Are you giving your body the right fuel to play well on the golf course? Yes, we are talking about nutrition, usually a topic that is overlooked, ignored, and certainly not fun to talk about, but an important part of improving your golf game. Essentially, what you put into your body has a direct affect of what you get out of it on the golf course, and in your golf swing. It is key on the golf course to provide your body with the right fuel during the course of a round. The pros do it all the time. You see them eating bananas, peanuts, and drinking water. Can you imagine what happens if Tour players do not fuel their body for a round of golf? They would go bonk! Bonk as in what can happen to a marathon runner at mile 23. Running out of energy is what we are talking about. If the Tour player does not provide their bodies with good fuel during the round, the body will begin to fizzle. Once the body goes, mental focus can slip, and a good score can go south very quickly. The amateur can learn from what the pros do on the golf course. Fueling their bodies with poor sources of fuel is the worse thing you can do for your game, whether you are playing a casual round or in the heat of competition. Grabbing that soda and candy bar at the turn does not necessarily help you. Sodas and candy bars with all their sugar is burned by the body very quickly, leaving you out of energy and feeling sluggish on hole number eleven. Good fuel sources for athletics are foods such as nuts, fruits, and water can keep you going strong for the entire round. We should also not forget about what we eat before the round. Often times an early morning tee time means skipping breakfast. We just grab a cup of joe and head to the range. Not eating a good meal before the round may not show up on the first tee, but once you hit the middle of round. Your stomach and swing will be telling you different. Bottom line; eat a good meal before your round. If you have an early tee time grab something quick, but something in the body. If you are playing late in the day, make sure you have a good lunch. Looking at the bigger picture of fueling your golf swing and golf game. It comes down to nutrition. The nitty gritty of nutrition is pretty simple. We have fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. There are good and bad fats, proteins, and carbs. Eat the good ones your okay. Eat to much of the bad ones your not. A quick look at all three categories should help. Fats: Fats can be either good or bad. Goof fats can used by the body for fuel and are good to eat. Bad fats are exactly the opposite. Good fats (olive oil and avocados) are used by the body for fuel. Bad fats (butter and bacon) are not used efficiently by the body. Proteins: Proteins are the building blocks of the body. They help repair and build tissue. Good proteins: lean cuts of beef, chicken, turkey, nuts and eggs are good. Bad proteins: proteins with high levels of bad fats or cooked in bad fats are less beneficial to the body. Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are the main fuel source of the body. Every carbohydrate is essentially sugar. What separates good carbohydrates from bad ones is the rate at which they are burned by the body. Bad carbohydrates consist mainly of simple sugars, which are burned very quickly by the body. Good carbohydrates consist of complex sugars that are burned slowly by the body. Bottom line; eat good carbohydrate sources. Sources of good carbohydrates are beans, apples, all-bran cereal, whole grain bread. Bad carbohydrates to avoid are any food with a lot of simple sugars like candy, jellybeans, doughnuts, white bread, sodas, and white pastas. Bottom line when it comes to improving your golf swing, golf game, golf fitness, or health in general, you must provide your body with good fuel sources. It is okay to eat a few bad fuel sources once and awhile, but the key is moderation. Dont go overboard with the bacon, doughnuts, and sodas. Nutrition must be thought of as a long-term process, just like improving your golf game. You must have a plan in place, be patient, dedicated, and committed. Work hard on your nutrition and it will pay dividends in your golf swing, golf game, and life in general. Sean Cochran |
