GOLF DON'T LIE

Guest: Jeff Flagg (2014 World Long Drive Champ, Founder of Flagg Performance)

Host: Jeff Pelizzaro

Episode Number: 365

Podcast: The 18STRONG Podcast

Partners: Linksoul, 1stPhorm

Unlock the secrets to enhancing your golf game with the wisdom of Jeff Flagg, the 2014 World Long Drive Champion, as we traverse the significance of rotational strength and athleticism on the fairway. Our conversation is not just a swing analysis; it’s a full-fledged exploration of how to invigorate your game, regardless of whether you’re in your prime or enjoying the sport’s golden years. We tap into Jeff’s expertise in functional training, using tools like PurMotion, to fortify your strength, mobility, and ultimately, your performance.

This week’s episode is a treasure trove of insights for the discerning golfer who recognizes that power drives are just the beginning. Jeff and I pull back the curtain on the nuanced interplay between sport-specific exercises and our body’s mechanics, challenging the status quo of traditional workouts. We share stories from both the tee and the gym, illustrating the importance of a comprehensive training regimen that acknowledges the unique demands of golf – from honing rotational movements to fostering endurance for those challenging back nine holes.

Finally, we chart Jeff’s inspiring journey from baseball to the links and how a philosophy rooted in functional movement revolutionized his approach to fitness. Our discussion underscores the need for tailored training that respects the intricacies of different sports, advocating a holistic strategy for strength and injury prevention. So, whether you’re aiming to lower your handicap or simply wish to infuse your lifestyle with vigor, this episode is your caddy to a more athletic and assured presence on the green. Join us as we help you shape not just your game, but an energetic and enriching life beyond the course.

(00:03) Building Athleticism in Golf

World Long Drive Champion Jeff Flagg discusses rotation in the gym, social media engagement, and embracing individual perspectives in fitness and nutrition.

(12:16) The Importance of Rotation in Golf

Rotation is crucial in golf, impacting mechanics and endurance. Physical deficiencies can be exposed, requiring more rotational exercises in training.

(14:59) Rotational Strength for Athletes

Rotational strength is crucial in sports like golf, and sport-specific training with dynamic movements can prevent injury and enhance performance.

(25:11) Transition to Exercise Education and Driving

A former baseball player found a new passion in golf after studying philosophy, working with a swing coach, and seeking functional movement training.

(28:36) Building a Rotational Athlete

Nature’s interconnectedness in sports training, emphasizes rotational exercises, fascia’s role, and individualized approaches for injury prevention and performance.

(36:25) Gym Equipment and Protein Supplements

Proper post-workout nutrition, innovative fitness equipment from PurMotion, and the benefits of ground-based tools for functional training.

(49:35) Golf Training for Strength and Confidence

Nature’s versatile fitness program for golfers of all ages and skill levels, using movement variety and alternatives like bands, to eliminate weak links and build confidence.

(56:44) Favorite Golfing Moments and Advice

Debating golf movies, walk-up songs, book recommendations, and dream celebrity foursome with generational talent.

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It Takes What It Takes – Trevor Moawad

Getting to Neutral – Trevor Moawad

PurMotion

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0:00:04 – Jeff Pelizzaro

The 18STRONG Podcast, episode number 365 with Jeff Flagg from Flagg Performance. What’s up guys? Welcome back to the 18STRONG Podcast, where we’re here to help you build a stronger game, because we believe that every golfer deserves to play better, longer. This episode, we have a return guest from episode number 170, Jeff Flagg. Jeff was the 2014 World Long Drive Champ and is the founder of Flagg Performance. Jeff has been working with golfers on their fitness, on their game, for several years now, and we bring him back on the show to talk about building the athleticism in your game. And he’s actually here making the case for golfers rotating more in the gym and not just rotating more, but rotating better in the gym, utilizing some different pieces of equipment. Especially, we talk about the pure motion pieces of equipment that he used a lot in his training program that helps his golfers, whether they be teenage golfers or all the way up into their 80s, move better and hit different areas of the body, different angles, different forces, to make sure that they’re able to handle everything that the golf course could ever throw at them. So you’re going to really enjoy this episode with Jeff.

Right after this, our partners over at Lynx hole have been providing us with the best apparel for both on the course and off the course, from polos to t-shirts like the one I have on right now. Everything that they have is meant to be worn from the golf course to wherever you’re going next, whether that be casual, whether that be to the beach there’s all different options over there. So you’ll get 18strong.com slash Linksoul. You’ll get 20% off of anything in your cart over on Linksoul’s website. So again, 18strong.com slash Linksoul for our favorite brand of apparel for anything on the golf course and off. Now let’s get to this week’s interview. What’s up? Yeah, man, thanks for doing this. This is cool, not too much. I was just kind of scrolling through your Instagram and realized, holy shit, he literally just kind of started posting that.

0:02:18 – Jeff Flagg

I’m so bad. I’m so bad at it.

0:02:20 – Jeff Pelizzaro

I’m so bad at it.

0:02:25 – Jeff Flagg

It’s like provided me so many opportunities in the past and it’s like I just got to tell myself that like it matters and like I just post and like get in the rhythm of it. Yeah, so that’s my 2024 goal is to get on it, because it’s just like it’s just just where people find you. It’s just like it’s kind of dumb not to.

0:02:53 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Yeah, can I give you one suggestion on yours, because the black and white that you have of you just doing some exercises just do nothing but that like, keep it simple for yourself and that will look sick and people will.

0:03:10 – Jeff Flagg

It’ll come, just it’s fun, like people just the look of it feels cool and I’m sort of played with, like the you know you talk about, like the art and science, right, like and I sort of tend to lean towards the art side of it and like my dad’s artistic, and it’s like I looked up, like I just kind of like the look of black and white and it’s like you know what makes black and white phones different or whatever, and basically like the science or whatever says you know, it’s like your, your, your eyes drawn more towards the subject and not like crazy colors, and the other part of it is like our gym at Bears Club is the ugliest shade of yellow so it’s like that was the main reason, but.

But it was like, yeah, it, and that’s kind of what I want to try to do is like like focus your eye on like what’s happening with the body and not like peripheral stuff.

0:04:08 – Jeff Pelizzaro

But yeah, like I was just kind of scrolling through and looking, I’m like this just looks cool, plus, the movements that you’re doing are cool and eye catching. You know the pure motion stuff that you use. So I’m like, yeah, if he just does this and it’ll keep it really simple myself to just shoot those kind of videos.

0:04:24 – Jeff Flagg

Yeah, and it’s just like trying to take all the friction points out as much as possible because I’m a classic like over thinker, like all right. But you know I’m showing this, but it’s like somebody’s gonna say this and it’s like, and I know there’s nuance and it’s like in social media, it’s just not. It’s not a place for nuance. You just you post it and you’re falling across the room.

0:04:48 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Well, we just had Jeff Levecchio on recently and you said you’d listen to that episode and like talking to him, he’s like man, you just gotta you put it out there. You say what you know your audience is gonna need to hear in the way that they need to hear it. And, yeah, people are gonna chirp you. They’re gonna say, oh well, your glutes don’t actually activate that way, you don’t turn muscle, you know whatever.

0:05:07 – Jeff Flagg

But it’s like no, I’m talking to the people that need to hear this, need to understand it and everybody else just it brings up and it’s like everybody’s got you know everybody’s got their you know takes, getting older and stuff like that they realize like everybody’s got their own bias, like everybody does. It’s like you’re not gonna be completely gonna make everybody happy and it’s just like you know everybody’s got different experiences and and you know view points on things and lenses to look at things and it’s like to me that’s that’s unique and that’s like it’s not something to like go, oh, it’s right or wrong. I mean, you know our field is just shades of gray, you know, and it’s like there’s nothing established really much on any end of you know exercise, nutrition, like there’s so many factors. It’s like unique perspective I feel like is is, you know, that’s kind of yeah, that’s one man’s opinion. It’s kind of like how I see things this way and you know, thank you for what it’s worth.

0:06:07 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Yeah, it’s like anything any golf pro, any fitness professional you could ask somebody to create a program. You could ask ten different professionals to create a program and they could be the smartest people in the world. They’re all gonna do something different and they could all probably critique a little bit of what the other person, what the other trainer or coach or whatever, did it. That’s just, it’s our natural inclination.

0:06:26 – Jeff Flagg

So, yeah, for sure you’re doing it, you know, and that’s it’s funny, like just going through, you know, I’ve been primarily in person and then, like you know, kind of launching an online product here shortly, and it’s like all those things going through my head and it’s like, and obviously there’s like all the you know scientific justification and you know swing speed and injuries work around it’s like. But it’s also like the other day, it’s like we’re training.

It’s like you know there’s obviously boxes we need to check, but another box that I feel like is important to check is like it’s gonna look cool, I think like I mean look at, look at look at any golf swing, you know pro golf swing, let’s say amateur, the pro golf swing, you know, in slow motion or a cool different angle, it’s like it looks cool, it’s like a cool athletic, coordinated, you know body, it’s just twisted up and it’s like it’s cool. Look at watch and it’s like eye catching and it’s like you know. Why don’t we bring a little bit of that into training, not only to prepare for what you’re trying to do, but also, like you just want to move cool, like you don’t want to walk around like a brick, you don’t want to walk around. Like you have the, you know, as we all get older, the old man shuffle. Like you know.

It’s like you, you just, whatever you do, however, whatever your talent level is with golf, it’s like, at the end of the day, I think you want to move, you know walk in. And like you walk in, you know you carry yourself well, you move smoothly, it’s like you flow. You look at all the greatest athletes. They’re all just like a swag to them and it’s like, bring it a little bit of that into into your training. It’s like, why not work on that a little bit, you know?

0:08:00 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Yeah, you know, that’s the athleticism part to me, right, like we talk about. You know you want to be an athlete when you train you want to be an athlete. Golfers are athletes, but like so. For instance, I just had a gentleman in here the other day. He’s a year younger than me, 44 years old. He if he’s listening to this, he’ll know who I’m talking about having some back pain. I worked with him years ago when I was in the physical therapy clinic. But he came back and he, you know, played high level football, played a lot of high level sports, loves golf, and he’s been having so much pain recently that he’s like dude.

I literally feel like an old man and almost to the point where it’s. It’s become depressing because he feels like the pain may never go away and this may. He may be just on the down slide right and I was like dude, you have so much athleticism in your history, in your background. Yeah, you beat your body up so we got to fix some things, but like it’s not over, you’re 44 years old, like we’re going to get this back, we’re.

And I saw like the weight fall off of his shoulders and be like are you kid? Like like, oh, that’s all I needed to hear. And now you know he’s doing some things and we’ve only met one time but like I have very high hopes of where we’re going to go with him and just to make him feel like like he’s a strong, powerful dude again. You know, he’s like a 6’3 big guy and like and he said he was golfing with his dad not too long ago and his dad’s like what’s wrong with you? You look like an old man. He’s like I feel like I’m your age, you know so, so it’s that kind of thing. It’s like, yeah, I want to be able to move and do things. And you know, like, move around and not just stick in a box.

You know, like Levecchio said, like do all my exercises in a phone booth, right like you need to be able to move like a, like a cat, you know. So I’m glad that you said that, because it’s it’s the athleticism and we we hear that word all the time, but to me that’s like really.

0:09:48 – Jeff Flagg

What that means is like no, I’m it’s not downhill, I mean, that’s like I actually had so much, like you know, being at a golf club and you know my day to day is a lot of the older, you know, club golfers and it’s like it’s almost when they first come in. It’s like there’s a little bit of like that wall up that you got to break down. Like you know, the gym is, it’s intimidating call these weights, like all these things you know. And it’s like I, you know my doctor told me this I got this hip replaced, I got this bad knee, I got this shoulder, I got this neck fusion or whatever. And it’s like I’ve sort of I’ve worked with all of that and it’s like, okay, great, and I’m not here to diagnose you, that’s not my lane. It’s like I’m here to find what can we do. You know, as opposed to you told me all the things you can’t do, right, so it’s like what can you do? That’s where we start. And then you just built from there and it’s like, and you guys are in your playing golf three, four times a week.

You know how hard a golf swing is on your body, like, if you can swing the golf club like, you can do a heck of a lot in the gym and it’s just again it’s like we’re here making the gym, you know, a, a, a, you know not a intimidating place, start here and then you just build it out and I think it’s yeah, it’s one thing I always try to do when trying to put myself in people shoes, being there in the past, injuries and you know kind of that feeling of I mean I was 20, you know, playing college baseball, and like I felt fragile, like I was big, strong, but like I felt fragile because I love training. It’s training hard and getting I’m not gonna anything, but it was a lot of the Olympic stuff, a lot of the square stuff, a lot of that it’s like. And then I always had to do a bunch of hip mobility and all that to get my body ready and it’s like had you know the little, you know the little oblique strains, little you know rhomboid strain, things like that, it’s like the little connectors and stuff, and it’s just like it got to the point where I was like I’m on paper I’m strong, but I don’t feel strong and it’s like there was just a...

Guest: Mitch Sadowsky (Top 50 Golf Fitness Pro, Aretas Performance)

Host: Jeff Pelizzaro

Episode Number: 364

Podcast: The 18STRONG Podcast

Partners: Linksoul, 1stPhorm

Join us as we reconnect with Mitch Sadowsky from Aretas Performance, who shares his invaluable insights on strength training and performance for golfers. We reminisce about his initial visit to the show and how his expertise has evolved, notably his transition from Florida to Wisconsin and the innovative work he’s doing in the realm of golf fitness. Listen in as Mitch breaks down the importance of kettlebell training for golfers, emphasizing how this tool is not just about strength but also about enhancing power, explosiveness, and the often-overlooked endurance aspect required for the long haul of a golf tournament.

Our conversation also covers the seamless transition from physical therapy to performance training, a path increasingly traveled by patients eager to return to their peak athletic form. Mitch and I explore the benefits of collaborative efforts between therapists and trainers and how they work together to create targeted exercise regimens. For those athletes we can’t work with in person, we discuss the creative ways we keep in touch, ensuring their training remains on track. Furthermore, Mitch shares his insights on kettlebell exercises that are particularly effective in building the explosive work capacity needed for golf, while also ensuring safety and quality in training.

To wrap up our chat, we delve into some of the lesser-known but equally critical aspects of golf training. We talk about the surprising benefits of rucking and nasal breathing, as inspired by the book “Breath,” and how these techniques can bolster back strength, core stability, and even mental clarity on the course. Whether you’re a pro, a collegiate competitor, or a weekend warrior, Mitch’s perspectives on training for golf will undoubtedly offer fresh ideas to enhance your game and overall health. Plus, we lighten the mood with personal anecdotes and favorites that add a touch of relatability to the discussion.

(00:04) Strength Training and Performance for Golfers

Mitch Sadowsky from Aretas Performance discusses kettlebell training, rucking, and proper breathing techniques for improving golf performance and overall health.

(10:40) Golf Training and Physical Therapy

Transition from physical therapy to performance training, collaboration between therapists and trainers, remote training for athletes, and innovative techniques for golfers.

(14:24) Explosive Work Capacity Training With Kettlebells

Integrating anti-glycolytic training into golfers’ regimens for explosive work capacity and endurance, with specific protocols and stop signs for optimal performance.

(23:45) Using Kettlebells

Kettlebell training for golfers of all levels, focusing on shoulder stability, midsection control, and combining strength and mobility.

(38:37) Improve Golf Mobility and Explosiveness

Maintaining explosiveness in training for golfers over 40, building ‘brakes’ for speed control, and addressing overlooked foot mobility.

(50:04) Benefits of Rucking and Nasal Breathing

Rucking benefits golfers by improving strength, stability, and work capacity, while promoting nasal breathing and serving as a de-stressing cardio option.

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• Instagram: @mitchsadowsky
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• Website: Aretas Performance
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Breath Book

The Power of Being Yourself Book

Burn the Boats

LINKSOUL: For your 20% discount on LINKSOUL gear, go to 18strong.com/linksoul or click the logo above.

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To continue the conversation and ask any questions you may have, head over to the 18STRONG Movement group on Facebook.

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0:00:04 – Jeff Pelizzaro

The 18STRONG Podcast, episode number 364 with Mitch Sadowsky from Aretas Performance. What’s up guys? Welcome back to the 18STRONG Podcast, where we are here to help you build a stronger game, because we know that every golfer deserves to play better, longer. In this episode, I’ve got one of my good friends, mitch Sadowsky from Aretas Performance, coming on the show. He joined us many moons ago back in episode number 16 of the 18STRONG Podcast and we brought him back on because Mitch is one of the top strength coaches in the world of golf. He was down in Florida for a long period of time working with a lot of professional golfers and has now moved back to Wisconsin where he’s still working with golfers but a lot of other athletes as well as bridging the gap between physical therapy and general population, that gap where people are finishing up with either their injuries or the rehab and finding a way to get back into their sports, their athletics, or just into their life. In this episode we talk about a lot of kettlebell strengthening. Mitch is one of the top coaches that I know and he’s an expert in not just strength training and coaching but in utilizing different tools like kettlebells to help strengthen in a little different way than most think of when they think traditional strength training. We talk a lot about different ways to build strength and power and explosiveness. We even talk about the idea that golf is, yes, it’s, an explosive sport, but it’s also an endurance sport because it takes such a long period of time to play, sometimes over the course of days. Mitch has been kicking around some different ways of training for explosive capacity that we go into a lot of detail on. We talk about rucking, we talk about breathing, we talk about a lot of different ways that you can train whether you’re a professional golfer, a collegiate golfer or just a weekend warrior like most of us and how that’s going to help you improve not just your game but your overall health. So you’re really going to enjoy this episode with Mitch.

Right after this, our partners over at Linksoul have been providing us with the best apparel for both on the course and off the course, from polos to t-shirts like the one I have on right now. Everything that they have is meant to be worn from the golf course to wherever you’re going next, whether that be casual, whether that be to the beach, there’s all different options over there. So go to 18strong.com slash Linksoul. You’ll get 20% off of anything in your cart over on Linksoul’s website. So again, 18strong.com, slash Linksoul for our favorite brand of apparel, for anything on the golf course and off. Now let’s get to this week’s interview, mitch Sodowski. Welcome back to the 18strong podcast. Thanks, man.

0:02:57 – Mitch Sadowsky

It’s great to be back on. We were trying to figure out which episode it was. It was 16. Yeah, number 16.

0:03:02 – Jeff Pelizzaro

I think that was back in 2015 is when that originally was, and we had started the podcast right at the end of 14. And then you and I got to hang out at the World Golf Fitness Summit in October of that year out in California in Carlsbad. And then it was love ever since.

0:03:24 – Mitch Sadowsky

Yeah, we were roommates, your statement that it was us, and I think, and Clint Howard and Nick Mueller, and Nick Mueller, yeah, and Lizzie Pals was there and we had the whole crew man.

0:03:39 – Jeff Pelizzaro

That was pretty awesome. That was awesome.

0:03:41 – Mitch Sadowsky

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Long time ago Back when I was a fish talk. That’s right, that’s right.

0:03:47 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Best fish tacos over in Carlsbad. That’s back when both you and I had dark, luscious beards. Now they’re big and white and gray.

0:03:56 – Mitch Sadowsky

Well, it’s luscious, just a lot whiter.

0:03:58 – Jeff Pelizzaro

That’s true, very, very true. So, howard things man. So you are, you’re up in more of a cold climate. You were down in Florida when I originally first met you, working down at Lake Nona, and now tell everybody where you are and what prompted the move.

0:04:13 – Mitch Sadowsky

Yeah, so you’re a little bit of a circuitous route. We moved from Orlando to South Florida and 2000, late 2017. Little bit for my wife’s job, but there’s some good opportunities down in South Florida for me. Got a chance to work with a lot of really really close friends. Bars Was at Coastal Performance, now for Fred with Brendan Hayden and was working a lot with Dr James Spencer, don Stanley, hugo Batero just really really solid crew of guys down there that we all worked really well together from the men’s side and performance side and what was able to refer out quite a bit.

And then we started talking about a year ago, so our daughter’s three, our son’s a year and a half, and we started talking a couple of years ago about getting our family back up to Wisconsin where I grew up, where my parents are, my sisters. It just worked out. So, actually through Jason Glass, I met a couple of guys who went through his mentorship and we met. I met Nate and Scott, probably around 2016,. 17 down in Orlando and Nate’s the first guy that I see coming in to the hotel and he’s got a Milwaukee shirt on and Wisconsin people like magnets to each other. So then, hey, where’d you get that shirt. I grew up there. So he and I started talking. We both have the same volleyball background, the same volleyball community in Milwaukee where we grew up, and he was a DPT, owned his own clinic. And from your performance side, I said, dude, I don’t need a good reason to come up home, so let’s see what we can work on. And we, you know I was able to come up visit a couple of times do some performance clinics at their facility.

And then, about two years ago, we started talking and said, hey, what are you doing for your performance program as your patients are moving out of PT? He said we don’t have anyone. I said, what would it look like if that was me? And he said, well, let’s talk. And last November we were up visiting family and it just got accelerated. I looked at my wife and said, hey, it’s time to get the kids back home.

So I saw Nate. Actually, that night we were at a box game with some other friends and I met Nate at half time. I said, all right, dude, let’s do this, let’s build something really, really big and it fits our visions and our dreams. And we started moving towards it in January, I think or sorry, not January, I think July 12th, 14th, something like that, the movers came, packed our stuff up, we packed everything up with cars and drove on up, and so a little shorter background. So Nate made opened up his own. He was with Team Rehabilitation and he and another guy split off from that company to form Eratos physical therapy. We have two locations and so we opened Eratos Performance in July and we’ve been going since.

0:07:27 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Awesome. So is Eratos Performance. Obviously you worked a ton with golfers. I assume a lot of volleyball players too Is this. Are you working with those two specifically or a little bit of all the athletes around?

0:07:42 – Mitch Sadowsky

A little bit of everybody right now. It’s, you know it’s sliding people over from PT, whether they’re just Gen Pop to firefighters, tactical populations We’ve got I do have a lot of golfers. It’s got. We got a lot of high school baseball players, a lot of high school athletes that are coming off PT. So right now we’ve got a little bit of everybody and you know we’ll be probably doing a little bit more. Specialization in golf is the performance side continues to grow and I would say probably 60, 60 to 70% of my time is continuing to develop our golf performance platform. But right now we’re, you know we’re we’re making sure everybody gets taken care of.

0:08:27 – Jeff Pelizzaro

I love it. I always thought that there was a missing piece in the model of the medical system of you know, going from a physical therapy setting to then just going back out to real life, right?

Or to real sport and not having that crossover, and it seems like it obviously it’s more prominent now than it was, you know, 10, 15, 20 years ago when you guys you and I kind of got into this, this field. But I still feel like there’s a lot of that missing or it’s not something that’s been perfected. And I also see that you guys are working so closely together. Are there physicians that that you guys work with pretty closely too, that are kind of steady referrals to you guys?

0:09:06 – Mitch Sadowsky

Yeah, we’ve got we’ve got a number of orthopedic surgeons that we work with. We’ve got I would say mostly down there a couple other docs from outside that realm that we’re working with, that kind of believe in the not everybody needs therapy but everybody needs strength, that type of philosophy that they can say, well, okay, so if you know your knee is bothering you or whatever, you know you can go to Eratos. But we really want them to understand that. You know we follow the reset, reinforce, reload model through FMS, so that you know, once people start loading and creating a little bit more competency and whatever movement pattern we’re trying to fix, that they can slide fairly seamlessly over to the performance side, which is, you know, we try to make it as frictionless as possible.

We want people to understand that. You know, whatever, whatever misconceptions they have about strength coaches and strength and performance, that it’s really not what they think. It actually does look like like really good PT and good strength training look like really good PT as well. You know we want to bring down as many barriers to entry as possible to get people, you know, living as well as possible. And you know, for our golfers, playing golf is in as high a level as possible for as long as possible.

0:10:39 – Jeff Pelizzaro

With the general population. Clients, what percentage would you say tend to go from physical therapy over to you guys, at least for maybe, and what does it look like? Is it a few sessions? Is it then, you know, sometimes long-term programming and how many people actually take advantage of that?

0:10:57 – Mitch Sadowsky

It’s growing right now. You know, the more I’ve been here, the more people that we’ve met and start to kind of see what we do with our client, with the performance side of things, and so we try to get them over. Or you know, our therapist has done a really good job. They all buy into what we’re doing. They will say, okay, so instead of working with the tech, you know why don’t you work with Mitch for about 15 minutes? You know, here’s what we’ve been working on with them. Mitch is going to show you a few strengthening exercises you can do to help, you know, to help with whatever we’re working on. And then that’s how we sort of force that relationship and try to create that entry point down there.

0:11:40 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Very cool. And then, as far as your I know because you had a whole stable of professional golfers, high-level golfers that you worked with down in Florida are you still keeping in contact and working remotely with them? And then, what does it look like in person at the facility in Wisconsin?

0:11:56 – Mitch Sadowsky

Yeah. So I still have a number of my professional athletes that I work with. They’re on remote programming and then we’ll face time anywhere from one to two times a week and we do almost daily check-ins just to see how everything’s going. You know we’ve got a number of athletes. They’re professional athletes in Milwaukee and if they’ve come to see us for PT we’re reaching out to them to just say, hey, you know, whatever you need from us we’re happy to provide. So one of our collegiate athletes got drafted by the Dodgers this year. He’s still undergoing TJ rehab and you know he’s got some strength stuff that he does outside. But you know, we’ll consult. Just kind of, take a look at this program, say, okay, here’s what we would add in, here’s what we would. You know, kind of use the red light, green light, yellow light philosophy of stay away from, proceed with caution, or scream means go. So we’ll help them out with that. Just kind of be whatever they need whenever they need...

Guest: Jeff Lovecchio (Retired Prof Hockey Player, Performance Coach)

Host: Jeff Pelizzaro

Episode Number: 363

Podcast: The 18STRONG Podcast

Partners: Linksoul, 1stPhorm

Join me as I welcome Jeff Lovecchio, a retired professional hockey player turned esteemed performance enhancement coach, to share a wealth of knowledge that transcends the ice and influences athletes from various sports, including golf. Jeff’s unique insights into the intricacies of hockey training, which includes balancing gym routines with the demands of ice play, offer invaluable advice for avoiding overuse injuries and keeping the main sport in sharp focus. We also explore the rigorous life of professional athletes, delving into their schedules and travel, and how these factors affect their training and overall performance.

Listen in as Jeff recounts his personal journey from a promising young hockey talent to a transformative coach, shaped by the trials of a severe concussion and the consequential shift in his playing style. His story of resilience, determination, and the transition to coaching offers a compelling narrative that emphasizes the role of mentorship in athletic development. Jeff’s approach to training, which revolutionized traditional methods, underscores the need for functional, sport-specific regimens that improve balance and strength directly related to performance on the ice.

Wrapping up our conversation, Jeff and I tackle the broader topics of goal setting, self-talk, and the importance of fostering a positive mindset. We discuss how defining clear objectives and engaging in positive affirmations can drive success, both in sports and life. Moreover, Jeff’s mantra “give more, be more,” which he promotes through his social media and website, invites us to consider the profound impact of generosity on personal growth. Whether you’re an athlete looking to enhance your game or someone seeking motivation and inspiration, this episode offers a wealth of strategies and stories that will leave you energized and ready to tackle your goals.

(00:02) Performance Enhancement and Mentoring for Athletes

Retired hockey player Jeff Lovecchio shares expertise in fitness, nutrition, and recovery for athletes, discussing the challenges and demands of professional sports.

(07:32) Hockey Career and Missed Opportunities

A professional athlete’s journey from playing hockey overseas to revolutionizing training methods, his early start in hockey, and his interest in fitness.

(11:50) Building as a Coach After Injuries

A hockey player overcomes a severe concussion to continue his career, adapting his playing style and becoming a successful coach.

(17:33) Importance of Athletic Training and Health

Nature’s lessons in sports: discipline, self-investment, parental support, and holistic fitness for all ages.

(28:35) Revamping Training for Hockey Performance

An athlete’s journey to improve on-ice performance through functional training, including unilateral exercises, visual and vestibular work, and spatial awareness.

(39:00) Improve Sports Skills and Find Motivation

Skill and technique, position-specific power development, individualized coaching, and sustainable fitness routines for New Year’s resolutions.

(43:02) Goal Setting and Self-Talk Importance

Reverse engineer goals, establish a strong ‘why’, use daily affirmations, and practice positive self-talk for success.

(48:42) Hockey Career, Leadership, Starting Company

A hockey player’s journey, commitment, community support, personal growth through hardship, and transition to entrepreneurship.

(52:50) Give More, Be More

Adopting the mantra “give more, be more” and promoting it through personal and professional endeavors, emphasizing the importance of positive contributions and meaningful connections in a society that is becoming increasingly disconnected.

(01:01:04) The Importance of Reading and Goals

Mindset, books like “The Secret” and “Relentless Solution Focus,” dream golf and hockey foursomes, and social media recommendations for personal development.

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• Instagram: @jefflovecchio
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• Website: GMBM
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The Secret Book

Relentless Focus Solution Book

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1st Phorm: Try any of the 1st Phorm products with FREE SHIPPING, go to 1stphorm.com/18strong.com (By using this link, you will be entered into our Monthly 1st Phorm Giveaway!)

To continue the conversation and ask any questions you may have, head over to the 18STRONG Movement group on Facebook.

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0:00:03 – Jeff Pelizzaro

The 18STRONG Podcast, episode number 363 with Jeff Lovecchio, retired professional hockey player and performance enhancement coach. Hey, what’s up guys? Welcome back to the 18STRONG Podcast, where we’re here to help you build a stronger game, because we believe that every golfer deserves to play better, longer. This episode is going to be a great one for you. We have Jeff Lovecchio on. He’s a retired professional hockey player and I know that sounds a little strange to have a hockey player come on a golf podcast, but, as you’re going to see, with Jeff, he’s much more than just a hockey fitness coach. He is a mental game coach. He is a mentor to a lot of the athletes that he works with, and it’s all about not just the fitness side but the nutrition, the recovery, the mobility, the stability, working on all of the different pieces of the game to train more like an athlete, whether you’re a hockey player, whether you’re a CEO or whether you’re just somebody looking to train and become the best version of yourself in the gym and outside of the gym. So you’re going to really enjoy this episode with Jeff. We share a lot of the same philosophies when it comes to training and his Instagram account has been very influential in some of the things that we do at 18STRONG and the way that we train, the way we work on mobility and the way we work on getting the golfers moving the way we want. So stay tuned.

Right after this, our partners over at Linksoul have been providing us with the best apparel for both on the course and off the course, from polos to t-shirts like the one I have on right now. Everything that they have is meant to be worn from the golf course to wherever you’re going next, whether that be casual, whether that be to the beach, there’s all different options over there. So go to 18STRONG.com slash Linksoul. You’ll get 20% off of anything in your cart over on Linksoul’s website. So again, 18STRONG.com slash Linksoul for our favorite brand of apparel for anything on the golf course and off. Now let’s get to this week’s interview,…

Jeff Lovecchio. Welcome to the 18STRONG podcast, man.

0:02:19 – Jeff Lovecchio

Happy to be here. This gym, this office, everything’s very, very cool. We’re excited.

0:02:24 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Yeah, we’re slowly but surely getting the studio set up and just kind of getting it a little fancy here. Yeah, it’s fancy.

0:02:29 – Jeff Lovecchio

It’s super clean. Man, I love it here. Well, it’s kind of brand new. Yeah, everything’s dope, don’t stop, you might fall off the wall.

0:02:37 – Jeff Pelizzaro

It looks awesome. I love it. So it sounds like you got a bunch of hockey guys back in town for the winter break and everything, so you’re running like a madman, right now.

0:02:44 – Jeff Lovecchio

Yeah, yeah, guys are home. I got some guys that are home for a week, some of them are home for three days, some of them are home for two weeks, kind of depending on the school or the team if they’re playing juniors. So just trying to get everybody in and feeling good so they go back to their second half confident and ready to go.

0:02:59 – Jeff Pelizzaro

So what does that look like in the gym right now? Is it like teams coming in? What’s the flow like over there?

0:03:06 – Jeff Lovecchio

Basically it’s just like my. I have a couple of different like businesses, I guess within my own business it’s like subheadings, I guess, I would say. But these are all like my off-season guys. They’re the guys who in the off-season for anywhere from four to six months, depending on what league and when they get home. They’re with me four days a week and we go to battle every single day and that’s where in the off-season, you really get your body like not only healthy, but like you try to make performance gains and stuff like that.

You work on your skills on the ice. I only do off the ice now because I’m in there all day. Excuse me, but during Christmas break hockey’s kind of it’s kind of crazy, like it’s not like other sports. I was just explaining this to at the doctor’s office. I was just at like, if you play golf, football, basketball, lacrosse, any of these other sports, you train on ground, you play on ground, yeah, and hockey you train on ground, you play on ice. Walking and skating are not the same. Running and skating are not the same.

So, like in season, when they’re doing all this athletic stuff on the ice, I actually peel back like the athleticism in the gym because I want the main thing to be the main thing. I don’t want to ever take away from the main thing. Also, you know these guys who play hockey now in juniors you’re playing so many games, they practice so much. So I also have to think about, like, what empty buckets are they not hitting? I want to fill up those empty buckets and I don’t want to overflow. The buckets are already getting More strength, you know, like prehab mobility core, making sure they’re healthy, and more GPP. Honestly, it’s way more general because what they’re doing out there is so specific. I don’t want to double up on the specific and then create overuse, injuries or anything like that, you know.

0:04:52 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Yeah, yeah, that’s a good point. We see that a lot with the golfers too. Like golfers, all they’re doing rotation all day long, right, and so when they go in the gym a lot of people think, oh, I got to rotate, I got to rotate.

It’s like no, actually you need to do the other stuff you get stronger and that makes a ton of sense that they got to come in and they got to kind of reset and do a lot of the things that they’re not getting when they’re playing. What does the schedule look like, because you’re a former professional hockey player, when you guys are traveling or when you were traveling, what does that look like? And what’s it look like for these guys as far as, like, practice time, what are they doing workout wise, on the ice or on the road.

0:05:27 – Jeff Lovecchio

It really depends on the organization and if they and pro is so much different than college and everything up to pro is very structured for everyone on the team. For the most part you get to pro and you know I’ve been retired, for this is my seventh year being retired at. My last year was 17, 18. But, like, when I got to pro it was like pretty much you’re on your own, like the game you get into a city practice tomorrow is at 10am, the game’s at seven. You got to be at the rink at nine and five and then after that I do do whatever you want. Really. Yeah, you know you have to work out stuff, especially at the higher levels, right, some teams will do some like workout stuff on the road. It’s not a lot of workout stuff, but now the NHL signed a deal with anchor anchor two years ago, so every NHL away locker room has to have two of those.

So I would work out after games because, like, you can only get so much working out during the week because games are kind of like all over the place. So after a game, if you don’t have a game the next day, a lot of guys will do like something like bands or body weight If they’re on the road. I always had like a bag inside my hockey bag with bands and sliders and just so I could rip out like 12 minutes and then I looked at it as okay, like I just played the game. I do the workout immediately after, when all that’s only one thing my body has to recover from, instead of waking up on an off day and then going in and training. Well, now it’s like recover from this, I’m tired. I’m tired of recover from this. So I try to stack them whenever I could. So I think pro hockey guys work out in the week when it makes sense and then, after the last game of the weekend or whatever, a bunch of guys will put in at least a little bit of work.

0:07:11 – Jeff Pelizzaro

So did I hear that when you were playing pro hockey, you started training your teammates.

0:07:17 – Jeff Lovecchio

Yeah, oh yeah, man. I became the unofficial strength coach on almost every team I played on in Europe. So I played three years in the US. I had a year I was injured. I missed a whole first year of my NHL contract with a concussion. Well, we’ll get to that. Yeah, yeah, that was awful. And then I went overseas and so after my third year pro, the summer going into my fourth year, I started my training company here in St Louis and then I was already training myself. I trained myself my whole pro career and I just started training a couple of kids and then all the teams in Europe European people probably won’t like to hear this, but at least every team I played on and all the guys I played with that were on the national teams of the countries I played in.

Their training was so far behind, like what I think, where it should be, very like 1980s, like kind of a mixture between powerlifting and bodybuilding. It’s like you don’t do that, you know, like that’s really not helping that. So guys would see me and I’d win testing. Everywhere I went, it always isn’t the best shape I had to be. I wasn’t skilled enough not to so like I had to be, or else I would have been there. And then they you know I don’t like what we’re doing, I’ll work out of Vex. And then all of a sudden, everybody’s working out with me and then the coach is like, all right, you just write the workout, so I just started. And then I’d become friends with the strain coaches and talk to them about my philosophies. We go back and forth. I was never like pushing it on them, but it was always. It always turned out like a month in All right, we’re going to do what Vex is doing.

0:08:50 – Jeff Pelizzaro

So give me, give us a little background. I mean, I know your story but for the people listening watching so you’d left home at like fit age 15 to go, and that’s kind of how hockey is right. Yeah, I mean you’re probably surprised. Did you ever think you’d be on a golf podcast, by the way?

0:09:05 – Jeff Lovecchio

No, obviously because I’ve never golfed, I’ve never done a full round of golf and I’ve only hit the ball a few times. And funny, now I look back, I wish I would have learned it because I know that it would have helped me be a better athlete. And the mental side of golf I think that helps any human being at anything they want to do. You hit a crappy shot. You can’t let that crappy shot affect you. You’ve got to calm down, re-center, focus up, hit the next shot, make sure that’s good. The past is the past. You can’t change that.

That would have helped me immensely in my sports psychology journey of being a pro athlete. So I wish I would have. But we would leave the gym when I was training in like juniors and college, even pro, and like all the guys were training with me, whatever, like they’d go golf and I’d either do more in the gym or I would be like I just sweat for three hours. I’m going to go take a nap, you’re going to go sit outside at 100 degree weather in St Louis. But looking back, I wish I would have learned.

0:10:00 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Well, yeah, because several of the guys like Wides, I know like those guys they go work out in the summertime, go work out, go play golf and they’re all sticks too.

0:10:07 – Jeff Lovecchio

They’re all good. Wides is good. Freddie Roushoff I got a guy who’s like 6’7, 240 and I think he’s almost a scratch golfer.

0:10:15 – Jeff Pelizzaro

Oh my gosh.

0:10:17 – Jeff Lovecchio

I’m going to go for another really good golfer. A lot of hockey players are good golfers,...

Host: Jeff Pelizzaro

Episode Number: 362

Podcast: The 18STRONG Podcast

Partners: Linksoul, 1stPhorm

Join us as we revisit the powerful 40-Day FORGE program, an initiative that has been instrumental in transforming the habits, resilience, and self-confidence of our community. As we approach a new year, there’s no better time to reforge your commitment to personal growth and excellence. Listen in as I share the intricacies of the FORGE, where the physical meets the mental, equipping you with a rigorous set of tasks and rules designed to push you beyond your limits and make lasting changes that resonate on and off the golf course.

Hear about the life-altering power of commitment through my reflections on personal discipline during Lent, which inspired the creation of the 40-Day FORGE. I draw connections between steadfast dedication and the improvement of your golf game, discussing the transformation that occurs when you hold yourself to a higher standard. I also highlight the importance of community support and the significant role it plays in successful commitments, using our 18STRONG community as a prime example of how shared goals and mutual encouragement can elevate your journey.

For all the details about the 40-Day FORGE, click HERE.

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• The 40-Day FORGE
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To continue the conversation and ask any questions you may have, head over to the 18STRONG Movement group on Facebook.

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0:00:04 – Jeff Pelizzaro

The 18STRONG Podcast, episode Number 362 Revisiting the Forge. Welcome back to the 18STRONG Podcast. This week we’re going to highlight an episode that we did, episode number 335, where we talked about the 40 day forge. The reason we’re doing this is we’re about ready to hit the new year and we know that a lot of you are out there working on what’s my resolution how am I going to change what I did this past year and become a better version of myself in 2024. We know that the 40 day forge is a program that we’ve been doing for several years. We’ve had hundreds of golfers go through it and it’s a mental and physical challenge and program that’s going to help you not just get in better shape, but work on building your habits, building your resiliency and, ultimately building your self-confidence in you becoming a better, stronger version of yourself, which ultimately plays out on the golf course. So enjoy this episode that is a revisited version of 335 on the 40 day forge.

Our partners over at Linksoul have been providing us with the best apparel for both on the course and off the course, from polos to t-shirts like the one I have on right now. Everything that they have is meant to be worn from the golf course to wherever you’re going next, whether that be casual, whether that be to the beach, there’s all different options over there. So go to 18strong.com slash Linksoul. You’ll get 20% off of anything in your cart over on Linksoul’s website. So again, 18strong.com slash Linksoul for our favorite brand of apparel, for anything on the golf course and off.

Now let’s get to this week’s interview. What’s up, guys? Welcome back to the 18STRONG podcast, where we know the stronger we are, the better we play. And for those of you that have been listening to the 18STRONG podcast for a long time, you notice this episode. The beginning already has a little bit of a different feel to it, and that’s because we’re going to be doing something different on today’s episode. We’re going to be talking about the 40 day forge. You’ve heard me talk about this before and I wanted to lay out the rules, the specifics, the details of the forge, because I’ve had a lot of people asking questions about it, wanting to learn more, or they want to pass it along to somebody else that they know is going to benefit.

Now, for those of you that maybe this is your first time listening, maybe somebody introduced you to this episode or sent it to you, or maybe you just stumbled across this not really knowing what to expect. First of all, 18STRONG is a golf lifestyle fitness brand where we are all about helping you become the strongest version of yourself on and off the golf course, and today’s episode, specifically, is a little bit different. Normally, I either interview somebody or we talk about a specific topic regarding golf and fitness and lifestyle and interviewing different people and experts in the world of golf, but today is just going to be me and I’m going to be talking about the 40 day forge, which is a program that we started at the beginning of 2022 and is not just a physical challenge but a mental challenge that many people have now completed, and so I wanted to give more details for everyone out there that has more questions Now, I want to also let you know that this is a program that is completely free. We don’t charge anything for this. There’s no upsells, no downsells.

This is something that we are doing because we know the 18STRONG crew is constantly looking for ways to better themselves and, in my personal opinion, there’s so much stuff out there that we all get caught up too much in the not knowing what to do. Thinking we need more information, thinking, we need to learn more thinking. There’s a bright new, shiny object that we haven’t found that’s going to get us where we want to go faster, whether that be our golf game, whether that be our fitness, whether that be our diet, our nutrition, all of these things. But I have personally found over my own experience in the fitness world my own personal fitness, exercise, golf, as well as my experience with hundreds, if not thousands, of golfers in person and online that what we’re all missing is not the what to do or even the how to do. It’s simply the fact that we aren’t doing anything. We aren’t accustomed to finding one thing and sticking to it for a long enough period of time and committing to that, and so that’s what the forage is about is sticking to a commitment and keeping these commitments to yourself. You’re going to hear more about this throughout the episode, so this is how this episode is going to go.

I’m going to do my best to answer as many questions and go through the details. There’s basically four parts we’re going to go through today. First is how and why this program came about, because I think that helps explain a little bit of not just the background of it, but why it’s so important and emphasize how impactful this can be to you and to the people around you and why this isn’t just another fitness challenge or diet challenge or cleanse or anything like that New Year’s resolution. The second thing I want to do is I want to go through the exact rules of the forage and why each of these rules was picked, what the specifics are and even ways that people either try to cheat or kind of rationalize the rules or maybe clarify a few things that people have had questions on. The third thing is I want to give you some suggestions Once you decide that you are going to start the 40-day forage, some suggestions for you to get the most out of the program, because the last thing we want to do is have you just mail this in and just kind of go through the motions and not get the full extent out of it. And then, lastly, I’ll talk about maybe a couple frequently asked questions and really what you can expect over the 40 days and what you can expect to accomplish by the end of the 40 days, so you get a better picture of what that can look like 40 days from now. So, first of all, we call this program, the 40-day forage.

Obviously, as a golfer, you’ve probably heard the term forged before. Forging versus casting. You hear that with clubs all the time, but forging is basically the process of taking a solid piece of metal, sticking it in a blazing hot fire and then banging it into shape. Now they use heavy fancy equipment and machinery to do this, but even going back to the black smiths of old with knives and swords and those types of things, they would take a piece of metal, they would stick it in a hot furnace and they would bang it into shape to sharpen it and smooth it out. And ultimately, that’s really what this process of these 40 days is meant to do is to sharpen your edges through a series of repetitive challenges that are ultimately going to make you stronger both on and off the golf course. And I want to clarify that if you’re here, you’re obviously likely a golfer, but if you are here for the intention of just dropping a few strokes, that’s not what the 40 day forage is about. In fact, the 40 day forage has a couple of golf components in it, simply because we know that our audience is basically made up of golfers, but this is not specifically about getting you to swing a golf club better. It’s way, way more than that.

So just as a little background on how this whole thing came about first of all, we have to face the fact that golf is not necessarily really a sport. That quote, end quote requires you to be in the greatest physical condition. Right Now we’re seeing athletes on the PGA tour, we’re seeing these guys that are coming out and they’re basically physical specimens now. But that doesn’t mean that all of us require incredible athleticism and physical nature and to be in great shape to play a game of golf. We’ve all played with the guy who is very out of shape, overweight, old, has banged up hips, knees, whatever, and can still play a pretty decent round of golf. So it’s not about that. We realize that golf is not a life or death sport, right?

So it’s kind of really easy to get by out on the golf course just being in okay shape, and it really kind of gives us the okay to be a little bit lazy with our focus, with our nutrition, with our diet, and we simply start to expect and accept the fact that as we age, we are supposed to have achy joints and we’re supposed to gain some weight and our club head speed is supposed to go down and all these different things I’m supposed to not really look that great with my shirt off, these kind of things and we just assume that’s kind of normal, right. But let me ask you, is that just what you’ve been telling yourself? Because I know that I have found in the past myself telling myself that these things are okay. I’ve been telling myself in my early 40s and it’s okay for me to kind of let these things go a little bit. But that is exactly why we’re here, because, at 18STRONG, we don’t believe that you have to accept that. And so the Forge is here to challenge that narrative that you and I have been telling ourselves and prove that with some direction, some serious commitment and daily action, that you don’t have to tell yourself that same old story, that we can change this right now. You can put yourself on a different trajectory.

And, like I said before, I don’t believe that we should fall into the trap of these mantras that we tell ourselves that I don’t have time, I don’t know what to do, or here’s a good one I’ll start it tomorrow, or I’ll start it next week, or I’ll start it after the Masters, or I’ll start it January 1st, all of these things. Well, this is your opportunity to prove to yourself that all of that is BS and that you aren’t going to put it off any longer, and so, hopefully, you’re going to stop searching and you’re going to start doing, because it’s not about not having the right program, it’s not about not knowing the right diet, it’s not about all of these things. It’s about not having the discipline and not having the habits. And so the way that you find discipline is by putting yourself in situations that require discipline. The way that you build habits is by forcing yourself into situations where you need to build habits, and you do them and you commit to it, and that’s what the Forge is about.

Okay, real quick. For those of you that are new here and don’t know me from Adam, don’t know 18STRONG or haven’t listened to a show before, I just want to give you a little bit of background on what we do here. Nothing to brag about, anything that we’ve done, but just so you have a little bit of context of where we’re coming from. So my name is Jeff Palazero. Again, I’m a golf fitness professional. Went to school for physical therapy. Had my Masters in physical therapy have been named the past three times. Golf Digest top 50 golf fitness trainer in North America, wrote a book called the Golfers Guide to a Buggy-Proof Workout, and we’ve had the longest running golf and fitness podcast, which started back in 2014. That’s what you’re listening to right now the 18STRONG podcast and we’ve had a chance to have incredible guests on the show PGA tour major winners, some of the best medical and fitness advisors to the PGA tour, some of the greatest instructors in the world and many, many more people even outside the world of golf, all under the guise of helping all of us get better, both on and off the course.

18STRONG was founded by myself and my cousin, ryan. Ryan and I have been best buddies since we were little kids. Ryan is more in the marketing world and is very good at the online stuff. My expertise, obviously, is with the physical and fitness and medical side, and so we combined forces years ago. But most importantly, myself, ryan, we are both guys in our early to mid 40s. We love the game of golf and we are here to not just help you guys but also help ourselves along this journey.

I’ve got kids, I have a wife, I run a business. I grew up playing soccer, I didn’t play golf, but now golf is a huge passion of mine and so I obviously want to get better at that. But even more so, I’m constantly on a journey, just like many of you are, to feel as good as I can, to look good, to be strong and to play golf as well as I can. The only way that I can do that is if I keep my body healthy, keep my body moving well, and that’s going to allow us to play the game for much longer. So everybody talks about growing the game. You know, grow the game. I want to lengthen the game. I want to lengthen your game so you can play for the longest amount of time possible as well as you possibly can. So that’s really kind of where we come from, and so I created this program.

Ultimately, it was kind of selfishly for myself, and it happened over the course of a couple of years really, but in many ways, I needed to create this program for you, the 18-strong crew, in order to hold myself accountable to doing this as well. So again, this is not a quote-unquote golf fitness program. This is not a weight loss challenge. This is not a nutrition challenge. This is not a cleanse. Ultimately, this is a physical and mental fortitude program. This is a program about you helping yourself become a better you and, to be honest, it was designed in order for all of us to change our perceptions of what we can and can’t do when we really put our focus, really put our attention into the details and into committing to the process and daily tasks. I told you I was going to give you a little bit of history on how this thing occurred and I want to kind of acknowledge a few people and situations that really had an impact on bringing this whole thing to light. So for the past I don’t know five, six years, whatever it might be I have been giving up alcohol for Lent.

Lent is the 40 days that lead up to Easter. I grew up in a Catholic education system grade school, high school, jesuit college and Lent has always been something that I have adhered to. And during Lent, typically you’ll give something up or you commit to doing something, and it always fascinated me that, no matter what I gave up for Lent whether, you know, sometimes people will give up sweets or chips or things like that. Since I was a little kid, I can remember whenever I gave something up for Lent, I was dogmatic about sticking to that commitment, and it always kind of fascinated me that there were other things in my life that I would tell myself I was going to do or going to complete, and I didn’t do it. But when Lent came around, I always stuck to that commitment, and without waiver, and I have come to realize that it primarily was the fact that I was committing to something not just for myself, but I was committing to something bigger, and during Lent, it was committing to God that you weren’t going to do whatever you said you weren’t going to do, and that was always pretty intriguing to me, and so I would say that that really was the first facet, the first piece of the puzzle that came into play that eventually brought about the 40-day forge, and in fact, that’s what the 40 days started with, because last year in 2021, I did a version of the forge with just a couple of buddies that I’ll tell you about in just a second here Now, during these last, however many years let’s say, five years when I would give up alcohol for Lent I’d noticed that that ultimately had a very good impact on what I was eating.

It had a very good impact on my clarity of mind and for those 40 days I always really felt great, felt very productive, got a lot done, and it was just always a great refreshing time where I was like man, I’m just kind of...

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Dr Zach Cutler, the lead chiropractor at FGL Performance, spilling the beans on how body mechanics can be a game-changer for your golfing skills. Dr Zach will talk about his thrilling experience at the 2016 US Amateur and how his golf background is instrumental in assisting his patients.

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Marty Jertson, Director of Product Development at Ping and co-founder of the Stack System, takes us through his journey from being a professional golfer to developing high-quality golf products. He shares the behind-the-scenes of product manufacturing and the importance of data in creating golf clubs that enhance player performance.

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