Fitness routine can be key to lower golf scores
Golf is not often considered a sport for the truly athletic.
It is hard to play football in a golf cart, and it is a challenge to play basketball while drinking. You can’t get a hot dog at the turn when swimming laps.
In golf you can do it all.
However, the leisure mentality is beginning to change. Lean, muscular men and women in tight-fitting clothes are invading, and they are shooting lower scores than ever before.
Fitness is now a big part of the game. Tiger Woods admits to 18 hours of workout time per week, and people are following his lead, said Dee Tidwell, the director of golf fitness at the McGetrick Golf Academy in Denver.
“Golfers are athletes,” Tidwell said. “You have to improve your game from the inside out.”
In addition to a strong weight training regimen, Tidwell suggests frequent stretching, walking, lunging and rotating.
“Of the people who come in, 95 percent of them have flexibility issues,” Tidwell said. “It’s caused by sitting all day.”
Even CU’s golf team takes fitness training seriously. During the off-season, the team participated in a workout routine to keep in shape for the spring. Both head coach Roy Edwards and assistant coach Ben Portie said that it has helped the team’s game.
“Working out and weight training play a big role,” Portie said.
The team uses weight training and physical fitness in the off-season to keep in shape during the cold months, and they continue training throughout the season.
“We’ve been playing a lot of golf and hitting the weight room,” Edwards said.
Junior golfer Derek Tolan said a solid weight training program has helped his game.
With the advent of new technology out on the course and the dedication to physical training by the golf’s elite, it seems that the average player has been left behind.
“It’s the body that plays the game, not the equipment,” Tidwell said. “The technology has gotten so good, that people cannot play up to the equipments ability.”
An average driver today is designed with a swing speed from about 90 to 115 mph, according to leading golf manufacturer Taylormade’s Web site. However, the average player swing speed is about 75 mph.
That difference means a higher score for those who are not professionals. As the PGA pros have often proven, a fitness routine can only help.
It would seem that the beer belly is no longer appropriate in competitive golf. Nor is it likely to win its owner a tournament anytime soon. So next time the cart lady rides up and offers you a hot dog teaming with fried peppers and onions, think again. It may not be the best way to out-drive your buddies off the tee.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Kyle L. Haas at kyle.l.haas@colorado.edu.
