The fitness equipment selected for the pros to use at TPC Sawgrass has suited their needs to the core.
There are many ways you can try to follow what the pros do to learn from their success. You can read about them, watch them perform on TV and try to mimic their actions, use the same clubs and balls that they do, or pursue the same practice regimen.
But to give any of these approaches the best chances of working, it would be wise to first try to lay a strong foundation for success by starting to train as the pros do. That’s why the best payback to be gained from partaking in the PGA TOUR Player Experience—a popular package that has been offered by TPC Sawgrass since it opened its new clubhouse two years ago (C&RB, August 2007)—may come from taking a good look at the Players Fitness Center, which Player Experience customers can view through their access to players-only sections of the impressive new building.
The Players Fitness Center at TPC Sawgrass isn’t particularly large or prominently located in the massive, 77,000-sq. ft. clubhouse. “It’s a nice little ‘boutique’ facility that’s located downstairs off the ‘Tunnel of Champions’ that leads out to the [PLAYERS Stadium] course,” reports TPC Sawgrass’ General Manager, Bill Hughes. The center can only be used by PGA TOUR players, and not other club members or guests.
But while it may not be the largest or most bustling fitness facility to be found at a golf club or resort, no one who was involved with specifying the equipment to be used in the TPC Sawgrass Players Fitness Center was about to take that task lightly.
“As the site of THE PLAYERS, we knew our fitness facility would be used by athletes who demand the very best equipment,” —Bill Hughes, TPC Sawgrass GM. |
“Fitness has become a real focus as a major key to success on the PGA TOUR—Tiger Woods and other players have taken training to a whole new level in recent years,” Hughes notes. “[PGA TOUR Commissioner] Tim Finchem has also made it a real point of emphasis and commitment for the organization as a whole.
“With our proximity to PGA TOUR headquarters and as the site of THE PLAYERS championship, we knew our fitness facility here at TPC Sawgrass would be used almost daily by high-performance athletes who would demand the very best equipment that could keep them at the top of their games,” Hughes adds. “So even though we knew the room would be small, it was critical that we have the right mix of equipment from day one that would allow whoever used it to have maximum choice and effectiveness for whatever exercise objectives they had—strength training, endurance, working the core, or anything else.”
An Easy Choice
With those criteria in place to guide the search for a source of the needed fitness equipment, a “leader for the clubhouse” quickly emerged. Medford, Mass.-based CYBEX already had a strong relationship with the PGA TOUR as the outfitter of its mobile fitness and therapy centers that travel in trailers to each weekly tournament. The mix of equipment for the fitness solution that was eventually specified for the Players Fitness Center at TPC Sawgrass, in fact, was very similar to what is made available to the TOUR players each week through the rolling fitness fleet that Bill Hughes calls a “World Gym on Wheels.”
Even with this solid relationship in place, however—and now after two years of proven performance in the Players Fitness Center—the people at CYBEX still know that their reputation hinges on every workout.
“[TPC Sawgrass] is the flagship facility for the PGA TOUR—they could have chosen any product,” says Scott Sechrest, CYBEX’s Director of Business Development. “And with players like Vijay Singh and Fred Funk who live nearby and are now in there every day, if it didn’t continue to stand up to their needs and use, they could just as easily choose something else.”
Why should average players—and the clubs that serve them through other fitness facilities—take notice of what’s being used at TPC Sawgrass? “If it’s good enough for Tiger Woods, I would think it’s good enough for ‘Joe 20-Handicapper’,” says Sechrest. “Whether you’re training as an Olympic athlete or just rehabbing a knee injury, you want to take the same approach that we’ve drawn from CYBEX’s medical heritage—maximize the benefits for muscles while minimizing the stress on joints.
“One of our key manufacturing guidelines has always been to produce equipment that’s ‘built for professionals and made for beginners,’ ” Sechrest adds. “In all cases, anyone’s who using the equipment should be assured of the same level of safety and performance.”
And while access to the Players Fitness Center is limited to TOUR players, Bill Hughes notes that what’s being used in that facility has generated interest in similar equipment and fitness regimens at the TOUR Academy instruction facility on the TPC Sawgrass property.
“Going into our third full season, we’re very happy with the relationship,” says Hughes. “They provided their very best equipment to us, and since then it’s served some of the best players in the world very well.”
Equipment at TPC Sawgrass Players Fitness Center (all manufactured by CYBEX)
2 530T Pro+ Treadmills
2 630A Total Body Arc Trainers (cordless)
1 530C Upright Cycle
1 530R Recumbent Cycle
1 FT 360S Functional Trainer
1 5375 Beautybell Rack
1 5380 Dumbbell Rack Twin Tier
1 5430 Flat Bench
1 5435 Flat to Incline Bench
1 51022 Beautybell Dumbbell Pack
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