I get a lot of questions from people asking me why someone would want to participate in a conditioning program of any kind, especially a golf performance enhancement program. Golf is a game of leisure (or so they think), so why would you need to workout?

I often tell these individuals to take a step back and try to look at the bigger picture. Once you do that you can see how participating in a golf fitness program can benefit so much more than your golf game. My hope is that this article will show you how the benefits of a golf performance enhancement program can extend far beyond the golf course.

Money Is A Terrific Motivator

Money is a very strong motivator for most people. As such, I tend to use a financial perspective to motivate people. It is a perspective everyone understands and it works so well. I’ll use that same perspective here.

The health care industry in America continues to be a constant source of concern for the 50+ population. With advances in modern science, individuals are now living longer than any other time in history. While this can be seen as a positive, many individuals are worried about outliving their retirement funds (a very legitimate concern), having their standard of living being reduced due to lack of financial support and losing their personal mobility due to age.

One of the major issues that this country (USA) has on its hands is how we are going to care for the Baby Boomer population once they begin to get older. The overall financial strain it will put on our national health care and financial systems is projected to be very significant. This graph (based on government stats) will show you the historical path of health care costs (adjusted for inflation) in the US since 1960. It shows a fairly disturbing trend.

Strain On The Health Care System

There is already a terrible overall strain on the medical system we have. Many of today’s nurses are nearing retirement age. There is a recognized medical staffing crisis on the horizon as a result of this mass retirement. Tomorrow’s health experts are not getting the clinical experience they need during school due to the incredible demand for new nurses, so much of the training is happening on the job. In short, they are not really ready for the hospital floor (this is a general, high level statement).

While this is not necessarily bad, it is a nightmare for hospitals, since there seems to be a significant drop in overall productivity and profitability from a veteran nurse to a new, “untrained” nurse. This is not good for their bottom lines.

Don’t forget that hospitals, insurance and pharmaceutical companies are for-profit organizations. As such, they are going to do everything in their power to make sure that they make money, and lots of it.

Health Care Costs Continue To Increase

All of these factors (insurance, hospitals, medical treatments, drugs, etc) continue to increase exponentially in cost due to increased usage and demand for their services. Health care costs are expected to grow because scientists are continually discovering medicines to treat diseases of aging and people are living longer. The elderly population, now 36 million, is expected to reach 70 million by 2030.

The positive part of all this is that individuals are beginning to realize that they can control, to some extent, the chance that they will need significant health care in the future. Taking care of yourself now can “save” you millions of dollars in health care costs not today, not tomorrow but many years down the road. Conditions that affect us while we continue to live (diabetes as an example) can be especially expensive, as you can live for decades with diabetes.

There are a number of other issues that will affect the future cost of health care. The point is, health care costs are not going to be getting any cheaper. You are by no means guaranteed to avoid all health problems by taking care of yourself, but you will stack the deck in your favor, and minimize your chance of realizing significant health care bills, by being proactive in the maintenance of your health.

Conditioning Benefits Will Transcend Improved Golf Performance

The whole idea is to develop a better overall you. I subscribe to the philosophy that if we are going to be doing something exercise, let’s make it golf specific. Sure, my programs are about improving golf performance, but the core goal is about so much more than just fitness and conditioning. It is about healthcare cost avoidance, quality of life, reduced pain, treating root causes of pain, etc.

For the average golfer, golf performance enhancement is just the tip of the iceberg. The benefits of a golf conditioning program (or any quality training program for that matter) will positively affect all areas of your life.

I can think of only three investments that have very minimal, if any, risks but can yield huge returns: Education, health and family/personal relationships.

Think of taking care of yourself as a long term cost management strategy for your life. You can also look at it as a no-risk investment in yourself that will pay dividends far above and beyond any other investment you can make while also improving your golf game. That is an investment I like to think most people would be willing to make.

Still Enjoy The Things You Love

Don’t forget that you can take care of yourself and still eat the foods and do the things you like in life. I workout a lot, but I also drink beer, love hamburgers and steak, eat McDonalds (occasionally) and enjoy Mtn Dew. I just don’t make them a staple of my diet.

Hopefully this article has shown you that once you take a step back and look at the bigger, long term picture that you can develop a much more compelling argument for general wellness, which is a natural byproduct of a properly designed golf fitness program. Make an investment in yourself NOW!