Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of SWFL
Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
EP# 189 - Unlocking Better Golf Performance for the Aging Golfer
Ready to revolutionize your golf game? Dr. Jake Berman of Berman Golf joins us to reveal how his transition from a physical therapist to a golf performance specialist can help you hit longer, strike better, and play pain-free, even as you age. Discover his innovative methods grounded in physical therapy that target the unique challenges faced by golfers over 50. Dr. Berman debunks the myth of swing speed as the sole solution for distance, emphasizing instead the power of activating the right muscles at the right times.
Dr. Berman shares his unexpected journey into golf, driven by a desire to better serve his clients. Initially, a casual player at best, his dedication to understanding golf mechanics has yielded groundbreaking results. Hear about the lightbulb moments and case studies that shaped his approach, and learn how his fresh perspective is transforming the game for aging golfers. Tune in for a fascinating conversation that bridges the gap between physical therapy and golf performance, making the sport more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Berman Golf
Dr Jake Berman
501 Goodlette Rd N
Naples, FL 34102
239-431-0232
distance@bermangolf.com
WEBSITE
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, cabo, jim Schaller.
Speaker 2:Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 189 of the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. Today we have Good Neighbor Dr Jake Berman from Berman Golf Welcome. Thank you sir.
Speaker 3:Super excited to be here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, excited to learn a little bit about what you do over at Berman Golf. So, without further ado, let's no pun intended, but yes, let's swing away. And why don't you jump right in and tell us what you do?
Speaker 3:That's awesome. It's like we planned that one Right right.
Speaker 3:We specialize in helping golfers move better so they can hit the ball further, strike the ball more consistently and play more frequently without aches and pains. And in this area it's really geared towards the aging golfer. Generally speaking, over the age of 50, over the age of 60, your body just doesn't move the way it used to and it becomes more and more difficult to get the result that you're looking for and expecting on the golf course. And that's where we come in. We help you move better so you can hit it farther and strike the ball more consistently, play more frequently without nagging, aches and pains.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yes. The way you used to do it, you know, may work for a younger person, but nowadays not so much, so we need to adjust a little bit. So always good to have people like you helping out, because we can all use a little help with our golf game, for sure. So how did you get involved in doing this?
Speaker 3:Great question. So I opened up my PT practice physical therapy practice in 2015 and unintentionally started specializing in helping golfers with back pain. And over the years of helping golfers relieve their back pain, they started telling me that I'm hitting the ball better now than I had been in years. So that turned on the light bulb and I'm like what if I did a similar intervention with somebody who did not have back pain, would they too start hitting the ball better? And, long story short, the answer was yes.
Speaker 3:So over the next two years or so, I was doing my own case studies, trying to figure out what was giving us the most juice for the squeeze, specifically with aging golfers, to help them hit the ball further. And the buzzword out in the golf world is you got to swing faster. If you can increase your club head speed by one mile an hour, it should translate to an increase of 2.8 yards of distance carry. And what I found is it's just not realistic for an aging golfer to increase their swing speed significantly enough and result in better consistency, because you're trying to swing out of your shoes and it just it does not work. Physics and said if we can get the right muscles working at the right time. The only result on planet earth because of the laws of physics is we're going to deliver more power into the golf ball and it's going to go farther, and that's how it was born, essentially.
Speaker 2:And with greater consistency, as you mentioned as well, too.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So do you have a background in golf?
Speaker 3:as well too. Yeah, so do you have a background in golf? No, so when I first opened up the practice and unintentionally started specializing in helping golfers with back pain, I was like, huh, I guess.
Speaker 1:I better learn this sport.
Speaker 3:You know, I played around the driving range and played a few rounds with college buddies back in the day, but I never really took it seriously until the vast majority of my clientele were golfers. And I'm going, I got to learn this, I have to know more about this. And then I caught the bug and I'm like, wow, this isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I thought that I would just pick the club up and start whacking it like it looks on TV, and I was like, okay, you've got my attention. Now let's learn this.
Speaker 2:There we go and from an outside perspective, it probably helped you as well oh, tremendously, yes. So, speaking along those lines, we've all had some type of challenge along our journey that we can maybe look back at now and say we're in a better place because of it. Is there something that happened along your journey maybe personally, or even with this, the golf side of things that you can look back at now and say you know what? I'm not necessarily glad, I went through it, but I went through it and I'm here and better because of it.
Speaker 3:I think the easiest thing to identify is. I'll humbly say that I've been a decent athlete my whole entire life physically gifted, if you will, trying to be as humble as possible with that statement, just to give the listeners a visual. The problem that I was experiencing was after I was getting decent. I was consistently hitting the ball, getting better contact as I was learning the game. My distance was so bad compared to my friends that I was playing with that were not in shape, they didn't have the muscle mass or the strength and they're out driving me by 50 plus yards. They're hitting their seven iron 40 yards past me and it just frustrated the crap out of me.
Speaker 3:So that was happening simultaneously when I was doing my own case studies, trying to figure out how am I going to help my clientele get better? And then I was. I was the re, the beneficiary of the Berman method, where by using my body better using my core and glutes versus just muscling it and arm swinging through it I gained 35 yards off the tee and it felt like I was swinging effortlessly. So that was the biggest thing that I went through was I lived it, I experienced it. So now I can relate with Bob who just lost 20, 30 yards in the past 18 months and he's frustrated all to hell and he's like I don't know what's going on. I'm like, all right, you're just working harder, not smarter.
Speaker 2:Let's do this. I've been there, I know what it feels like. Absolutely. We all look at somebody like John Daly and go how does that guy hit that ball that far? And I'm like God bless him. We love him. I love his loudmouth pants. I wear them myself but I cannot hit a ball as far as he does. But that boy just nails it.
Speaker 3:He's gifted right, he's a freak. We're not all freaks, we're mere mortals compared to him.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so, speaking along some of those lines as well too. Are there any maybe myths or misconceptions surrounding what you do that we could clear up for our listeners?
Speaker 3:Yes, it is not a traditional golf lesson and it's not traditional physical therapy. It's this hybrid of where I'm looking at you from a biomechanical standpoint. I'm not going to change your golf swing. I'm going to make the swing that you have more efficient first. First thing that we have to do is say, okay, let's see what you got and make it more efficient by using the core and the glutes the right way. And once you know what it feels like to use your core and glutes, once you know what it feels like to actually load your trail leg and post up in the backswing, then you actually have a chance at taking it to the next level.
Speaker 3:Because the biggest problem that we have in the golf industry is you've got all of these golf pros out there that are trying to get your swing to look like one of the pros that plays on Sunday. So they take a video of your swing and then they post it side by side with a video of Rory or somebody that's playing on Sunday and they're saying this is where I need you to get into this position and 70 year old Bob's going. Are you freaking, kidding me? That kid that you're showing me right there. He's 23 years old and he practices golf 60 hours a week and he's got 10 people on his team and you want me, who practices less than one hour a week, to look like that.
Speaker 3:It's like it just doesn't make sense. So that's where we come in and it's like let's work smarter, not harder. Let's look at what you currently have and just crank up the efficiency of what you currently have. Then we can start looking at other technical things down the road. You can't look at technique before you look at physical. Specifically with amateur golfers, it's different if you're a scratch golfer, but the vast majority of amateur golfers in America cannot truly break a hundred. Did you know that?
Speaker 3:Wow, I probably agree, because I'm one of them Did you know that, wow, I probably agree, because I'm one of them yeah, think about that. This is one of those things where a lot of golfers say they can shoot in the 80s or the 90s, but they're not truly looking at mulligans, they're not truly looking at foot wedges or oh, there's a root here, so I'm going to move it.
Speaker 3:That's not a true score right there You're not truly breaking 100 if you used a mulligan on the front, a mulligan on the back, a foot wedge over here, a hand wedge over there. That's not a, that's not truly a hundred.
Speaker 2:Exactly. You got to be realistic with everything you're doing. Mechanics to keeping score. So are you from Southwest Florida originally.
Speaker 3:I am second generation Naples Community Hospital born, so I've been here my whole life, other than college.
Speaker 2:So you've seen a lot of changes down here, I'm sure yes. So outside of work, I know you're busy with your physical therapy class, the golf business.
Speaker 3:What do you do when you do have a moment of free time? Saturdays are boating days, so if we're in town, if we're in Naples and the weather's favorable, we're out on the boat every single Saturday, my wife and my two girls. We got a third kid on the way, that'll be here in November and we are always on the water Every chance we get. We'll shoot down to the Keys for a long weekend on the boat and it's our happy place.
Speaker 2:That's why we live down here to be able to get outside and enjoy that stuff for sure. So is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about Berman golf that maybe they're not aware of?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess it's a little bit redundant. We're not like any golf lesson you've ever experienced before. You're going to leave your first session knowing what it truly feels like to fire your core and your glutes, and I can say that with honesty because there's not been a single person in my entire career so far that has left one of our sessions saying, yeah, I already knew what that felt like. I've worked with some substratch golfers too, so some plus handicappers where they're like holy cow, that's what it feels like to load the back leg. So that's the biggest thing that you need to know is this is not a typical golf lesson. You're going to leave the first session with your mind blown.
Speaker 2:it's going to be like oh wow, I've definitely been working harder, not smarter and that's the end of the day, the one key takeaway let's work smarter, not harder yes, sir how would our listeners go about contacting you if they wanted to learn more? They wanted to sign up for a class. That's awesome.
Speaker 3:They can go to BermanGolf. com. They can look us up on any social. We are all over Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook. We're everywhere. All you have to do is search Berman Golf on any of the socials. Go to BermanGolfcom. There's tons of opportunities to connect with us and watch videos. And take it to the next level?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, dr Berman. It's been a pleasure getting to know you today. Thank you for being such a good neighbor, and I'm going to have to talk to you about taking some classes there. Thank you, sir, that was fun, Take care.
Speaker 3:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Estera.
Speaker 1:Take care. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPestero. com. That's GNPestero. com, or call 239-296-2621. Thank you.