In the swing: Reduce back ache and increase mobility on the course at a stroke

Were I a professional golfer - and I am most assuredly not - then I would be at the age where I would qualify for the Seniors tour. As it is, although I do not have the ability of the top players, I certainly share their aches and pains.

Not only that, but like the vast majority of amateur golfers, my usual preparation for four hours of hard slog around a golf course involves arriving at the very last minute before the allotted tee-time, a hurried switch from business attire to golfing clobber in the car park, and a headlong rush to the first tee. Cue a violent swing that sees the ball diving for the undergrowth.

Kirsten Lord believes she can provide at least some of the answer. This involves first of all diagnosing the skeletal and muscular problems that not only cause many golfers grief but can also affect their swing. She can also prescribe the right set of exercises and stretches to perform before a round that should make a difference to scores and even reduce handicaps, if only players can be persuaded that this is a necessary pre-game prerequisite and not a fanciful luxury for the time rich.

Kirsten, who works out of the Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre, on Henderson Row, Stockbridge, is a specialist who has helped to develop a Swingbuster programme aimed specifically at golfers. Designed by golf coaches and physios, the first step is a thorough assessment of physical capabilities when it comes to swinging a club. It does not necessarily make pleasant reading. My back was "incredibly tight," leading to a loss of all-important rotation, I had a total inability to rotate the pelvis, meaning lack of leg movement, the core muscle stability of a jelly and a misaligned right leg. Although Kirsten was too polite to say it, she was telling me I was a wreck.

All of which translated into a limited capability to swing the golf club correctly. However, that's only half the process. Moments later, Kirsten armed me with a set of specially-designed exercises to, hopefully, eliminate the stiffness and return the power that leads to hitting the ball greater distances. I remain to be convinced the programme will reduce hooks and slices, topped shots and fat hits, as it claims, but if it delivers you to the course with a better chance of scoring better, while reducing pain and injury, then it will have done its job.

The Golf Swingbuster Assessment costs 160

Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre, 36 Henderson Row, Edinburgh (0131-556 1116, www.edphysio.com). The Golf Swingbuster Assessment included a one hour assessment, two half-hour follow up sessions, a personalised exercise programme and complimentary DVD: The Painless Way to a Better Game.