Golf Rx: A 15-Minute-a-Day Core Program for More Yards and Less Pain [Hardcover]

Vijay Vad (Author), Dave Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2007

The acclaimed author of Back Rx and Arthritis Rx (more than 50,000 combined copies in print) returns with the first book fully devoted to improving your golf game and reducing pain.

Many recreational and professional golfers suffer from some form of lower back pain. Conventional wisdom suggests that the violent, twisting nature of the golf swing, which puts undue stress on the spine, is the sole culprit. But research conducted by sports-medicine specialist Vijay Vad, M.D., with PGA Tour pros, recently published in the prestigious American Journal of Sports Medicine, reveals that the swing is only one of several factors. Applying Dr. Vad’s winning combination of mind/body wisdom and medical expertise to the game of golf, Golf Rx shares his cutting-edge findings and addresses such topics as:
• The proper body mechanics for a stable golf swing
• Power tips to improve driving
• Eighteen essential stretches for eighteen holes
• Five-minute warm-up and cool-down routines
• Keeping an aging body in great shape
• Common golf injuries—and how to resume activity
• The Golf Rx exercise series

Combining the best of Pilates, golf-specific conditioning, and physical therapy, Dr. Vad’s easy to follow exercise program contains three series that will speed recovery from the most common golfers’ injuries, help reduce future injuries, and enhance performance by building swing specific flexibility, strength, stamina, and balance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Golf Rx gives you a good sense of where to start with your physical fitness as it relates to golf. A fitter body allows for better performance and more longevity in the game, and Golf Rx is your roadmap. -- Laird Small, Director, Pebble Beach Golf Academy; 2003 PGA National Teacher of the Year

Every golfer wants to hit the ball 20 yards farther. Golf RX will help all players in this elusive quest. Just as important, it will give golfers everywhere the resources to lead a healthier, more active lifestyle. -- Susan K. Reed, Editor-in-Chief, Golf for Women

In this era of bomb and gouge and golfers as athletes, Golf RX is an indispensable resource. The exercises will have you hitting the ball farther than ever, and will keep you healthy so you can enjoy the game for a long time to come. -- Peter Morrice, Senior Editor, Golf Digest

Vijay Vad is a medical miracle- he got me back on the course. I highly recommend this book and Dr. Vad's entire program to any golfer with a bad back, not just for pain relief but also for better score. -- Jack Welch, Author, Speaker

About the Author

Vijay Vad, M.D., is a sports medicine specialist and researcher at the prestigious Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan and the official physician for the PGA golf tour. His Back Rx program will soon be offered by Practice Yoga and the Iyengar Yoga Institute, two of New York’s leading studios. Also the author of Back Rx (Gotham, 2004) and Arthritis Rx (Gotham, 2005), Dr. Vad lives in New York City.
Dave Allen is a senior editor for Golf for Women magazine and is coauthor of Golf Annika’s Way, with Annika Sorenstam.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Gotham; 1 edition (March 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592402666
• ISBN-13: 978-1592402663
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Coaching > Golf
  • #93 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Quick Workouts

More About the Author

Vijay Vad, M.D., is a sports-medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery and a professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He is the author of Back Rx and Arthritis Rx. In 2007, he created the Vad Foundation, dedicated to two causes: supporting medical research into back pain and arthritis, and funding education for disadvantaged girls worldwide. He co-founded The Inflasoothe Group in 2008. Dr. Vad lives in New York City with his family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Got Golf Exercises?, December 24, 2009

By 

golf-nut - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golf Rx: A 15-Minute-a-Day Core Program for More Yards and Less Pain (Paperback)

If you play golf and are looking to get in better shape to either improve your game or prevent imjuries, look no further, Golf Rx: A 15-Minute-a-Day Core Program for More Yards and Less Pain is just what the doctor ordered. In fact, it's written by a doctor.

The book is divided up into distinct sections. There's a chapter on exercises to increase the air time and distance of your drives. There also is a chapter with warm-up exercises, another that has stretches you can do at each of the eighteen holes, and a cool-down exercise chapter. No stone is left unturned as the book also gives you three series of exercises, one for core flexibility, one for core strength, and one for core endurance- choose depending on your skill level and what your goals are.

As you can see, this book has definitely got its share of golf execises that should meet most golfer's needs. So if you're trying to get in better shape for you game, or just want to stay away from injuries, this is your book. Also recommend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff for golfers with shoulder problems that want a more detailed look at shoulder rehab and prevention.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have must do if you play golf, January 9, 2010

By 

JD (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golf Rx: A 15-Minute-a-Day Core Program for More Yards and Less Pain (Paperback)

If you play golf once a week or every day this book is a must read, especially if you are in the over 50 crowd and your range of motion has suffered from years of neglect, meaning stretching, weight training, fitness walking, biking etc. To jump out of the car and into the cart is an invitation for injury even if you are young and fit. It's just that the young and fit don't break as easily or quickly as the older and stiffer like myself. What I like about this book is that he covers all the aspects of how to play good golf without injury. It is not a cookbook of exercises to make you stronger and more flexible. He really wants you to understand what you are doing to your body when you swing a club and how if not done correctly it can lead to injury. He guides the reader through the process of evaluating how to better care for yourself both off the course, just before you play, and the importance of what comes after a game.
The book is divided into three parts. Be sure to read the first part about performance enhancement as it does more than tell you how to get that extra 20 yards off the Tee but how to do it without throwing your back into a spasm. He goes through the mechanics of how your body works for the more challenging part of the game which is mostly the long game. Most golfers are safe from injury when putting but wouldn't it be nice to be able to squat on the ground and read the green?
This section goes through the pre game warm up of 5 minutes, the 15 minute warm up if you have time, how to stay limber through 18 holes exercises, and then the cool down. I especially like the mental game exercises as too many golfers raise their blood pressure when the wheels come off their game. It not only ruins their game and a good day of golf but often the people that are playing with them get affected by negative attitude. Staying mentally calm is really important in golf and critical to the short game when it comes to controlling adrenaline.
Part 2 goes into a series of exercises that you can build a regime around based on your fitness, flexibility, and time. They range from simple stretching to some more robust near calisthenics. It is his advice to do what you feel comfortable doing and build up to the harder exercises if your doctor says it is ok.
Part 3 goes through the injuries that happen to golfers. It is a good summary of why they happen, what they feel like, and how to avoid them.
The book is well written, not preachy, and easy enough to understand and follow the principles he advises for golfers.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary reading for golfers., October 10, 2007

By 

Nathaniel Ehrlich - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Golf Rx: A 15-Minute-a-Day Core Program for More Yards and Less Pain (Hardcover)

I wish I'd read this book 45 years ago, when I started playing golf. If you're a serious golfer -- one who wants to play your best, and works toward that goal -- you have a choice: get into a good flexibility and strengthening program, or be prepared to spend some really painful time in bed, not playing golf in beautiful weather.
This book provides what you need to lower the likelihood of encountering the pain and misery of golf-related back problems. There are no guarantees in life, but it has transformed golf for this 67-year old.