BEAVERTON, Ore. (May 23, 2012) – Nike Golf is amplifying its commitment to help golfers better themselves to better their game with its major new initiative, Nike Golf 360 (NG 360). NG 360 is a holistic approach to improving golfers’ performance through physical evaluation and training, custom fitting of equipment and digital tracking applications.
Each of these three primary functions is fueled by the world’s very best in expertise and innovation. To that end, Nike Golf has entered into a partnership with the Gray Institute to bring superior knowledge and execution to the performance analysis and performance training component of the initiative.
The NG 360 Functional Performance System (FPS), Powered By Gray Institute, is the component of the NG 360 initiative that focuses on golfers and their bodies – all through the lens of Applied Functional Science. With two years in development, Nike Golf and the Gray Institute have worked relentlessly to develop a specific athletic performance-based program for golf.
“We believe this partnership is game-changing to the sport of golf,” said Kel Devlin, Nike Golf’s Director of Global Athlete Development. “The Gray Institute is the expert in the study of body movement in sport. This program will transform human potential because it will help golfers physically move better to play better.”
NG 360 FPS Powered by Gray Institute provides Nike Swoosh Staff members who are PGA Professionals, as well movement specialists, including physical therapists, trainers and chiropractors, with the tools to see the link between swing faults and body deficiencies.
“The body has to serve the swing,” said Gary Gray, co-director of the NG 360 Nike Golf Performance Center and CEO of the Gray Institute. “The golf swing is a complex movement, requiring properly sequenced contributions from all parts of the body. Deficiencies in flexibility, strength, or balance, anywhere in the body, will result in an ineffective and inefficient swing. It is essential that these deficiencies be identified and resolved so that each golfer can maximize their full potential and enjoyment of the sport.”
Gray is no stranger to Nike. He has worked with some of the best athletes in the world, including Nike athletes Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Mario Lemieux. Gray is an educator, innovator, and enabler. He has trained more than 10,000 movement specialists during Chain Reaction seminars; and countless more through his Video Digest Series and online education modules. Gray has invented products that are used extensively in the movement industry; while enabling practitioners to enhance their skills by uniting the specialties of rehabilitation, injury prevention, and performance training through the transcendent principles of Applied Functional Science.
Nike Swoosh Staff members and movement specialists can become certified NG 360 Golf Performance Specialists (GPS) by completing the Nike Golf 360 Functional Performance System (FPS) educational program. The FPS utilizes a hybrid model, combining online and seminar-based learning. For more information go to: www.grayinstitute.com.
About the Gray Institute
The Gray Institute is internationally acclaimed for its innovation, development, mastery, and delivery of Applied Functional Science. The Gray Institute consults, analyzes, assesses, rehabilitates, restores, trains, and conditions individuals of all levels and abilities, including professional sports.
