Fitness for Golf
A Brand New Concept

Fitness for Golf is a unique state of the art indoor teaching and practice centre, featuring top of the range equipment never before seen in Europe.  Situated in the grounds on The Riverside Club Northwood.  The whole centre can fit into 100 square metres.

At Fitness For Golf they take a holistic view of coaching.  The programs are designed to improve skills and technique and also incorporate golf specific fitness as this is becoming an increasingly more important element of the competitive sport.

To gain an increased and measured physical advantage medical based machines are used, designed in collaboration with Butch Harmon (Tiger Woods Coach) These are the Medx Stretch which train flexibility in the back, ham-strings and hips and the rotary torso machine which confines and strengthens the muscles around the waist and back.  The benefits of these exercises are better torque, shoulder turn which will mean more club head speed and longer distance, also a more accurate shot.  These machines are used on the USPGA tour and the senior’s tour in the States.  Butch uses these machines at his training academy in Las Vegas, while training all of his players.

For better putting there is a tournament paced indoor PGI Putting Green that is undulated and cross woven to react like grass as well as an outdoor bunker and chipping green.  The Flex-track Mat is a revolutionary hitting surface as it reduces risk of golf injury. It incorporates a flexible hitting area which cushions the club at impact, and is proven to prevent jarring wrist and arm injuries from repeated golf practice.  Thereby allowing longer more regular practice sessions.  Each mat features a height adjustable tee, allowing the golfer to easily select the correct tee height for each club.

Flextrack can be easily rotated for left handers, allowing versatile use of space.  It  features a unique water drainage system, which makes the Flextrack ideal for outdoor use. 

The system is constructed with durable, low maintenance components, producing trouble-free long term use.  The main frame is backed by a 2 year warranty.   The turf is of premium quality, spike proof knitted nylon which can be rotated to give maximum usage, making the Flextrack more cost effective than traditional mats.

The Ultimate Golf Trainer is unique in Europe and simulates the slopes and terrain of the golf course.  Allowing the player to practice every lie, which means you can practice driving out of the rough. During a regular game of golf, players encounter numerous different slopes and lies.  Most practice facilities however only offer level, fairway type practice conditions.  Therefore golfers are rarely able to practice the full range of shots they face on the golf course.

The Ultimate Golf Trainer allows you to practice on any slope you choose.  Uphill or downhill, with the ball above or below your feet.  In addition the rotating turf allows you to practice from fairway, semi-rough or deep rough..

Finally, the Visiotics Golf Simulator is the latest technology in terms of virtual reality golf.  The machine has eight beautifully landscaped courses each with it’s own driving range.  The computer is extremely accurate in terms of distance, club head speed, shape of shot and ball roll.  Every aspect of the game is captured including bunker shots and water hazards; even course and weather conditions can be changed.  Either play fun 18 holes with friends or use it as an intelligent learning tool.

Coaching is conducted via the simulator as it has an impressive video capture facility, which allows the pupil to watch themselves life size and in slow motion, therefore participating in the diagnosis of their swing.  The system is extremely user friendly and so practice is enhanced.  The function simply means that a novice can progress play faster and with confidence or a more experienced golfer can iron out their faults with no frustration.

You play in a roomy booth, using your own clubs and balls.  With the large interactive touchscreen, you easily personalize your golfing session in the language of your choice.  Selections include tee (men’s, ladies’, professionals’), course conditions (grass height) and weather (barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction).  The System saves all information and makes it available for your future sessions.

A beautiful landscape view appears on the video screen, showing the course as it really is.  All playing data is also shown, in both metric and Anglo-Saxon units of measure. To tee off, you place your ball on the fairway mat.  Later, you will use the two other mats representing the rough and the putting green.  If your ball goes into a bunker, the system will simulate the effect of the sand on ball trajectory.  When planning your shot, you can shift the view left or right, seamlessly and instantly, to select the best position.  Then, choose a club and make your swing.  Hit your ball.  Watch it fly in the landscape.

Fitness for golf is convenient and accessible.  Practice or play in any weather or after dark.