Former U.S. Bodybuilding Champion Bob Gosch Now Helping Clients Build Bodies to Play Better Golf as PGA Professional in Upstate New York

When New Yorker Robert Gosch stood at a career crossroads in 1995, it’s safe to say his road to professional success did not include golf in any way, shape or form. In fact, becoming a PGA Professional was about as likely as Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming governor of California. But less than six years after he was crowned Mr. USA by winning the 1989 United States Bodybuilding Championships, Bob Gosch’s career took a hard dogleg right toward golf.

Gosch was invited to play a round of golf by his wife’s brother in 1995, perhaps the brother-in-law searching for some sport at which he could upstage the sculpted bodybuilder, who at the time was “245 pounds of pure muscle” and renowned as one of the strongest men in America. Never one to turn down a challenge, Gosch accepted the golf invitation – and promptly shot “about 150 for 18 holes,” he laughs.

"I was completely embarrassed,” admits Gosch. “I got beat badly, and I left with my tail between my legs. I didn’t even know what a skins game was, but my wife’s brother talked me into playing for skins, and I lost 50 bucks. I was such a competitive person that I thought golf would be easy. I learned a valuable lesson that day.”

What Bob Gosch learned during that round of golf in the summer of 1995 was that he loved the game. He loved the mental and physical challenges of the game. He loved the discipline and dedication necessary to master the game. He loved the camaraderie and integrity of the game. So Gosch, a certified personal trainer who owns a degree in physical education and fitness-training certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine, made the obvious career choice.

The former bodybuilding champion chose golf.

Golf and fitness.

Today, the father of three who previously owned and operated Peak Performance One-on-One Training in Syosset, N.Y., and Gold’s Gym in Williamsville, N.Y., is a Class A PGA Professional who is combining fitness training with golf instruction at his new Discover Golf Performance Center in Clarence, N.Y. But completing that journey from national champion bodybuilder and highly successful fitness trainer (he previously employed 20 other trainers to service more than 1,500 members at the Eastern Hills Buffalo Athletic Club in upstate New York) to PGA Professional was not an easy odyssey.

“When I knew I was coming to the end of my bodybuilding career in 1995, I really had two roads I was exploring – fitness training and martial arts,” notes Gosch, now 45 years young. “Then that golf match came into the picture, and I fell in love with the game – even though I didn’t play it well that first time out. Still, I was intrigued by the mental and physical discipline necessary to play golf. I discovered golf was the perfect medium for self mastery, since it requires such a strong mental and physical component.”

Gosch soon traded in his carefully orchestrated bodybuilding and weightlifting workouts for hitting golf balls. “I was hitting 300 balls a day six or seven days a week to get better and to develop some flexibility in those muscles I had built up through bodybuilding since I was 12 years old,” recalls Gosch. “For 20 years, my joints and tendons had been trained to stay in a straight line and not collapse. If there is any twisting, turning or distortion when you’re lifting weights, you’re in big trouble. Now, I was working on just the opposite, trying to overcome the structural boundaries and the size of my muscles to develop a lateral and rotary motion. Hey, I had more injuries that first year in golf than I had my entire career as a bodybuilder. My body wasn’t used to the different motions required to develop a repetitive golf swing.”

The persevering Gosch studied the swing night and day, and worked on his game diligently with oversight and instruction from PGA Professionals Gary Battistoni, Craig Harmon, Jim Hardy and several others. But passing the PGA Playing Ability Test (PAT) to begin his quest to become a PGA member wasn’t easy. Gosch failed five times, before shooting consecutive 76s at Wellsville Country Club in July of 2000 to comfortably pass the 36-hole test. He since has a 66 at Crag Burn Golf Club in East Aurora, N.Y., in his portfolio, and the former bodybuilder has twice qualified for the regional ReMax National Long Drive Championship.

Today, Bob Gosch teaches the game with the same passion, discipline and dedication he approached bodybuilding. The idea for his Discover Golf Performance Center was spawned by his trips to the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) in Carlsbad, Calif., where he gained certification as a golf instructor and fitness trainer.

“When I was at the TPI, one of the presenters said something that I wrote down and have always remembered,” says Gosch. “He said a lot of people exercise to get in shape for golf, but nobody uses golf to get in shape for life and golf. Golf has never been defined as a sport you can use to get into shape for life. But I said, ‘Why can’t golf, being a great sport of physical and mental discipline, be the sport to get into shape for everything else we do in life?’ In my teaching, I prepare people to become better golfers through better fitness.  I designed the center for anyone interested in finding the resources to get fit and eat healthy, move better, prevent injuries and manage stress and anxiety. Interestingly, we are finding that more and more great players are developing these healthy lifestyle and exercise habits in preparation for the demands of competitive golf.”

Gosch has discovered that those long hours of studying and working to become a Class A PGA Professional have paid tremendous dividends. “The PGA logo and PGA membership carries a lot of clout and credibility,” emphasizes Gosch. “People understand that a PGA Professional has an in-depth education and understanding of all aspects of the game and business. As a teacher, it is similar to my certification by the American College of Sports Medicine as a fitness trainer. That PGA logo tells students I am qualified to teach golf, which means everything to me.”