Bashing a Big Bertha off the 16th green, are you realizing that your drives aren’t going quite as far as they used to? Is your shot hooking to the right, perhaps landing in that thick brush that just loves to gobble up white balls?

Before you go rushing to the club pro, try giving Physical Therapy Works (PTW) a call. The facility’s Focus Individualized Training (FIT) program might just show that the problem’s not with your game.

&uot;A lot of avid golfers come in that have noticed a decline in their game,&uot; said trainer Jeff Sletten. &uot;A lot of that is due to conditioning.&uot;

A FIT trainer will observe a golfer’s swing, and examine a digital recording of the act. One step at a time, they’ll go over the swing together, and find things that can be changed. Perhaps a person has been overcompensating for a weakness somewhere, causing part of their body to wear down. Factors such as flexibility, strength, balance, endurance, and posture are examined. If physical limitations are found, the trainer can help the participant overcome them.

&uot;We want to give them a pain-free range so they can play every day,&uot; Sletten said. &uot;We want them to be as strong on the 18th hole as they are on the first.&uot;

That’s just one aspect of the program, which began in Feb. 2004.

&uot;Our fitness training program involves an extensive physical evaluation of the entire body,&uot; said Program Planning Director Brooke Birdsong.

&uot;The information is used to design a program to specifically target a specific objective. The trainer will discuss the client’s goal and current routine and assess their current fitness level. Because these programs are highly individualized, clients’ goals are achieved more quickly and efficiently than they would be in a traditional training program.&uot;

Education is also a very important assett in fitness, she continued.

&uot;Our trainers teach clients safe techniques, how to break plateaus, and safe progression.

Learning how to increase the intensity, frequency and duration of an activity without injury is critical for long term commitment.&uot;

Imagine training for days, weeks, or months, perhaps for a 10K race, or even a marathon. Then, shortly before the race, the jogger discovers tendinitis in the foot or leg. Laid up while it heals, unable to exercise, they put on weight, lose their endurance, and the effects of so much training goes away.

PTW’s Hyrdroworx 1000 pool, one of but a handfull on the east coast (the closest ones are in Atlanta and Philadelphia), can help exercisers maintain their health and endurance even in recuperation. It’s got a treadmill, underwater cameras, three resistence jets and adjustible water level and temperature.

The program also offers Pilates Core Conditioning, a dynamic series of movements to develop body awareness and aid in posture. Incorporating balance training equipment and exercises, it’s also designed to improve strength and flexibility.

For more information, contact PTW at 539-6300.

jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com