St Andrews Links Golf Academy has extended its range of instruction services to include strength and conditioning and is now working with a functional movement systems (FMS) specialist.
A former Royal Marine, Rob Wilson has more than 14 years of experience in conditioning and physiotherapy in professional sport. He has worked with the Great Britain Swim Team and the Leeds Rhinos rugby league team and is a specialist in sports therapy and rehabilitation.
St Andrews Links Golf Academy harnesses the spirit of tradition and innovation at the Home of Golf to deliver world class instruction and custom fit services for golfers of all ages and abilities. The team of PGA professionals use cutting edge technology to deliver the highest standards of coaching.
Steve North, Director of Instruction at St Andrews Links Golf Academy, said, “There is more focus than ever before on strength and conditioning in golf. You only have to look at the world’s leading players to see how seriously most of them take their conditioning. Our aim is to provide the highest standard of coaching and support for all aspects of the game. We have brought Rob on board to work with golfers of all abilities who are looking to improve their performance and address any weaknesses in their conditioning to benefit their game.”
Rob was most recently the Sports Therapist and Rehabilitation Conditioner for Leeds Rhinos rugby league team. He joined the club in 2001 and during his time there the club won the Grand Final twice, were Challenge Cup runners-up four times and twice became World Club Champions.
After leaving the Royal Marines, Rob studied Physiotherapy at Leeds University and graduated in 1997. He went on to study Sports Therapy with Premier Training. From there he became Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Great Britain Swim Team from 1997 to 2001. He was also physiotherapist for members of the national squad in the regional elite group inLeeds.
Rob said, “I am delighted to assist the team here at St Andrews and to be working at such a renowned golf complex. Golf is the same as other sports in that it is vital to ensure your strength and conditioning is managed properly in order to perform to your full potential. I look forward to bringing my experience of top level sport to bear in helping golfers at St Andrews.”
Rob specialises in a number of treatment programmes using manual techniques such as Myoskeletal Alignment and the Bowen Technique to stimulate the muscles and soft tissue of the body as well as acupuncture along the meridians to improve body movement. The aim of the programmes is to restore the body back to its full function through the combination of manual treatments and functional rehabilitation programmes.
Rob is certified in FMS and uses the screen as the basis of his injury treatment and prevention/rehabilitation strategies. FMS tests the body’s movements to higlight areas of restriction or asymmetry and therefore potential injury. Manual therapy and corrective exercise are used to release restricted areas and retrain weak and unstable patterns so that the correct function is restored.
St Andrews Links Trust www.standrews.org.uk