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From the Westchester WAG magazine
Ultimate Golfing Comes to Westchester

By Jennifer Basso

It’s no secret that Westchester County is home to dozens of great golf courses, both public and private. (After all, the PGA Tour hasn’t been through here for 41 consecutive years for the dependable weather!) We’re basically obsessed with the sport. This is a place where tee times are coveted and hours devoted to the pursuit of that perfect swing. Shaving a few strokes off that handicap or adding a few yards to our drive matter—and we’re gaga for any iron, guru, or gadget that promises to help. So get ready to salivate over three new services that are literally game-changing for area golfers: a golf academy featuring a big-name pro, a service that custom-fits golf clubs, and a fitness program that trains your body for better performance in your favorite sport.

The Right Instruction
If you’re serious about improving your game and want valuable, long-lasting results, head over to Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook and sign up for a lesson at the Mitchell Spearman Golf Academy. Spearman, one of the world’s most esteemed golf instructors (he’s one of Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 instructors”), has been called a “swing mechanic” for his uncanny ability to find and fix even the subtlest of flaws. Programs at the academy build a solid foundation for each player and bring them to the next level. The Mitchell Spearman Junior Golf Academy is a first in our area and provides year-round lessons for kids ages 8 to 16. The monthly academy membership is $995 and includes offerings such as full swing instruction, short game skills tests, personalized practice plans, and computer video analysis with Mitchell. Adult programs include a weekend golf retreat for $1,395, which offers on-course instruction, personalized drills, and a take-home CD. A half-day group session is $250 and a one hour individual session will cost $140; both sessions also offer personalized drills and a take-home CD. By providing computer video analysis for all sessions, players can receive instant results on areas needing improvement.
The Right Equipment
If you want to tee off like Tiger Woods, you want the same club he’s using, right? Not necessarily, say the experts at Hot Stix Golf. What you really want is the golf club that’s right for you. Choosing the right club can correct a faulty golf swing or make a good swing even better. Always slicing right? Not getting enough loft on the ball? It might not be your form that’s to blame—it could be the lie of the clubhead. A recent addition to Doral Arrowwood, Hot Stix Golf measures a player’s “Swing DNA” with high-tech equipment and then recommends the ideal driver, putter, fairway wood, wedge, or iron to complement it. If you’re not in the market for new clubs, they will retro-fit your existing ones themselves. Hot Stix Golf will be available at Doral Arrowwood through Labor Day.

The Right Training
When Tiger Woods started conquering the golf world more than a decade ago, the game transformed from a “hobby” to a genuine sport. Working with his own personal trainer, Woods concentrated on improving his balance, control, endurance, and speed. Now golfers worldwide are realizing that, like any other sport, physical conditioning contributes greatly to performance. Five Iron Fitness, newly opened in downtown White Plains, uses a variety of state-of-the-art equipment such as slide boards, stretch trainers, a Matrix bench, squat racks, cardio equipment, and a Pilates Reformer for one-on-one training sessions. The studio’s owner, Anthony Renna, a Titleist-certified golf fitness instructor, believes that players who feel fitter and stronger will better enjoy the game. The studio focuses on five fundamental elements of training: mobility, stability, strength, power, and energy. Memberships are not required for use of the facility. The studio is open Monday through Saturday. Renna also provides an online program through the Titleist Performance Institute that comes complete with videos, photos, and a calendar. For more information, visit www.FiveIronFitness.com
Captions: Top to bottom: Mitchell Spearman, one of the world's top golf instructors, shows a golfer how a few minor tweaks can yield big results; Anthony Renna, a Titleist-certified golf fitness instructor, trains a golfer at Five Iron Fitness in White Plains

From The Journal News, July 19, 2008

Business in the Burbs: Five Iron Fitness opens in downtown White Plains

Weekend golfers who are more interested in the athletics of the sport than the socializing in the clubhouse are the target audience for a new fitness studio geared to golfers.

Five Iron Fitness, owned and operated by golf fitness instructor Anthony Renna of Rye Brook, combines golf fitness and instruction.

The studio is located within Motion Golf at 188 E. Post Road in White Plains.

Renna instructs clients in using a wide range of fitness equipment - from dumbbells and medicine balls to treadmills and Pilates machines - to improve their fitness on the golf course by improving mobility, stability, strength, power and energy. The goal, he said, is to make golfers into better athletes.

One client, Craig Thomas, the professional at the Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, said today's pros on tour are more fit than their predecessors 15 to 25 years ago and that weekend players can also help their game by upping their fitness level.

Renna has been involved in the sport for more than 25 years. He grew up in Harrison and caddied as a 12-year-old at the Century Country Club in Purchase.

Renna also started a Web site for golf fitness products (www.GolfFitnessProducts.net) and a blog discussing issues in golf fitness (www.bettergolfwithfitness.com.)

From the White Plains Times, August 7, 2008

Five Iron Fitness

In late June, Anthony Renna, a Level 2 Titleist-certified golf fitness instructor, opened his new golf fitness facility, Five Iron Fitness, in White Plains (inside Motion Golf). Renna is also a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)-certified strength and conditioning specialist and USA Weightlifting (USAW) sports performance coach. He also has two golf fitness Web sites (golffitnessproducts.net and bettergolfwithfitness.com) with free information,
devoted to golf fitness. Located inside Motion Golf, a golf teaching facility with advanced swing analysis software, Five Iron Fitness is divided into three sections: a warmup/cardio area, a fitness area and a Pilates Reformer studio. As Renna points out, “It’s not just for golfers,” adding he trains people who are non-golfers and are looking to get into shape.
“What’s happening in golf right now,” Renna said, “is a combination of golf instruction, shot making, course management and swing mechanics. It’s the mental game, club fitting, and fitness. It’s what Titleist calls ‘the hexagon of golf instruction.’” A “well rounded, integrated approach” to the game is what Renna aims to impart upon his clients. “A lot of swing faults,” he said, “are due to physical limitations.” Five Iron Fitness’ own fitness equipment includes traditional strengthening equipment such as dumbbells and medicine balls along with treadmills and Pilates machines. “When people come in here, they’re first given a physical assessment,” Renna said, “and I’ll look at their asymmetries, imbalances

and weaknesses and that’s what I’ll try to attack.” The relaxed atmosphere is conducive to proper concentration, an attribute that can be very helpful in achieving great results while exercising, and one Renna fosters. Additionally, Renna regularly trains several local golf pros, including Craig Thomas from Metropolis Country Club, which has led to Renna helping them work out some of their clients’ physical problems on the course.
Photo credits: Paula Markowitz Wittlin

From the Journal News, Dec. 24, 2008
Golfers go indoors to get their game in shape
By Mike Dougherty

WHITE PLAINS - It's going to be a while before the blanket of snow melts, but a dedicated group of local golfers already is beginning to loosen up for next season here in the warmth of the Five Iron Fitness studio.
Actually, there's more than a good stretch involved.
"I almost lost my breakfast this morning," said a laughing Brad Smith, who spent an hour at the facility on Friday. "It was probably the most difficult session this year so far."
Swinging a golf club is now a serious athletic endeavor.
In recent years, professional and recreational golfers have discovered the benefits of regular fitness training. Everybody wants to be like Gary Player or Tiger Woods. It takes a little time away from the course, but the winter months provide an ideal window.
"A lot of people are jumping on that bandwagon," said Anthony Renna, a certified strength-and-conditioning specialist.
Renna discovered a niche in the industry and opened Five Iron Fitness in June, after spending a number of years making house calls.
"Golfers will do anything to get better," he said. "They'll do anything to gain a couple of yards or take off a couple of strokes. They are passionate. For me, it's more fun to work with people who are trying to get better at something."
Renna, who also has Titleist Performance Institute certification, currently has 25 full-time clients who visit the Post Road studio at least once a week for a golf-specific workout that emphasizes mobility, balance, power and energy.
He's not going to spend a lot of time on swing mechanics.
"Most of the people that are coming to me are being sent by golf professionals who are starting to understand that physical limitations are, for the most part, what's causing swing faults," Renna said. "I don't really get a lot of golfers in their 20s. I get people that realize they are losing flexibility, losing strength. They might be just getting tired on the back nine."
The process begins with a 90-minute full physical assessment.
"We're going to look at your ability to separate the upper body from the lower body," Renna said. "We're going to look at your ability to tilt the pelvis. We're going to look at core stability, thoracic and hip rotation. All of those are very important to golf.
"After the evaluation, we come up with some priorities. I'm going to work with your professional, too, and come up with some things we feel might help correct a particular flaw."
Most clients visit the facility once a week for an hour-long session. The initial evaluation costs $145, and each subsequent training session runs $95.
"Anthony likes to keep it moving," said Smith, a Pelham Country Club member who's been working out with Renna for two seasons from November to April. "We started with some aerobic exercise, and then did a lot of weights and bars. The last 15 minutes, there was cardio and more strength exercise.
"The biggest thing I feel when I'm out there is my back doesn't hurt anymore. I can play 36 holes of golf now, and I didn't used to be able to do that."
Other clients quickly note they do not measure success by a lower handicap index.
"I won't have that physical re-learning process when the season starts, and I am in better shape," said Rachel Orban, a real-estate attorney from Rye who's been working out at Five Iron Fitness since August. "Before I started, I sometimes had back pain during my practice session from sitting at a computer all day. I no longer have any back pain, and feel stronger. I anticipate that I will have a great golf season when the weather gets warmer and, in any event, I will be much more fit than before I started."
That's why Renna is busier at this time of year than any other.
"For me, it's like: What recession?" he said. "And when the season gets started, a lot of them will do the program from home. But winter is a busy time, and February will be even crazier."