I am a South African born, New Zealand Citizen living in Australia.
You could say that I am a part of the Tri-nations. South Africa is where my love for the Game of Golf began.
Watching Ernie Else, big easy swing the golf club on TV and sending it soaring landing with precision accuracy was enough to make me take up the game. A game of millimetres and micro-seconds.
As a Junior golfer I competed in district and regional golf competitions around WA.
I was fortunate enough to win the Junior Club Championships twice at my home club, Hartfield Country Club.
Having gone through Como Secondary Colleges’ Golf Academy, my knowledge of the game grew, developing in the ever-changing rules of golf, its psychology and the body swing mechanics including movement analysis.
I obtained my cert. III and IV in golf coaching during my years 11 and 12.
My first trip to the physiotherapist came after a pennant tournament where I sprained an intercostal muscle in between a rib, during the follow through of my golf swing. I was engaged in my rehabilitation, the process of assessment, to treatment and exercise.
This set up my never-ending fascination with the game of golf and sparked an interest in the body and how it works.
When I left school, I had a choice, do I continue to pursue the dream of becoming a professional golfer? Or do I continue in this passion in the area of the human body, healthcare and sports rehabilitation?
In 2017 I graduated with a BSc in Physiotherapy and began work as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist.
It wasn’t until I became a member at Gosnells Golf club that I became aware of a number of injuries affecting most golfers today.
Lower back pain, hip pain and knee pain were high on the list of areas which affected the body swing mechanics, ball striking and therefore the overall satisfaction of the game of golf.
Older golfers lived on pain killers during their game, just to play.
I began to see that there was a need for physiotherapists to partner with golfers, golf coaches and clubs and so I began to look in to how I could incorporate both my physiotherapy knowledge and golf experience into injury prevention/rehabilitation to enhance the quality of the game for all golfers.
The Titleist performance institute (TPI) provided this pathway.
TPI was the tool. Experts had spent eighteen years developing an evidence-based pathway designed to educate industry professionals on how to increase players performance through a deep understanding of the body including the swing using the concept of the body-swing connection.
Now we must acknowledge that no two swings are ever alike.
Sometimes we are guilty at times of looking at your swing and placing you back to back with Rory or Tiger’s swing.
The problem with this is that physically you may not be able to get into the positions that they can.
Here at Lifecare Thomsons Lake, we offer golf physiotherapy services to help you play the game you love pain free while improving your performance.
Our physical screening assessment is conducted within the clinic and will look at the physical limitations affecting your golf swing.
We can also assess how this may relate to your current pain state or injury.
We compare your results to tour averages and work with you to improve aspects that are able to be moulded for a more consistent swing.
If you are interested in finding out more contact Lifecare Thomsons Lake to book your initial screening assessment.