Staff WriterIn a sport where a smooth golf swing is worshipped like holy writ, most players still overlook the engine behind it: their own bodies. And according to Dr. Troy Van Biezen — the man trusted to keep World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler upright, explosive and terrifyingly consistent — a better golf swing in 2026 starts with rebuilding the foundations golfers tend to ignore.
Van Biezen, also Director of Performance at GolfForever, doesn’t mince words about what players get wrong. He’s spent decades watching amateurs and pros alike cling to bad habits, misguided training ideas and gym routines that do more harm than good.
“A comprehensive approach to golf fitness, focusing on mobility, stability, strength, and power development, rather than solely emphasising flexibility or weight training” is Van Biezen’s mantra. And if that isn’t enough of a wake-up call, he fires a second warning shot: overemphasising the wrong thing isn’t just ineffective — it’s dangerous. He regularly sees golfers “overtraining certain muscle groups or neglecting essential movement patterns, which can lead to imbalances and increased injury risk.”
Golf’s great irony is that the golf swing itself creates the very problems players spend years trying to fix. It’s a one-sided, repetitive motion that twists the body into asymmetry. Ignore those imbalances long enough and you’ve practically RSVP’d to your own injury.
Start With Stability, Not Ego
When Van Biezen begins with a new client, he doesn’t hand them a heavy barbell or force them into yoga contortions. He starts with what he calls a “mobility-stability foundation,” a principle as simple as it is brutally honest: if you can’t control a new range of motion, you’re not ready for strength or power.
This foundation, he notes, “does not go away; that stays with you the entire time.”
And here’s where things get interesting. Women and men tend to fall into opposite camps.
“They’re very flexible, but not very stable,” he says of many female golfers. For them, stability is king. On the flip side? “The male side of it is, it’s the complete opposite. Most guys are pretty stable, but don’t have a lot of flexibility.”
That’s the entire argument for personalised programming in a nutshell — the backbone of the GolfForever app. Its AI assessment doesn’t give golfers what they think they need; it gives them what their bodies are genuinely crying out for.
Anyone can take that assessment here: https://golfforever.com/assessment
“We want to know, what are your imbalances? What are your weaknesses? What are your limitations? What are your power leaks?” Van Biezen says. Diagnose first. Train second. Do it in reverse and you’ll be limping before you’re improving.
A Case Study in Misguided Training
His point becomes painfully clear when he recounts the story of an elite collegiate golfer whose career nearly evaporated thanks to a well-meaning but clueless training programme. She arrived with crippling hip pain and a staff intent on stretching her into oblivion.
Van Biezen’s assessment uncovered the real issue: 78 degrees of internal rotation in her left hip — nearly double the norm, and a flashing neon sign of instability.
“Her career, if she didn’t come to my office, would have been over,” he says. Proof, once again, that the wrong training is sometimes worse than no training at all.
Scheffler’s Blueprint: Power Without the Ego Lifts
When working with Scheffler and other top professionals, Van Biezen does aim for strength and power — modern golf demands it — but not at the expense of longevity. Balance and rotational strength take priority, and he doesn’t waste time with ego-driven exercises like the bench press.
Modern speed isn’t about who can lift the most metal. It’s about who can rotate like a coiled whip without blowing a gasket.
GolfForever’s app includes a WORKOUT VIDEO that highlights exactly how better rotation feeds directly into a cleaner, more explosive golf swing.
The Rise of Risky Lifting Culture
Van Biezen has a far less diplomatic reaction to what he sees online: college and even pro players performing Olympic lifts with the intensity of competitive weightlifters.
“That’s what keeps my sports clinic in business,” he quips — only half joking. Torque and velocity without proper mechanics is a cocktail most golfers shouldn’t be drinking.
For Older Golfers, It’s Time to Undo the Damage
Then there’s the demographic with the most to gain — retirees and long-time players whose bodies have spent decades rounded over desks or locked into poor posture.
“Now you can’t even swing a club. You can’t play nine holes because you’re in so much pain,” Van Biezen says. The fix isn’t complicated: shoulders, mid-back, hips — restore them, or watch your game slip away.
GolfForever has another VIDEO in the app dedicated to exactly these fundamentals: rebuilding movement so golfers can stay mobile, pain-free, and actually enjoy the walk.
Your Body Is Your Only Real Club
Strip away the jargon and the message is brutally simple: every golfer wants more distance, more accuracy and a more fluid golf swing. But none of that matters if the body behind it can’t produce or sustain the movement.
Your driver isn’t the problem. Neither is your putter. It’s everything in between — your spine, hips, shoulders, balance, mobility, strength and power — the real equipment that ages, tightens, compensates and eventually rebels.
Van Biezen’s advice isn’t glamorous, but it’s honest. Build a balanced, individualised programme. Fix your asymmetries. Train like a golfer, not a powerlifter.
And the payoff is simple: more pain-free rounds, better movement, better longevity, and yes — a better golf swing.
