Managers, a machine and a specially focused program are in perfect sync at The Princess Anne CC, to provide golf and fitness benefits for members of all ages and abilities.
By Joe Barks, Editor
The quest to avoid departmental disconnects and continually improve his management team’s effectiveness is something that runs deep in the blood of William S. Shonk, CCM, CCE, General Manager of The Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach, Va. Shonk is not only the son of an Ohio high school football coach, his uncle, James H. Shonk, is a recognized authority, and author of several acclaimed books, on team-based organizations and management.
So when Bill Shonk heard about a new Golf Performance Program (GPP) being offered by CYBEX International, he immediately saw possibilities for how the program could be used to bring golf, fitness and other departments at his club together in a truly meaningful way.
The Princess Anne CC’s promotion of the Golf Performance Program (left) has led interested members of all ages (including Judge Fred Aucamp, top of page, and junior golfer Donald Clark, above) to start new fitness regimens, using the CYBEX Bravo, under the direction of Fitness Director Allen Bostian and other instructors.
Additional motivation came from the fact that The Princess Anne had recently made a significant upgrade of the equipment in its fitness center, including purchase of the CYBEX Bravo Functional Training System, which is used for all of the exercises in the GPP.
“It sounded like it would fit well as another valueadded program we could offer to differentiate ourselves,” says Shonk. “And I especially liked how it promised to have appeal to all ages and could cross-pollinate use of our departments among our membership, by helping golfers make fitness a bigger part of their game, and at the same time perhaps getting some avid fitness enthusiasts to take up golf.
Stephen Alvezi, Director of Sales for CYBEX Golf, says that’s exactly the intent of the GPP, which was developed through the CYBEX Research Institute, with input from Greg Norman and other top pros who have raised the profile and standards for golf-related fitness in recent years.
“There are other good ‘golf fitness’ programs, but they are usually kept within the golf side, and don’t always extend to other parts of the club,” notes Alvezi. “[The GPP] is designed to get a club’s GM and Fitness Director on the same page with the golf pros, not only to improve overall club utilization, but also to help attract new members.
“We don’t want to just drop off equipment that you’ve ordered and say ‘see you later’—we want to help maximize its value to the club,” Alvezi adds. “Eventually, we hope to have programs for our equipment built around other club activities, such as tennis, aquatics, or youth or senior fitness.”
Natural Progression
The Golf Performance Program begins with driving-range evaluations to identify
game-related fitness needs, such as those being conducted here for Donald Clark
(above, with PGA Assistant Jim Bowling) and Faye Clark (below, with PGA Apprentice
Laura Holmes).
When The Princess Anne CC began to offer the GPP this fall, the club promoted that it was one of the first private clubs to make it available, and directed interested members to its golf department (the promotion shown on the opposite page was sent out as an e-blast and also displayed as a poster throughout the club). The golf department, under the direction of Head Professional Paul Michaelian, PGA, was the natural place to start, because the first step in the program (for which members pay a total charge of $75) is a half-hour evaluation with one of the club’s PGA professionals, during which physical issues such as “needs more strength and balance” or “lack of mobility” are noted.
With his team-based focus, though, Bill Shonk knew that the success of the GPP would hinge on having a permanent liaison between the golf and fitness departments. The natural choice for this coordinating role was Andrea Pettay, an Executive Administrative Assistant for Shonk who also works as an instructor on Fitness Director Allen Bostian’s staff. After members have signed on and had their initial evaluations, Pettay helps them get familiar with the exercises in the GPP manual and sets up appointments with fitness trainers, who then help them translate what’s in the book into self-directed workout regimens that can address their specific needs.
Already, everyone on the Princess Anne team reports that the program has generated across-the-board interest, not only from golfers of all ages, genders and abilities who are now finding their way to the fitness center, but also from workout enthusiasts who, after seeing how the Bravo machine is being used, have developed new (or renewed) interest in golf.
Most importantly, some of the first members to sign up for the GPP are providing positive reviews. Here are highlights of conversations with two members, Anne Groth and Charlie Griener, about their experiences to date (for the full Q&As, plus additional details about how the program has been implemented and communicated to members, see the online version of this article at clubandresortbusiness.com).
Q: What got you interested in the Golf Performance Program?
Griener: I was actually looking for a personal trainer who specialized in golf conditioning. This was offered by the club, so it seemed worth giving it a try.
Encouraging signs have already been seen that the program is helping to increase
fuller utilization of the club.
Q: What are you hoping to achieve through it?
Groth: Most importantly, I want to improve my strength. I also want to work on my flexibility and balance.
Griener: Obviously, I want to play better golf. That means improved swing mechanics, better endurance, better flexibility, and, importantly, fewer injuries.
Q: Are the workouts substituting for other exercise routines, or being added as enhancements?
Greiner: These workouts have become my primary exercise. With each CYBEX workout, I add about 30 to 45 minutes of strength-building and cardio exercises.
Q: What are you finding to be the biggest benefits of the program and its exercises, both for you physically and for your golf game?
Groth: I have just completed week 3 and have noticed an improvement in my core strength.
Greiner: I’m already seeing better distance. My first emphasis is on improved rotation. The exercises have given me a better “feel” for the proper rotation movement—what should be stretching, and what should be resisting.
Q: How are the fitness and golf professionals helping you with the program, and to apply its benefits to your game?
Groth: The fitness professional has been very helpful explaining how a certain exercise relates to the golf swing.
Q: Are you talking about the program with others at the club (or outside it), and what are you telling them?
Groth: I have spoken to other lady golfers about the program, and highly recommend it.
Greiner: I’ve had a few conversations with others and been positive about it. And I suspect interest will significantly increase when I’m outdriving them regularly.
(Full Q&A with Anne Groth and Charlie Griener, members of The Princess Anne CC, on their experiences with the CYBEX Golf Performance Program)
Q: What got you interested in the Golf Performance Program?
Groth: The golf shop sent out an e-mail about it. During a lesson I asked about the program and became very interested.
Griener: I was actually looking for a personal trainer who specialized in golf conditioning. This was offered by the club, so it seemed worth giving a try.
Q: What are you hoping to achieve through it?
Groth: Most importantly, I want to improve my strength. I also want to work on my flexibility and balance.
Griener: Obviously, I want to play better golf. That means improved swing mechanics, better endurance, better flexibility and, importantly, fewer injuries.
Q: How are you fitting it into your golf/club routines?
Groth: I am incorporating it into my workouts at the fitness center.
Greiner: I try to do the workout three times a week and hope to complete the program, i.e. my first run through it, in 12 or 14 weeks.
Q: When do you do the workouts? Are they substituting for other workout routines, or being added as enhancements?
Groth: The program is being added as an enhancement. I have not used the exercises as a warmup before playing golf. Perhaps this will be something I could do as I progress with the program.
Greiner: These workouts have become my primary exercise. With each CYBEX workout, I add about 30 to 45 minutes of strength-building and cardio exercises.
Q: What are you finding to be the biggest benefits of the program and its exercises, both for you physically and for your golf game?
Groth: I have just completed week 3 and have noticed an improvement in my core strength. I think it will be beneficial to use the program over the winter, when I can’t get on the course so often.
Greiner: I’m already seeing better distance. My first emphasis is on improved rotation. The exercises have given me a better “feel” for the proper rotation movement, i.e. what should be stretching and what should be resisting.
Q: How are the fitness and golf professionals helping you with the program, and to apply its benefits to your game?
Groth: The fitness professional has been very helpful explaining how a certain exercise relates to the golf swing. His instructions on how to use the machine and set it to my individual needs was very beneficial to me.
Greiner: I had time at the beginning with the golf pro, to identify the areas most in need of attention, and have had conversations since then with him, to assure that the new swing mechanics are being properly applied.
Q: What are proving to be the most challenging aspects of the program and its exercises?
Groth: The instruction book takes a while to understand. There is new terminology and abbreviations to get used to, and a lot of flipping back and forth through the pages to get all the information before beginning the exercise. I feel this difficulty will improve as I memorize the exercises and proper alignment on the CYBEX machine.
Greiner: Aside from just making time to do the program, some of the exercises are pretty demanding physically.
Q: Are you talking about the program with others at the club (or even outside it), and what are you telling them?
Groth: I have spoken to other lady golfers about the program, and highly recommend it.
Greiner: I’ve had a few conversations with others and been positive about it. I suspect interest will significantly increase when I’m outdriving them regularly.
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