Golf Pain Audit & Program FAQs

No. You can contact or book directly with Golf Pain Lab without a GP, physiotherapist or specialist referral. Before your appointment, we will ask questions about your pain, medical history and how the problem is affecting your golf. This helps us determine whether the Golfspan Audit is an appropriate starting point.

If your presentation requires medical review or support from another practitioner, we will explain this clearly and help coordinate the appropriate next step. You will not be left trying to work out which service you need.

Not necessarily. Pain does not need to disappear before you contact Golf Pain Lab.

Starting earlier allows us to understand how the pain behaves, what movements affect it and how it is changing your golf. Depending on your presentation, we may begin with the Golfspan Audit or recommend another form of support alongside our assessment process.

If you are unsure, complete the 60-second assessment or speak with our team. We will review your circumstances and recommend the safest, most appropriate starting point.

The Golfspan Audit is a 90-minute assessment of the physical qualities supporting your golf.

We begin by discussing your pain, playing history, previous treatment and what you want to return to doing. You will then complete a series of golf-relevant movement assessments and 3D force-plate tests.

These measurements show how your body produces, transfers and controls force. At the end of the audit, we explain your Golf Biological Age, the limitations identified and the pathway we recommend from there.

Your Golf Biological Age is a simple way of understanding your current physical capacity in relation to the demands of golf.

Unlike your chronological age, it is based on measurable qualities such as force production, movement capacity, control and meaningful differences between sides. It turns a complex set of clinical measurements into one clear reference point.

Your result is not a diagnosis or a judgement about your ability. It provides a baseline that helps us prescribe your next step and objectively track how your capacity changes over time.

3D force plates measure how your body interacts with the ground. They show how much force you produce, the direction of that force and how effectively you control it.

In golf, the ground is the starting point for producing force through the body. If you cannot generate or manage force effectively, other areas may need to compensate during the swing.

The force plates give us objective information that cannot be established through observation alone. This means your recommendations are based on measurable data rather than assumptions about what your body may be doing.

No. The Golfspan Audit assesses your physical capacity. It does not assess or coach your swing technique.

We examine whether your body has the strength, movement and force-production capacity required to perform the movements being asked of it. This can help explain why a swing change feels difficult, inconsistent or physically uncomfortable.

Where appropriate, we can share relevant findings with your golf coach. This allows your physical program and technical coaching to support the same outcome without confusing the roles of each professional.

No. Golf Pain Lab works with golfers across different playing levels, handicaps and levels of experience.

You may play several times each week, compete regularly or simply want to complete 18 holes without constantly thinking about your body. The assessment is based on your physical capacity and the demands golf places on you, not your scorecard.

What matters is that golf is important to you and pain, restriction or declining capacity is affecting your ability to play the way you want.

Wear comfortable clothing that allows you to move freely, plus suitable training shoes. You do not need to bring your golf clubs unless our team specifically asks you to do so.

Please bring any relevant medical reports, imaging results or previous assessment information you have available. These are not always required, but they can provide helpful context around your history.

You should also be ready to discuss when the pain began, what makes it better or worse and which parts of golf are becoming more difficult.

Yes. Golf Pain Lab can work collaboratively with your existing physiotherapist, GP, specialist or other allied-health practitioner where appropriate.

Our role is to assess and develop the physical capacity required for golf. Another practitioner may have a complementary role in settling symptoms, providing medical oversight or addressing needs outside exercise physiology.

With your consent, we can communicate relevant assessment findings and progress information. This keeps everyone working from the same plan while reducing the risk of disconnected recommendations or unnecessary duplication.

You can still begin by contacting Golf Pain Lab. You do not need to determine the correct pathway before getting in touch.

If hands-on care would assist in the short term, we can coordinate this with an appropriate practitioner while continuing to manage the broader recovery pathway. Depending on your presentation, this may occur before or alongside your exercise physiology work.

The objective is not to hand you off. It is to ensure every part of your care has a clear role, with your return to golf and longer-term physical capacity remaining the focus.

The Golfspan Audit costs $499 and takes approximately 90 minutes.

The fee includes your clinical history, golf-specific movement assessment, 3D force-plate testing, Golf Biological Age and a clear explanation of your results. You will also receive a recommended pathway based on what the assessment identifies.

If you enrol in Golf Pain-Free with Power within seven days of completing your audit, the full $499 audit fee is credited towards the six-week program.

Golf Pain-Free with Power costs $1,499 and runs for six weeks.

The program is individually developed from your Golfspan Audit results. It focuses on the physical limitations identified during your assessment, with relevant measures repeated at the end to establish what has changed.

If you enrol within seven days of your audit, the $499 audit fee is credited in full. This means your remaining investment in the six-week recovery program is $1,000.

Your program begins with the findings from your Golfspan Audit. We use those results to identify the physical qualities that require attention and establish an appropriate starting level.

Across six weeks, your program may develop strength, movement capacity, force production, balance, control or tolerance for playing and practising. The exact focus depends on your assessment.

At the end of the program, we repeat the relevant measurements. This provides an objective view of your progress and helps determine whether you are ready to move into long-term capacity development.

No ethical clinical service can guarantee that pain will disappear within a specific timeframe.

Our role is to identify measurable physical factors that may be influencing your golf, then develop the capacity your body needs to better tolerate playing, practising and everyday movement.

Many golfers seek our help because short-term relief has not produced lasting change. We focus on giving the recovery process a clear baseline, an individual plan and a defined reassessment point rather than making promises that cannot be responsibly guaranteed.

In many cases, yes. Your ability to continue playing will depend on your presentation, current symptoms and how your body responds to golf.

We may recommend adjustments to the number of holes you play, your practice volume or the time between rounds. These decisions are made individually rather than applying the same restriction to every golfer.

The objective is to keep you involved in golf where appropriate while ensuring your playing demands do not prevent the physical capacity work from progressing.

That is common. Most golfers who come to Golf Pain Lab have already taken sensible steps to address the problem.

The issue is often not that previous care was inappropriate. It may be that each service addressed one part of the presentation without an objective golf-specific baseline or a shared long-term end point.

We begin by measuring your current capacity. This helps us understand what has changed, what may still be limited and how your next plan should differ from what you have already tried.

Yes. We view physical preparation and golf coaching as different but complementary areas.

Your coach helps you develop your swing and make technical decisions. Golf Pain Lab assesses whether your body currently has the capacity to perform and repeatedly tolerate those movements.

With your consent, we can provide your coach with relevant physical findings. This can help distinguish between a technical challenge and a physical limitation while keeping everyone focused on their area of expertise.

Private health insurance rebates may be available for eligible exercise physiology services. Your entitlement will depend on your insurer, level of cover and the specific service provided.

We recommend contacting your private health fund before your appointment to confirm whether exercise physiology is included in your policy. You should also ask about annual limits, waiting periods and any rebate conditions.

Our team can provide the service details you may need when speaking with your insurer, but we cannot guarantee the amount they will reimburse.

If your assessment identifies symptoms or concerns requiring medical review, we will explain this clearly and recommend the appropriate next step.

This may involve your GP, a physiotherapist, a specialist or another relevant practitioner. Any referral is made to support the broader pathway, not to remove you from it.

Where appropriate, Golf Pain Lab can continue coordinating your physical capacity plan once medical guidance has been received or alongside complementary care from another practitioner.

Golf Pain Lab operates from Ashwood in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

The location is convenient for golfers across Melbourne’s east and south-east, including Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Oakleigh, Chadstone, Camberwell and surrounding areas.

Your Golfspan Audit, six-week recovery program and ongoing capacity work are completed in a professional clinical environment equipped for movement assessment and 3D force-plate testing.

You do not need to make that decision yourself.

If you are unsure, begin with the free 60-second assessment or contact our team. We will review your pain, playing circumstances and previous care before recommending the most appropriate starting point.

For most golfers, the Golfspan Audit is the first measured step. If your presentation requires something different, we will explain what should happen next and help coordinate it.