In your neck of the woods, it might still be a little too cold and snowy to even think about getting outside and hitting the links. However, before you know it, you're going to start seeing that gorgeous spring weather that has you carrying your clubs around in your car at all times, just in case you get a chance to play.

But why wait until it's 70 degrees and sunny to start improving your game? STOTT PILATES® has a Pilates for Golf Power Pack designed to help you prep for Pebble Beach from the comfort of your living room, and I had a chance to check it out.

The Golf Power Pack includes a mat, two DVDs (Pilates on the Green, Level 1 and Pilates on the Green, Level 2), as well as a water-resistant, pocket-sized Warm-up Exercise Guide, so you can take your moves with you to the course. I've done a couple of STOTT PILATES® workouts before, so I was really curious to see how this measured up.


First and foremost, the DVDs are really, really informative. They both go through the basics of the Pilates workout, which I think is pretty important for someone who's never done Pilates before. The Workout Principals section covers Breathing, Pelvic Placement, Rib Cage Placement, Scapular Movement and Stabilization, and Head and Cervical Placement. Additionally, each video has the following sections:

• Workout: Pre-Game
• Workout: Conditioning on the Mat
• Workout: Golf Swing Drills

The Pre-Game (with Moira Merrithew of STOTT PILATES® and Michael Hunt, Master Lead Instructor at the Jim McLean Golf School) does a great job of helping you warm up the muscles you use in golf. Think about it -- people rarely warm up aside from a few practice swings, and it's a long game that uses muscles throughout your body. The Pre-Game also helps you focus on, well, focusing, which I think we can all agree is rather important in this game.

Conditioning on the Mat is still very relaxed and low-impact on both discs. Moira leads two students through a lot of breathing, stretching, focusing, and a bit of abdominal work -- she even finds ways to incorporate a golf club into the moves. If you've done Pilates before, you're probably not going to find the moves terribly challenging. However, Moira definitely makes an effort to show modifications.

Golf Swing Drills (once again, with both Moira and Michael) is really what makes the DVDs special -- these exercises incorporate the benefits of Pilates with a good golf swing. Like the other sections, it's slow, relaxed, and well-explained. This section is very golf-centric, which could be a great way to get some of the less-than-fit golfers in your life on board.

Likes:
As I mentioned, it's definitely well-explained, and I think it's a great way for golfers who are new to Pilates to try it out. The camera views are great, too -- they show all angles, making it easy to be sure you're doing the moves right.

Dislikes:
For one thing, the mat workouts required weighted balls, which I happen to have, but they didn't come with the Golf Power Pack. Sure, you could use soup cans, but if you're shelling out $60 for a fitness program (you can buy the DVDs separately, by the way: Pilates on the Green, Level 1 and Pilates on the Green, Level 2), I imagine you would want to get everything you need in the box. And for me, the workout a little too slow and easy.

Overall, I think it's a good system, but it's definitely for golfers (you know, in case the title left any doubt). A lot of the mat work is pretty basic mat work that you'd find on any of their other DVDs, so if you're more interested in the workout, I would go that route. I haven't had a chance to see how it affected my game, but I'm feeling optimistic -- after all, I can pretty much only get better from where I am.