The most important and perhaps the least appreciated technology in the game of golf is that marvelous machine, the human body.

Precisely because it usually works so smoothly, we tend to ignore its needs and complaints until some part begins to malfunction or gets worn out. Only when the situation begins to affect our game, sometimes with sudden dire consequences, do we take notice. By then, we may have a problem that will keep us off the course for a period of time, or even permanently.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if your physician had the time to talk to you about your golf game and all that you can do to improve and sustain it?

What if your doctor could explain not only physiology, but also its application to your stance and swing?

And what if the explanation was written in the kind of language that most of us speak, instead of unintelligible jargon that frightens us into denial?

Jackson T. Stephens is the chairman of Stephens Group, Inc. He was the fourth chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, serving from 1991 to 1998.

T. Glenn Pait, M.D., F.A.C.S., is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is Director of the Center for the Athletic and Aging Spine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas.