Golf Physio Adelaide
Golf Physio Adelaide: TPI Golf Screening at Thrive Physio Plus
Your coach tells you to turn more, stay in posture or stop standing up through impact. You understand the instruction, but the movement still will not stick.
A 60-minute TPI golf screening assesses whether pain, mobility, balance, stability or movement control is making a swing change harder to produce. You will leave with a clear physical baseline and a personalised program built around your results.
Darcy Burns, Senior Physiotherapist, APA member and TPI Certified Level 1
Initial TPI golf screening: $239 Full 16-part TPI screen · Golf Fitness Handicap · Personalised program · Coach handover
✅ 60-minute physiotherapy consultation
✅ Six-week reassessment available
✅ Private health rebates may apply
✅ No referral needed
✅ Shop 5/453 Fullarton Road, Highgate
Why your golf problem may be partly physical
Turn more. Complete your backswing. Improve your balance. Stay in posture.
These are all reasonable coaching instructions. But knowing what to change is not the same as being physically able to produce and control the movement.
Limited hip or trunk rotation can make a full turn difficult. Poor balance or pelvic control can make it harder to maintain posture. Pain can change the way you move, even when the range you need is normally available.
This does not mean a physical limitation is automatically causing your swing fault. Technique, timing and movement habits still matter. The TPI screening tells you whether there is a physical factor worth addressing, so you and your coach can stop guessing.
What is a TPI golf screening?
TPI stands for Titleist Performance Institute. Darcy’s Level 1 certification allows him to complete TPI’s standard 16-part physical screen, which examines the movement capabilities the golf swing draws on: mobility, balance, stability, posture and movement control.
TPI uses these findings to identify physical limitations that may affect a golfer’s movement and to explore how they relate to common swing characteristics. The screen does not prove that one restriction caused one swing fault. It tells us what your body can currently do.
This is not a golf lesson. Darcy does not change your grip, swing plane or ball flight. He assesses the physical side of your golf so your coach can work on technique with better information.
What happens during your 60-minute assessment?
1. We discuss your golf, injuries and goals
Darcy will ask about your current pain or injury, previous injuries or surgery, how much you play and practise, what you are working on with your coach, any change in distance or balance, and what you want from your golf.
2. Any current injury is assessed
If you are playing with back, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist or knee pain, Darcy assesses it as part of the consultation.
Pain affects how you perform a physical test. It also changes which exercises and training loads are appropriate, so it has to be accounted for when we interpret your results.
3. You complete the 16-part TPI physical screen
The screen covers:
- Hip and pelvic movement
- Trunk and spinal rotation
- Balance and lower-body control
- Posture and whole-body movement
- Shoulder and lat mobility
- Wrist and forearm movement
- Stability and movement control
You do not need to bring your golf clubs. A recent swing video is optional and useful if it shows a movement you are working on or a problem your coach has identified.
The full TPI Level 1 test list
- Pelvic tilt
- Bridge with leg extension
- Single-leg balance
- Pelvic rotation
- Lower-quarter rotation
- Toe touch
- Torso rotation
- Seated trunk rotation
- Cervical rotation
- 90/90 posture
- Lat test
- Overhead deep squat
- Wrist flexion
- Wrist extension
- Wrist hinge
- Forearm pronation and supination
Your TPI golf screen covers a wide range of movement and strength tests to pinpoint the areas that are limiting your swing.
4. You receive your results
Each component is graded pass, partial pass or fail.
Those results generate your Golf Fitness Handicap, a single score summarising your physical screen. Lower is better. It is not a measure of your golf ability and does not necessarily match your playing handicap.
Its value is as a baseline. You see which tests affected the score, you understand why each exercise has been prescribed, and you have something concrete to compare against when the screen is repeated.
Your personalised golf fitness program
You will not leave with a generic stretching sheet. Darcy builds your program from your screen results, current symptoms, goals and the training time you actually have. Depending on your results it may include mobility work, balance and stability work, pelvic and trunk control, progressive strength training, injury rehabilitation or golf-specific movement exercises.
Programs come in 15, 30, 45 and 60-minute formats, with Darcy choosing the length based on your findings and the time you can realistically commit. It all gets loaded into the TPI app, so you have your exercises, videos and progressions in one place.
Your results show which physical limitations are worth addressing. Your program gives you a practical way to work on them.
Find out what your body is bringing to your golf swing.
Your physio and golf coach working together
Your coach works on swing technique. Darcy works on physical capacity and injury.
With your permission, Darcy sends your swing coach a letter explaining the relevant physical limitations found, how those limitations may relate to movements seen in your swing, what your program is targeting, and anything else worth knowing when planning your coaching.
The letter is included in the initial assessment.
This keeps your physiotherapist and your coach working from the same information. It also makes it clearer which changes belong in the gym or the treatment room, and which belong on the practice range.
Who should book a TPI golf screening?
Golfers playing with pain
Book the screening if you have:
- Lower-back pain during or after golf
- Hip or groin pain
- Shoulder pain
- Golfer’s elbow
- Wrist pain
- Knee pain
- Symptoms that return when practice volume increases
- Difficulty returning to golf after injury or surgery
Golfers focused on movement and performance
You do not need to be injured. Book the screening if you:
- Feel restricted during your backswing
- Struggle to make a full, comfortable turn
- Lose balance during the swing
- Have lost distance
- Keep receiving the same coaching feedback
- Find it difficult to apply a technical change
- Want to tolerate more practice
- Want to maintain your physical capacity as you get older
The screen suits beginners, recreational golfers and experienced players. It measures your physical capabilities, not the number on your scorecard.
Pricing and the six-week pathway
Initial TPI golf screening: $239
- 60-minute physiotherapy consultation
- Assessment of any current pain or injury
- Full 16-part TPI Level 1 physical screen
- Individual test scores
- Your Golf Fitness Handicap
- Explanation of the most relevant findings
- Personalised 15, 30, 45 or 60-minute program
- Letter to your Golf coach, with your permission
- Two follow-up sessions, ideally within the first two weeks, to check the program is geared at the right level for you.
Six-week reassessment: $239
Six weeks gives you a clear review point. Darcy repeats the relevant physical tests, compares the results against your baseline and updates your program according to what has changed.
- 60-minute physiotherapy review consultation
- Repeat physical testing
- Updated Golf Fitness Handicap
- Comparison with your initial results
- Identification of remaining limitations
- Revised exercise program
This shows whether the program changed what it was designed to change, rather than relying only on how it felt.
Private health rebates
The full appointment is billed as physiotherapy. There is no separate non-claimable component.
Private health rebates may apply if your extras policy includes physiotherapy. HICAPS is available for on-the-spot claims. Your rebate and out-of-pocket cost depend on your health fund, policy and available limits.
Why choose Thrive Physio Plus for golf physiotherapy in Adelaide?
Your screening is completed by Darcy Burns, Senior Physiotherapist, APA member and TPI Certified Level 1.
Darcy has a sporting background in golf, cricket and tennis, with a particular clinical interest in golf physiotherapy and sports rehabilitation. He is a keen golfer at Glenelg Golf Club, so he understands the physical demands of playing, practising and trying to make a swing change.
What you get here that a general mobility check does not offer:
- A measurable physical baseline you can track
- Current golf-related injuries assessed in the same appointment
- Written communication with your golf coach
- Physiotherapy and rehabilitation under one roof
- HICAPS on-the-spot claims, no referral required
Thrive Physio Plus
Shop 5/453 Fullarton Road Highgate, Adelaide SA 5063
Phone: 8490 0777
Email: [email protected]
Golf screening FAQs
How much does a TPI golf screening cost? The initial 60-minute TPI golf screening costs $239. A six-week reassessment is available for $239 as well.
How long does the assessment take? 60 minutes.
What is included in the $239 appointment? An injury assessment, the full 16-part TPI screen, individual test scores, your Golf Fitness Handicap, a personalised exercise program and a letter to your golf coach.
Is the six-week reassessment included? No. It is booked separately at $239.
Can I claim the appointment through private health? Private health rebates may apply if your extras policy includes physiotherapy. The appointment is billed as physiotherapy and HICAPS is available for on-the-spot claims.
Do I need a referral? No. You can book directly with Thrive Physio Plus.
Do I need to be injured? No. The screening also suits golfers who feel restricted, have lost physical capacity or are finding a coaching change difficult to produce.
Is this a golf lesson? No. Darcy assesses pain and physical movement capabilities. Your golf coach remains responsible for swing technique.
Do I need to bring my golf clubs? No. Clubs are not required for the physical screening.
Should I bring a swing video? Not essential, but it helps. Bring recent footage if it shows a movement you are working on with your coach.
What should I wear? Comfortable clothing that lets you squat, rotate and move freely.
What is a Golf Fitness Handicap? A score generated from your TPI screen results. It gives you a physical baseline related to golf, not a measure of your playing ability. Lower is better.
How long is the exercise program? Programs come in 15, 30, 45 and 60-minute formats, selected to match your findings and your available training time.
Will Darcy contact my golf coach? Only with your permission. Darcy can send your coach a letter explaining the relevant physical findings and what your program is targeting.
Is the assessment suitable for beginners? Yes. The screen measures your body, not your scorecard.
Should I book this or a standard physiotherapy appointment? Book the TPI screening if your concern is golf-specific or you want a full physical baseline and golf program.
Do you screen juniors?
Yes, we screen juniors of all ages. The screen runs the same way as the adult one, with the assessment and program adjusted for growth stage and playing level. The focus sits on movement quality, mobility and control rather than heavy strength work, and it is built around school and training load rather than added on top of it. Parents are welcome to sit in.
For a severe or acute injury that needs immediate treatment, call 8490 0777 and we will help you choose the right appointment.
Most golfers who struggle to make a swing change have never had anyone measure whether their body can produce it. A screening will not fix your technique, and it is not meant to. What it gives you is a clear picture of your physical starting point, a program built around it and a date six weeks out to check whether anything actually changed.
For an expert opinion on the next steps for you, call the clinic on 8490 0777 or book online using the button below.