At Clubgolf, Not Your Average Shot Doctors

The medical aspect of the day continues as Tyler Ferrell, the club's director of fitness, bends your body to see just what it can do, but more important what it cannot do. All this seems a bit silly just for golf, but the reason is simple: Not everyone has the flexibility of Tiger Woods, so why should we all mirror his swing? It's just not possible for most golfers to achieve that, and trying to do so only throws off your stroke.

Therefore, Clubgolf focuses on improving your body just as much as your swing. The fitness staff passes its findings onto its own golf professionals, or your personal golf pro if you have one, to let them know what to work on.

The average age of Clubgolf's 530 members is 49 1/2 , all of whom pay between $1,500 and $2,500 for a year's membership, Shevitz said. For many, getting in shape is just as useful to their games as swinging a club.

"That's what we're trying to accomplish, to both make them better golfers and prepare their bodies so golf is not going to be painful for them," Shevitz said.

The second day is the fun part, where golfers are handed the toys. Besides the three-dimensional motion-tracking system, which cost $20,000, there are launch monitors, where a camera takes two extremely quick pictures of the ball to determine its launch angle, ball speed and spin. Then there is the elevated performance platform, which tilts and turns to create any possible shot. Follow that up with a session in Clubgolf's indoor sand bunker and then to the crushed-stone putting green.

There isn't one part of your game that you can't work on. But not all at once, of course.

"We're not trying to solve everything in one day," club pro Brendon Post said. "We focus on different things each time that will improve your game."

Serabian came to Clubgolf with a 10 handicap -- on each hole, he quipped. He told the athletic trainers that he just wanted to survive a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and now laughs that he's living to talk about it.

After each shot he took on his second day, he looked at the video replay as Post told him what he did wrong. Starting in late March he was able to do the same thing outside, as Clubgolf hauled its equipment to Blue Mash Golf Course in Laytonsville.

Smith, who works in the medical field, visits Clubgolf every day before work for one to two hours. After joining five years ago, about right after it opened, Smith says he plans to join the Nationwide Tour in two years and the Senior Tour when he's 50.

"People can just come in and work over and over and over on something," he said, standing in the sand bunker. "Because I practice here, I have so much confidence that when I get into a situation I can get out. If I could stay here all day, believe me I would."

Shevitz interrupted to tell Smith that it was time for him to leave for work.

"Oh, yeah, off to save lives," Smith said.

But first he visited his own doctor. After all, saving his game is a whole lot more fun.