I tried Swing Fit and this is what happened.
What’s one sport that you’ve never tried and a little part of you always wished you knew how to play? For me, it was golf.
I’ve never considered golf as a particularly exciting or enticing sport, simply because I have no idea how to play. I’ve watched it numerous times and attempted it feebly at my local Putt Putt, but that’s where my expertise stops.
When I was offered the chance to get involved with an exclusive female class, that is a combination of pilates & golf, I couldn’t resist. ENTER, SWING FIT! Described as the fun and social way to get started in golf, Swing Fit offers women a chance to properly learn techniques whilst having a great workout and meeting new friends.
I arrived at Moore Park Golf Club accompanied by my best friend (and handy photographer!) Jamie, and we had no idea what to expect. The class began with our Swing Fit group huddled at the top the Moore Park Golf Course, overlooking the newly renovated course. The view was magnificent, with the horrible weather not deterring any of the keen golfers. We braved the cold and the wind and got straight down to business, which is where we met our Coach, Bobby.
As soon as I met Bobby, I knew we were in safe hands.
A previous professional golfer, Bobby has travelled the world and previously worked on a cruise ship as the professional golf trip taker. His knowledge was expanse but his manner of coaching and teaching was impeccable.
Bobby was extremely friendly, patient and very encouraging, which was just what I needed as I was the very opposite. I’ve always thought I was crappy at golf, but by the end of the class I actually felt like I could play socially and not make a fool out of myself.
We were all there for a variety of reasons, from wanting to learn how to play to those who were just interested in whether they’d be any good or have any interest. Bobby asked us all individually, and then he gave us a super inspiring speech about how anyone can play golf – it’s all about the technique and mindset.
After his speech, I eagerly headed towards my waiting golf club and balls, until Bobby called us all back to him. He chatted about technique, and how you couldn’t pick up the golf club until you’d nailed the technique. It was more than just about the swing; it was about your stance, the movement of your chest and how your body needed to be tilted at the perfect angle to give you the best chance of having a great swing.
So, instead of grabbing our golf clubs we started straight into squats. While they weren’t meant to get us out of breath, they were all about focusing on the right technique and ensuring we were all comfortable. This was followed by lunges, and then swinging our arms around to get the body warmed up.
We then grabbed our golf clubs, and practiced the squats with them held above our heads. Bobby was freakishly flexible (in a nice way!) and the next move had us all gobsmacked. You had to hold your golf club behind your head and basically see how far you could bring it back. Major kudos to Bobby as he could bring it all the way back; the sign of a true professional golfer!
Next we were handed medicine balls, which we worked with to perfect our golf sings. We held them while we twisted our bodies side to side, ensuring that we were warmed up enough to really feel the twist from the abdomen and not from the hips.
When it came time to have a real swing, I was ready. Mentally, physically and emotionally (haha!), it was just me and that golf club working with one another. Never ever, in my wildest dreams, did I think I’d be able to nail the swing.
Your first instinct is to always just smash the ball as hard as you can, in the hope that that will make it fly further than ever. The reality? This is a terrible technique and won’t work. I put everything into play that Bobby had shown me, and my first hit had the ball sail far into the distance. I was gobsmacked… could it really be this easy?
Sure, my next few swings weren’t as great, but that was totally normal according to Bobby. He explained that when we nailed our first shot, we subconsciously swung harder the next few times to try and make it go further, throwing our technique out the window. When I got my mind around it, I slowly worked my way back to a powerful swing that I was proud of.
My day at Swing Fit left me with new friends, a new passion for golf and an overwhelming sense if empowerment. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of conquering what you’d originally labelled as unconquerable. A massive thank you to Swing Fit for having me, and I’ll definitely be back to learn even more next time.
If you’d like to try SWING FIT out for yourself, click HERE to see more about the class, or follow them on Instagram HERE.