What is the SMART Assessment?
The SMART Assessment is our way of best determining your needs. It is an opportunity for us to collect as much information as possible so that we can ensure we are placing you on the right path for success. It contains both a golf and a fitness component so we can get a complete picture of where you’re currently at with your game.
Initial Interview
The assessment begins with an initial interview. This is to find out where you’re currently at with your game, along with your history with golf, and what your goals are. This is an important part in learning how we can best help you and ensure that you’re happy with the progress that you’re making during your program.
Trackman
We use Trackman Golf – the best ball flight technology available – in order to ensure that all the data we collect on your swings is accurate. Using Trackman we can see not only everything that is happening with the ball, but also with the club. This can help us determine without any doubts why the ball is performing in a certain way. Using all this information we are able to more easily decide what types of changes to your swing will help produce the desired shot shape.
K-Vest, BODITRAK, and High Speed Video
In order to determine exactly what your body is doing during the swing we utilize K-Vest motion sensors to measure speed, amount, and sequencing of rotation. We also use BODITRAK to see how you shift your weight and use the ground during the golf swing. Finally we use high speed video analysis to view different positions in the golf swing and look for any other characteristics that aren’t seen with one of our other pieces of technology. Between all of this your pro can get a very clear picture of what is going on with your golf swing, and determine the best starting point for getting you to improve.
Physical Assessment
After the golf portion of the assessment, you will work with a fitness instructor to see how your body is moving. We are looking partially for range of motion, but also quality of motion. It’s important to be able to perform a number of movements during the golf swing involving every body part in every plane of motion. We look at a number of different things to determine if you are limited in any movements that could affect the golf swing. We often find a very strong correlation between inability to do certain movements in the Physical Assessment and certain swing characteristics during the golf portion of the assessment. Using this information your fitness instructor can develop a plan to improve your movement patterns that will greatly improve your ability to learn new things in the golf swing.
After the Assessment
Once both the golf and fitness portions of your assessment are complete you will once again meet with your golf professional. Your professional and fitness instructor will discuss what they believe the areas in need of the most attention are, and from there will develop a plan to help you maximize the results from your program. By working together they can make your lessons more effective by not just teaching how to avoid an incorrect movement, but more importantly, helping to engrain proper movements so you don’t revert back to bad habits when under pressure on the golf course.
