Unfortunately, most of the fitness strategies associated with general fitness programs (and many of today's so-called golf specific fitness programs) typically enhance one golf related area of physical conditioning and/or athletic ability, while hindering (and often destroying) several of the others. We at Playfit™ Enterprises refer to this as the "chemo effect" and it's extremely common among health conscious golfers. Remember, chemotherapy is designed to kill cancer cells, but when administered it also kills healthy cells and causes a number of negative physiological changes as well. In order to avoid the "chemo effect," fitness strategies that target one golf related area of physical conditioning or athletic ability must be carefully modified so they do not hinder the others. The only way to accomplish this is by measuring the influence your fitness program has on actual golf performance, as opposed to its influence on your physical condition.

The standards of measurement used to evaluate a golfer's fitness level as it relates to golf performance are called Golf Performance Indexes. By monitoring fluctuations in the Golf Performance Indexes, you can (more accurately) evaluate your golf related areas of physical conditioning and athletic ability and thereby determine the value of your golf specific fitness strategies. This is the process by which you develop an effective golf specific fitness program—one that actually improves your golf game, not by measuring strength, muscle tone, body fat percentage, range of motion (ROM) or cardiovascular health.