Frequently Asked Questions

• Being a part of the academy the player will have access to all the coaches. As mentioned in the beginning the academy does not subscribe to the traditional half-hour lessons but has personalized training plans for each player. The player has to do the work given by the Director of Instruction under the supervision of the team that is present.
• Coaching is a two-way street here as students have a fair amount of data to give back to their coaches for them to analyze and know just how aware the student is of his routine.

• The academy nutritionist who designs the monthly menu plans a nutritious diet.
• There are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.
• Students get 6 meals a day as per the nutritionist’s advise.

• For the Part-time and Full-time programs sports science is mandatory and they can use the center on campus as well as in Bangalore.
• Students on the Visiting program will do an assessment with the fitness team and be taken through a few mobility and flexibility drills in their week long stay at the academy.

Irrespective of the program, the student can use the following:

• Recreational room equipped with table tennis, foosball, carom and chess.
• Lounge to watch TV.
• Library and Computer lab in the Learning Center.
• Player meetings in the amphitheater.
• Student development activities whether on or off-campus.

• If the student is staying in the academy residences, irrespective of the program, it is inclusive of unlimited use of the driving range and golf course, and, unlimited range balls.
• If the student is part of the academy (on one of the programs) but staying off-campus or in a rented/own villa on campus, the charges for use of the golf course, driving range and range balls will need to be paid directly to Zion Hills. There is a preferred price for academy students.

No. There are part-time students whose parents live with them in a villa on campus.

The academy does not offer discounts on any of the programs to villa owners.

• Experts who visit the academy regularly are the Nutritionist, Mindfulness Instructor and Club Fitter.
• Only students on the full-time program have access to them either in-person or on skype. This is not open to students on either the Part-time program or the Visiting program.
• All students irrespective of the program they are on are permitted to attended the group talks given by the experts.

• There is a full-time nurse on campus who stays in the same villa in which the academy infirmary is located.
• There are 2 hospitals within an 8km range - Srinivasa Medical Hospital which is a private hospital, and Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, a similar distance away. Both have good facilities. In case we are not satisfied with the course of treatment we will take the student to a hospital in Bangalore.

• The experts are scheduled to meet the students once a month, however, the student can reach out to them outside of the scheduled monthly sessions if required.
• There are times, especially with mindfulness training, when a student needs to communicate more often – this is determined between the psychologist and the student, and there is no rule at the academy that the student can only see/Skype with the expert only once a month.
• If a monthly session is missed, one need not worry because it is possible to reach out to the expert at a time suitable to both the student and the expert; often times they are already in touch through the course of the month whenever the student needs a problem solved or a query answered. We encourage students to not wait until the next scheduled session if the need is more immediate.
• The student is expected to take the initiative to reach the expert if need be outside the scheduled monthly sessions
• If a student is travelling, the academy schedules a Skype call with the expert and the student is expected to himself/herself available for the same

li>Students are allowed to leave campus only if they are playing a tournament, visiting an expert, going to the airport and need to visit the doctor. Any other reason requires written permission from the parents.
• A local taxi will be arranged for the same if the academy car and driver are not available for some reason.

• Every villa has a digital number lock and only those living in that villa, along with the management staff, have access to the code. This code is changed every 10 days
• There is a walkie-talkie placed in every villa incase they need to reach any staff member on campus
• They are not allowed to travel unaccompanied between the residences, learning center, functional training center and driving range. Specific members of the staff have been allotted this duty
• They are not permitted to go alone on the golf-course; they cannot go on the golf-course without informing the coaching team
• The students have ID cards which they need to carry with them at all times
• Zion Hills Golf County provides security for the entire facility and has allotted guards within a certain radius around the residences specifically.

• Students staying in the academy residences are each given an academy bicycle.
• They have to follow the rules laid down for safe-keeping of the bicycles
• Students who are found to be careless will have disciplinary action taken against them.

• Tarun Sardesai, the Director of Instruction and his family stay on campus.
• Prithviraj Ram, the Head Coach, also stays on campus along with his family.
• Other staff members who stay on campus and in the same villas as the students include Ajo Jose (Head of Student Management), Jaspal Singh (Assistant Coach), Stella (nurse).
• There is a full-time physiotherapist, a sport science expert and 2 interns, placed by YOS (the team that manages and runs the functional training center), who also stay in the student villas.
• Other staff members stay either in Kolar or Bangarpet.

• We do not take students for South Zone tournaments.
• We do take students for local tournaments.
• However, this cost is not included in the program fees.
• The academy organizes a tempo traveller or Innova cars depending on the number of students travelling.
• A staff member/guardian accompanies the students.
• All charges are at actuals. The students share the cost of travel, stay and food for the staff member/guardian equally.
• An invoice for the same will be sent to the parents.

• Technology will be used as a diagnostic tool if the coaching team feels the need.
• There is an indoor studio with a SAM Putt Lab, for outdoor work there is a FlightScope, and video cameras for swing analysis.
• Ball testing is also done to identify which type of ball is best suits the student.

• Every student is required to have access to Google drive to input their data and make it accessible to the coaches.
• The coaches in turn also populate a student’s Google drive folder with the required documentation be it practice protocols, assessment tests etc.

• We have a strict cellphone policy that allows students access to their phones for only 30 minutes a day.
• If for some reason they need to make a call outside the fixed timings they can access the staff phones.
• Similarly if parents need to call outside of the fixed timings they will have an academy number on which to reach the student.

• TSG has custom made stationery that students on either the Part time of Full time programs get.
• The stationery has been designed for them to stay organized during practice and after tournament rounds.
• It pushes them to record their learnings on a day to day to basis.
• It pushes them to think because there is nothing better than putting pen to paper as proven scientifically.

Functional fitness focuses on overall fitness development of an individual to do day to day activities efficiently without worrying about injury or fatigue. It includes all the strength components - Balance, Co-ordination, Range of Motion and Mobility. They help you to perform daily physical activities like walking, jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, lifting, pulling-pushing, bending, twisting-turning, standing, stooping, climbing, lunging, etc. more effectively. Fitness for single activity focuses on developing the motor qualities required for that particular sport or activity and which are very specific to the nature of sport being played. The fitness qualities required for a golfer will be very different from the fitness qualities of a soccer player.

• Strength
• Cardiovascular fitness
• Muscular endurance
• Body composition
• Flexibility

• Speed
• Agility
• Balance
• Co-ordination
• Power
• Reaction time

Fundamental skills refers to the ability to perform a task or understand the idea of doing it whereas, locomotive skills include walking, jumping, running, hopping, skipping etc. Both are important to a child’s physical, cognitive and social development as it is thought to provide the foundation for active lifestyle. This  helps a child develop sport-specific and complex movement skills.

An athlete needs specific fundamental and locomotive skills to analyse the movements required for his sport to help him excel.

When experiencing discomfort, it is important to understand the difference between exercise related muscle soreness and pain. Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) gives you an idea of whether to continue with exercises with pain or not. On NRS if your rating is 5 or more you should stop exercise and consult a health professional before going further. If on the scale it is less than 5 then you can continue with a mild intensity workout or can take rest.

Muscle soreness refers to micro-trauma that happens to muscles after strenuous/ accustomed exercise. It is commonly called Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS). DOMS/ Soreness is normal and usually sets in within 24-48 hours of physical activity. This soreness is the result of accumulation of lactic acid or carbonic acid in the muscles. It is normal till the DOMS scale is below 3 (light pain while walking up or down stairs). Mild to moderate soreness is common and generally harmless.

Signs to pay attention to:

<
• If the pain you are experiencing prevents you from carrying out daily activities associated with living or working, then the exercises were too much
• If discomfort lasts for more than 72 hours
• Severe unbearable pain
• Severely swollen limbs
• Loss of joint range of motion due to severe swelling
• Dark colored urine or decreased production of urine

TSG Academy fitness team takes you through the channelized process as soon as you enrol in the academy. The most important thing for an athlete is his/her fitness which he/she needs to maintain whether it is in-season or off-season. Our physiotherapist screens the musculoskeletal aspect which will include flexibility, mobility, range of motion, medical and injury history. Our strength and conditioning experts screen you for movement patterns and fitness. Accordingly an exercise program will be designed. If any persisting injury is present it will be taken care through treatment and proper rehabilitation sessions.

While the athlete is on tournament for long periods, according to availability of the equipments a customized exercise program is given so that he/she doesn’t go into de-training and to prevent injury. Also we are continuously in contact with students when they are off-campus through Google drive where they already have access for their exercise programs, and the Coach Now application where teams can have a look at their form in the exercises through videos. We have a training diary entry everyday which keeps a record of the athlete’s physical activity in terms of the weight lifted, the number of balls hit, hours of sleep he/she took and the delayed onset of muscle soreness scale (DOMS).

The fitness team has made athletes more independent on aspects of self-care. Our physiotherapist teaches the preventive measures to be taken during tournaments and also some techniques like Taping for any injury to self or fellow mate when required.

TSG is the only academy that provides all domains of fitness, coaching and nutrition under one roof which makes it different from any other academy and is the best for nurturing budding golfers.

Yes, when you enrol in the academy you will be expected to fill a health related form, in which you will be asked in general about health. However, if you are someone who suffers from any medical/ orthopedic condition and/or are middle aged/ senior citizen, you are expected to get your family physician’s/specialist’s consult before you start with the fitness program.

Physical fitness is for your state of health and well-being, and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities. It is achieved through moderate to vigorous physical exercise, proper nutrition and rest. Physical fitness is as important as having the skill for a particular sport. As an athlete one needs to be physically fit to enhance his/her performance and prevent injuries which can be the result of weak muscles, poor biomechanics, recurrent stress on joints, etc. The degree of physical fitness varies from sport to sport, as does the specific type of fitness (strength, endurance, speed, agility/flexibility etc.). Few benefits of being physically fit:

• It increases your energy level
• It helps your body to get ready for the strenuous physical impacts according to nature of sport
• It boosts your mood and attitude
• Prevents you from injuries
• A fit body gives you confidence and gives you a mental boost helping you build a stronger personality
• Consistency and continuity are the key to keeping fit

If you have weights in the form of dumbbells or barbells then well and good, if not you can hit the nearby gym and follow the given program. If no facility is available like during tournaments our team can always help out with variations for doing the workout.

For prehabilitation/rehabilitation you will need a foam roller, lacrosse ball, theraband/loop band/theratube (as suggested), weight cuffs (as suggested), a stick, any other equipment needed other than this will be told during consultation.

For Part time students quarterly screening will be undertaken by the team. When they are on campus they will have 2 prehabilitation/rehabilitation sessions, 2 strength sessions and 1 conditioning session while the remaining time will be dedicated to golf training/practice. When the athlete is not on campus they will follow the same regime once or twice a week on their own. They can reach out to the team at any time should they need assistance via call/video with their routine.

Yes, the gym will be open on Sunday for part time students. It will remain closed on Wednesday.

Shortly after exercise begins a mix of lactic acid and carbonic acid builds up in muscle tissue. These are the by-products of the metabolic process. These acids convert back into glycogen and are restored again for use. This accumulation causes muscle pain and muscle fatigue.

Yes, you have to carry your gym clothes, indoor training shoes, gloves, water bottle and towel whenever your session is scheduled. The training session cannot be conducted in golf attire.

If the player is suffering from any previous injury care will be taken by our team. The physical therapist will assess the player thoroughly and management for the injury and rehabilitation will be provided and monitored. Our strength and conditioning coaches will design the exercise program according to the players injury condition with necessary precautions.

As a full time student in the academy, the timetable is set accordingly. This will include 4 sessions of prehabilitation/rehabilitation, 3 strength sessions and 2 conditioning sessions with 3-4 hours of school every day and 5 hours of golf training/practice.

When the athlete is enrolled for the fitness program, he/she goes though a Musculoskeletal Screening by a physiotherapist which is followed by Movement screening and a Fitness test by Strength and Conditioning experts. Based on the screening, a suitable and customised exercise program is made and demonstrated to the athlete. The athlete is expected to follow the program for a defined period of time and changes will be made according to the progress of the athlete.

For strength and prehabilitation sessions: Gym clothes, gloves, shoes, personal towel, water bottle and/or any supplements as required.

For conditioning sessions: Running shoes and water bottle.

Fitness training sessions at TSG Academy will include strength and prehabilitation/rehabilitation sessions in the gym and conditioning sessions outdoors.