In 1992 Tiger Woods made his professional debut, synonymous with his famous ‘hello world’ quote. Not only was this to be the start of arguably the best professional golf career ever, but also the evolution of golf fitness. Over time, Tiger’s regimented ‘day in the life’ routine, which includes multiple heavy weight sessions and five mile runs, has been made public knowledge, but in order to improve your golf and fitness, it really doesn’t have to be that severe, does it? I downloaded the JG Golf Fitness app run by one of the highest qualified golf specific fitness trainers in the U.K, Jamie Greaves, to see how much an app would have an effect on my golf fitness.
Jamie combined two of his passions in fitness and golf, in order to offer high levels of golf specific fitness in the U.K, without aspiring young golfers having to travel to the U.S to achieve the same calibre of training expertise. Jamie is one of ten Level 3 TPI-qualified instructors in the U.K and holds other qualifications in various training types and nutrition. Jamie created the JG Fitness app so golfers could access his coaching no matter where they are, whether they are in the U.S. or train with Jamie in person, but want to be able to train when travelling. This is exactly what LPGA Tour star, Charley Hull, does when she needs to train while playing on the road.
The app itself is easy to navigate and is laid out with ease of use in mind. You can access a calendar where you can add workouts, activities and meals all helping you remain constant with your nutrition and training. The symbol of weight along the bottom panel takes you straight to numerous workout routines which range from gym based sessions to at home sessions, the latter of which I took advantage of. While I have already used the likes of SuperSpeed sticks to try and increase my club speed, I was eager to see what some golf specific exercises would result in.
Jamie has done a great job in making his ‘at home’ sessions as easy as possible to follow through video explanation of each exercise, as well as using basic equipment such as gym bands and even rucksacks. While this is great and will mean everyone can do these workouts, there is also no excuse to skip a session!
There are various sheets that can be accessed to help you stay on track with your training through the JG golf app including a ‘weights used’ log and for those chasing distance, a ‘driver speed tracking’ log. I found this a particularly useful addition to the app and really held me accountable, as well as showed me my strength was increasing.
While I am yet to reach the driver speeds of Rory McIlroy through my training, I enjoyed using the JG golf app and will continue to use it, especially when on the road and with limited access to a gym. I have no doubts that using this app alongside some of the best golf fitness equipment on the market will have you swinging it better, while also preventing yourself from picking up an injury.
There is a one-week full trial of the JG Golf Fitness app available for anyone interested in taking their golf to the next level, as well as a rolling £10 per month subscription or up-front six-month subscription which works out £10 cheaper. Through the app, you will be able to contact Jamie through a message function, as well as receive an invite to the Private Facebook page where you will find yourself among other like-minded individuals all looking to improve their golf fitness.
