. Paul teaches people to copy the
perfect swing of the Iron Byron swing machine through private lessons,
corporate clinics and online instruction.