Chiropractor Troy Van Biezen gets his PGA Tour clients aligned to win
Troy Van Biezen has many claims to fame, but perhaps the best is being the chiropractor and trainer who helped the surgically repaired and seemingly broken body of Tiger Woods win a 15th major championship.
“When we got together,” Van Biezen recalls, “I asked him, ‘What do you want to get out of this comeback?’ And he goes, ‘I want to win a major in front of my children.’”
Van Biezen remembers telling his wife when Woods hired him in 2018 that he wished he’d had Tiger as a client during his prime. To which his wife said, “You probably weren’t ready for Tiger back then, but you are now.”
She was right. Van Biezen reverse-engineered a system of workouts for Tiger’s body that allowed him to overcome the dysfunction of a fused back and win the 2019 Masters.
Van Biezen, 55, grew up in Canada addicted to hockey and played professionally in Europe. When he injured his back in college, he was told he would need surgery by age 25. His then-girlfriend, now wife, who was a gymnast, suggested he see her chiropractor. He was unfamiliar with the benefits of spinal adjustment and realigning joints and how it can improve the functioning of other systems throughout the body, but figured he had nothing to lose. Within three weeks, he woke up for the first time in more than two years without back pain. He had been considering going to medical school, but his experience sent him down a different path.
“I didn’t want to be the guy that did the surgeries,” Van Biezen says. “I wanted to be the guy that prevented the surgeries.”
He founded ChiroSport Specialists of Dallas, a sports medicine and performance facility, in 1997, and at one time was working with every pro sports team in Dallas, and athletes such as hockey’s Mike Modano and football’s Tony Romo. Local residents Harrison Frazar and Justin Leonard became Van Biezen’s first golf clients.
In 2002, the PGA Tour hired him to its medical staff, and he spent 21 years on the circuit, the first eight in its fitness trailers until Zach Johnson, Ben Crane, and Ryan Palmer hired him to work exclusively for them. He averaged 200 nights a year on the road, providing consistent chiropractic care while witnessing a tremendous change in the way pro golfers care for their bodies.
“Back in the day, after a round, the guys were having a smoke and a beer. Now it’s a protein shake, recovery bike ride or a flush on the table, cryotherapy, Normatec (leg compression) boots,” Van Biezen says. “They’re athletes now, so you’ve got to treat them that way.”
His current stable of players has won 15 majors and more than 100 tournaments while under his care and includes four players who have reached world No. 1—Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Woods.
Van Biezen gave up his road-warrior existence last year, accepting a position as director of sports performance and science with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. He’ll still see his local pros at his office, and he’s signed on with GolfForever, an app-based exercise and pain relief program with a proprietary swing trainer, to bring his knowledge and experience to the masses.
Scheffler started with GolfForever the week before winning his first PGA Tour title in 2022 and has been using it ever since. More than 40 college golf programs rely on it, and the trainer is sold at over 400 retail stores, allowing any golfer to follow virtually the same workout routine as the world No. 1.
“Scottie is a Formula 1 race car and I’m the pit crew chief,” Van Biezen says. “I’m the guy looking under the hood to see how the engine is running. I’ve just been that body guy, gosh, for 20-plus years.”
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