NUTRITION FOR GOLF

Nutrition can help golf performance if you let it.

It is well known that athlete nutrition is key to performance and in the majority of sports good practise trickles down from the elite to amateur level. Consider football as an example: I know many players at amateur level who will watch what they eat the night before and morning of (and during) a game. They think about wanting to feel good that day and wanting to have energy to play well. However golf is a sport where there’s still a fair bit of a mismatch between what amateurs vs. the elite do.  Why is this?

How many amateur golfers have lessons on a regular basis? I bet it isn’t as many as you think. 

How many amateur golfers get fitted for their clubs? Again, not as many as you think. 

How many amateur golfers think eat to fuel their performance and recovery? Maybe even less than the previous two examples. 

Now the first two points above may not be accessible due to cost. I get that. Although they are likely to lead to you improving your game. The third point has a considerably lower cost barrier and I’m here to argue that nutrition is the underestimated tool that will also improve your game. Even putting cost aside, the golfers that I know would go to points 1 and 2 above  before even considering taking a look at nutrition (what you eat and drink on or before a round) or lifestyle as a factor toward performance: That’s a huge opportunity to overlook.

Let’s start with hydration and consider the importance of being hydrated before you start a round and staying hydrated until the end.   

Have you ever felt tired as you have approached the 15th or 16th hole? By this point, if the swing is starting to fade or you are starting to lose distance off the tee it is not necessarily because you are unfit; it could simply be that you are dehydrated.  The same can happen in the office with the mid-afternoon crash: Around 3 o’clock people start to feel tired, and whilst there are a few things that could be the cause, a possible contributor is inadequate hydration. 

To stay focused our brain needs water. Coffee can contribute to dehydration due to diuretic properties of caffeine (unless consumed with adequate water as well) and sugary drinks can wreak havoc on blood glucose levels and contribute to that feeling of a slump or crash. If you are playing in hot conditions you could also consider adding some electrolytes to counteract the loss of salts through sweating. The dehydration induced brain fatigue can be a huge contributor the fade in swing quality: You haven’t forgot to swing the club you just aren’t as focused as you were on the 1st tee by the time you are 3 hours into a round.  Golf is sport high in skill and there are fine margins for error: A millisecond off on your swing (or a few degrees here or there) and that could be the difference between a good and terrible shot. 

We can make similar arguments when it comes to distance. Your muscles need to be hydrated to perform optimally. 

If you want to hit the ball further and more accurately then being hydrated is an easy thing incorporate that can have a massive effect.

We’ve focused on hydration because it’s the simplest thing to work towards. However nutrition is another easy implementation that can translate into big payoffs. Your body can only perform at its best when it has everything it needs: Water and good quality food intake. 

Eat nutrient-dense foods.

Eating the most nutrient-dense foods available while reducing processed sugar, processed food and junk foods will pay off when it comes to how well you feel, how well you perform and how well you can recover. A healthy diet can help with naturally reducing your overall calorie intake, if that is the goal; but even if fat loss isn’t a priority and you’re just wanting to optimise your performance you’ll benefit by increasing the nutrient value of food ingested by the body.  

Maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Aiming to avoid those blood sugar swings (hyper highs and sluggish crashes) means managing your glycaemic response and this can be done by minimizing refined (white) grains, sugary drinks and treats. All of these quickly elevate blood sugar levels setting you up for the dreaded back nine energy crash.  Avoiding this crash will help you avoid that fatigued feeling and the blood sugar imbalances that leave you reaching for even more sugar to help prop yourself up again.  Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels and avoiding the blood sugar and insulin rollercoaster are key to sustained energy. Eating your carbohydrate as part of a balanced meal along with protein and healthy fats will help your body by providing a variety of energy sources to sustain you for the whole round along with the raw ingredients your body needs for repair and recovery after a round. 

Making sure you do this before and during a round is going to help you perform to your best

Below I’ve outlined a few ideas that you can put into practice. 

Protocols for fuelling before during and after a round as well as staying hydrated.

Before - Eat 1.5 – 1 hour before the round or range.  Something like porridge with blueberries and honey as well as scrambled egg and toast. Try to have 1ltr to 1.5ltr of water before you tee off.

As always I hope this helps and leads you to better golf performance

Andy