By Sean M. Cochran
Special to PGATOUR.com

The official off-season for the PGA TOUR has arrived, as THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola last week at East Lake Golf Club marked the end of the 2006 season. I know many TOUR players at this time of the year begin the process of preparing themselves for the upcoming season. This can be in the form of working on certain aspects of their golf swing, implementing an off-season golf fitness program, working on the mental side of the game or even improving their nutrition.

I feel the amateur at this time of the year can take a page out of the TOUR player’s “playbook” and work on their game as well. Over the next few weeks we will, piece by piece, develop for you an off-season golf fitness program to improve your game for the upcoming year.

Now realize, before we move into the “golf fitness side of the equation”, there are other aspects to a comprehensive golf swing improvement program. I like to say there are four golf performance absolutes that need to be addressed in order for improvement in the game of golf. They are: swing mechanics, golf fitness, the mental side of the game, and nutrition.

No component is more important than the others, as each requires attention, but certain components may require more attention than others depending on the individual.

My area of expertise is within the golf fitness and nutritional categories of the four golf performance absolutes. As a result, I am going to take you through the steps of how to develop an off-season golf fitness improvement program.

The first step, as it is with all the golf performance absolutes, is assessment. We need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your golf game physically. The first step in this process is a review of last season. Ask yourself these questions and more: Did I feel fatigued on the back nine? Did I have any lower back tightness? Did I find it difficult to complete a full shoulder turn? Did I hit it long enough off the tee? Were my approach shots accurate?

Once you have answered these questions we can develop a list of goals for your off-season program. These goals may be to improve your flexibility for a better shoulder turn or increase your body power for more driving distance. Ultimately these goals are individualized to what you would like to achieve in the coming months.

When we have our goals set it is time to assess the body. An assessment of the body will give us the information we need to determine what needs to be focused upon “physically” this off-season. I like to assess four components of the body as it relates the golf swing. Number one is flexibility, number two is balance, number three is your muscular strength, and number four is power.

I have found the most efficient way to accomplish the assessment is utilize exercises to test each one of these components. Let’s begin with flexibility and refer back to the Straight Leg Rotational Hamstring Stretch.

Perform the exercise as it described in this article. Take note of specific points of reference during the exercise. Number one, at the beginning of the exercise are you able to extend your arms straight overhead? Number two, as your reach down towards your feet, where do you feel “tightness” (in the lower back, upper back, hamstrings, etc)? Number three, can you make a full rotation in the shoulders during the exercises? And, finally, how far are you able to reach down towards the floor with your hands?

Record your results from the assessment--this information will then determine which flexibility exercises are needed in your off-season golf fitness program. Next week, we will layout your flexibility program and complete the rest of the assessment.

Sean M. Cochran is the personal strength and conditioning coach for 2006 Masters winner Phil Mickelson. He is co-owner of BioForceGolf.com and the author of several books, including most recently, Your Body & Your Swing. Cochran, who has worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres as well as working individually with players like Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior, started working with professional golfers, most notably Mickelson (who won the 2004 and 2006 Masters, and the 2005 PGA Championship), in 2002. Recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities in golf-specific strength training, he has spoken at numerous seminars and clinics around the country. BioForceGolf.com was founded in late 2004 to respond to the need of the amateur golfer for quality information on golf-specific-strength training. The site provides subscribers the highest quality information in the areas of golf training, nutrition, and general instruction.