"How About 'Body' Fitting Instead of Golf Clubs?"... The World of Body Fitting

Body Fitting to Assess Physical Condition and Build Strength & Flexibility
Unfamiliar but Essential for Golfers
Systematizing Body Fitting Education

Fitting shop exterior. Photo by Titleist.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seohee] It is common for golfers with some experience to visit fitting shops. Many golfers seek professional fitters to hit the ball farther and more accurately. However, there is something just as important as customizing golf equipment to fit your body. It is making ‘your body’ suitable for golf. Let’s learn about ‘body fitting,’ which manages everything from body shape to mental health and nutrition to help you play golf better.

“To make a ‘good swing,’ you must understand your body first”

Unlike club fitting, body fitting is still unfamiliar to many people. This means many golfers adjust their clubs before even preparing their bodies.

However, visiting a fitting shop to customize equipment or blindly practicing swings without accurately understanding your body is very inefficient. Everyone’s joint structure and ROM (Range Of Motion) are different, and without knowing these, it is difficult to choose the right equipment. Moreover, no matter how hard you practice your swing, movements that exceed your flexibility and muscle strength are unlikely to be accepted by your body.

Therefore, to play golf well, body fitting should precede any other procedure. Body fitting is a concept that includes all processes of assessing your current physical condition and developing lacking muscle strength and flexibility. Based on joint structure and ROM measurements, customized prescriptions are given to each golfer, strengthening weakened muscles and relaxing tense muscles to restore balance. In short, it is a stage that creates an overall body condition suitable for playing golf well before any technical approach.

Choi Wanwook, a professional body fitter, explained, “Golf requires both muscle strength and flexibility. If you try to imitate swings without developing proper muscle strength and flexibility, the movements become difficult and the risk of injury increases. Therefore, approaching golf technically before receiving body fitting is very dangerous.”

You need to choose the loft and shaft that perfectly fit your body to achieve the maximum distance.

Institutions Training ‘Body Fitters’ with Specialized Education

As interest in body fitting grows, private institutions training professional body fitters are systematizing their educational programs. In Korea, Titleist operates the TPI (Titleist Performance Institute), and the Korea Golf Fitting Association (KGFA) also issues golf and trainer certifications through its own education.

TPI’s certification courses are divided into detailed levels, from the basic ‘Level 1’ course to advanced certifications. While TPI ‘Level 1’ covers fundamental theories about the body, advanced courses such as M2 (Medical), J2 (Junior), F2 (Fitness), P2 (Power), and G2 (Golf) are more specialized majors. Applicants generally complete the ‘Level 1’ course first and then choose advanced majors according to their interests.

The Korea Golf Fitting Association’s body fitting certifications are similar. They are divided from level 3 golf and trainer courses to master courses, allowing students to select classes according to their desired level. All these certifications require completing the institution’s own educational program and passing 2 to 3 exam stages to officially obtain the certification.