GolfStinks

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Will Dropping A Few Pounds Drop My Golf Score?

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Off the top of my head, I can’t think of many sports (or many activities for that matter) where being out-of-shape can be beneficial.  OK, there’s Sumo Wrestling.  And there are belly-flop contests.  But outside of those, I’m at a loss.  So one would think that being in good physical condition could help with any sport.  But what about golf?  In a game that really demands more of a good technique and good mechanics than it does top physical condition, does being in good shape really matter?  Well, even though the sport does require more of a mechanical skill, I just can’t see how being in good shape can’t help.

With that being said, I’m planning to find out for myself.  See, I’ve begun to realize that I’m not getting any younger.  As a matter of fact, there have even been some times where, physically, I feel older than I should.  That’s not a good feeling.  So I’ve begun to do something about it.  Recently, I’ve started exercising a bit more and eating a bit less.  It’s amazing – by simply getting a bit more active and cutting out some of the foods and drinks I’ve had, or reducing the amount of them anyway, I was able to drop thirteen pounds relatively easily.  So I’m going to keep it up and see where this takes me.

But besides the obvious health benefits, one of my hopes is that there is some parallel between my weight and my handicap – both of them dropping.  And I don’t see any reason this wouldn’t happen.  By losing weight I would think this would help to sharpen the technique for a golf swing.  If the body mass is cut down (and by that, I mean the gut shrinks) naturally you would have to figure the swing would simply become more smooth.  It doesn’t stop there though.   By dropping weight and improving my condition, I should have more energy for the round.  So that feeling of fatigue that hits at some point on the back nine should be minimized, if not eliminated altogether.

I shouldn’t be looking at this from only a golf standpoint, and I’m not.  It’s important to take care of oneself, and I’ve neglected to do it as well as I should.  But it’s never bothered me much before.  However, recently I’ve started noticing that I get tired a little faster and some formerly easy task become more of a chore.  So if this works, and I can improve my health and golf game at the same time, then why not keep up the effort?  For the time being, overall health improving – golf game is yet to be seen.  Stay tuned.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Golfercising

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Now that our golf season is pretty much over (in the Northeast at least), what can I do to keep myself in golf shape? I’m glad you asked. I’ve gathered some info from a couple trainers on a few exercises to keep fit in the cold winter months. Ironically, most golfers I know are in shape…that being of the “round” sort but hey, round is a shape.

If you breakdown the mechanics of the whole golf experience, you have many different movements affecting almost the entire body – such as the swing. This involves rotating of the upper body, use of the arms and shifting balance between the legs. For the most part, the better fit and trim you are, the more fluid and easier the swing is to perform. Insert John Daley joke here.

PLEASE NOTE: Do not, I repeat do not attempt the following exercises without consulting your physician. There…it’s officially posted for any moron that said we told them to do this.

Here’s a few routines to keep us strong and flexible and work those golf muscles:

Push-ups (and these aren’t your normal gym class push-ups buddy so pay attention):

Begin in a regular push-up position. As you push your body up, rotate your upper body and bring your right hand up behind you stretching to reach the ceiling so that your hands are in a vertical line. Simultaneously, bring your right knee as close to your chest as possible. Return to the push up position. Do a push up and repeat with your left hand. Try doing 3-4 sets till failure within 2 minutes

If this is too difficult, leave out the knee part and work up to it. If you are ambitious, use dumbbells.

Lunges:

Cross your arms to form an “X” across your chest as you stand with feet shoulder length apart. Step forward as you would with a normal lunge. As you lower your body, twist your torso to the right, straighten out and then return to a full upright position. Repeat with the other leg. As you get stronger and your balance develops, hold a weight across your chest to make it more challenging.

Do as many as you can in 1 minute intervals with a 15 second break in between for 5 minutes. Or do what you can and work up to a goal.

Cardio:

When it came to this area, I was told to “get my fat ass on a tread mill for good a 35-45 minutes or so.” If you don’t own a tread mill then get to steppin’ outside. What’s that, you can’t bear the cold winter weather? Suck it up, Sally! Dress in layers. They really stressed a good cardio workout at least 3-4 times a week. Make it a goal to be able to walk/jog 2-3 miles comfortably…more jog than walk though.

If you really can’t get outside and you don’t have a treadmill, be resourceful, use the stairs in your house and do a few sets up and down those. A good 20 minute romp on the staircase goes a long way.

Good luck!

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!! Stay healthy.

First Golf Round of the New Season…And a Quick Mention of Tiger

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golfing-219993_640OK, so before I get started I guess I have to quickly get into the “Tiger spoke, so I’m obligated to make mention of it” frame of mind. It’s his first actual interview since the show he put on for his statement, and it started out with some promise.

I’m told by the ESPN anchor that this is a “no-holds barred, no question off-limits interview.” Great! That’s kind of what everyone wanted in the first place right? Of course, two of the first three questions were not answered as they were “private matters” for Tiger. There were three questions in total answered this way. I understand they are private matters, and should remain so, but don’t tell me it’s a “no question off-limits” interview if it’s actually not. Well, I guess the questions can be asked…but you’re not necessarily going to get an answer.

But my favorite part of this latest Tiger episode was this exchange:

Tom Rinaldi: Why not seek treatment before all of this came out?
Tiger: I didn’t know I was that bad.
Rinaldi: How did you learn you were that bad?
Tiger: Stripping away denial, stripping away rationalization.

What?! You didn’t know you were that bad? Has anyone else been following this story? Has anyone else seen the text messages that were released? He knew EXACTLY what he was doing. The guy acted like he was on a top-secret, James Bond-like, covert mission for cryin’ out loud! And as for the second question…”stripping away denial, stripping away rationalization” – Hey buddy…you got caught!! Stop making excuses! Just come out and say it – “I didn’t learn…I got caught!!!”

This is not what I wanted to talk about today, but for heaven’s sake, when the most honest man among athletes is Jose Canseco…we have a real problem.

I digress.

What I really wanted to talk about was my first time out on the course this year. See, here in Connecticut, we’ve had about a week’s worth of unseasonably warm temperatures and beautiful days. Mid-to-upper 60’s (even cracking 70 a couple of times), sunny, light breeze…perfect golf weather! Hey, the weather is great, it’s the first day of spring…why not make it the first day of golf also? I can’t remember the last time I played golf in March. Actually, I may have never played this early! So I called up Stinky Golfer Greg to see if he had time to squeeze in nine holes. Lucky for me, he did.

We’re both fired up to get back out there, break-out the sticks, and show this course what we’ve got! But once out there, we’re quickly reminded what the long winter lay-off has done to our games. I’m not a great golfer by any means to begin with, and I went to the range only once during the off-season. Greg didn’t go at all. We’re both out of “golf shape,” and it’s showing. Nevertheless, we pushed on.

By roughly the fourth or fifth hole, we came to realize we are not only out of golf shape, but we haven’t yet shed ourselves of the extra “winter weight” yet. We begin a bit of huffin’ and puffin’. Note to self: For future first-rounds-of-the-season…take a cart.

When all nine holes were said and done…we both played like it was our first time out…ever! But the best part is, neither of us cared. We were out on the course, early in the new season no less, and that was all that really mattered. We didn’t really care all that much what the scorecard told us. It didn’t much matter that, next to Greg’s name, it appeared as if I was writing in binary code a few times. It also didn’t matter that my final tally may have appeared a bit closer to an area code than a golf score. No…what really mattered was being out there in the first place. Nice weather, hanging with a friend, conversation, laughs, clubs in hands, hacking our way through a track. This is what it’s all about.

So here’s to the promise of a new season…and the disappointment it will ultimately render in October.

Swing ’til your happy, friends!

Keeping Yourself in Golf Shape

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John Daly (photo by Keith Allison / CC BY 2.0)

So it’s November and, for the most part, the golf season has wound down. Sure, there will be a few beautiful days left, but not quite enough to warrant consideration of an extended season. So what to do? Without golf, what’s to occupy your Saturday afternoons? I suppose you could always get some work done around the house. Maybe you can clean out the basement that your wife has been hounding you about since last winter? Nah….I’ve got a better idea. How about keeping yourself in “golf shape?”

Golf shape. That’s a funny term. Think about it. It’s not like the word “shape” is preceded by “football” or “basketball” or any sport which really requires an athlete to be in peak physical condition. Well, not us stinky golfers anyway. If we were out on tour, then I can understand it. But playing a game of Nassau with a few other stinky golfers during a round of eighteen which is sandwiched between a few rounds of beer? You could probably guess that “golf shape” is not first and foremost on my list of New Year’s resolutions. As a general rule of thumb, I pretty much believe that if you can consume an alcoholic beverage during the activity you are performing…and it quite possibly makes you better…that activity may not be considered a “sport.” Bowling of course comes to mind.

Take a look at that picture of John Daly up there. Now I’ve got myself a gut, but I like to believe that it doesn’t look much like his. Also, is that an adult beverage in his hand? Thing is, he could look like he does, be as unhealthy as he may be and play at six in the morning with a hangover…and on my best day, he will still beat me like a four-year-old at Wal-Mart!

My point is, golf shape doesn’t necessarily have much to do with your physical condition. Too out of shape to walk eighteen? Just take a cart! No, golf shape is more about your mechanics and the act of the swing…not what the person swinging the club looks like. So in lieu of heading out to the course, maybe you should take a Saturday here or there and head to a decent practice facility.

Here in the beautiful northeast, out of necessity, many of the local driving ranges feature heated stations. After all, how much business would they do during the winter months if customers just had to stand out in the cold? Instead, you turn a knob and just like that, heat is reflected down on you from the roof above.

Don’t want to stand outside? Me either. So I head to an indoor facility. At a large indoor facility, I can work on just about every facet of my game. The one I choose to use contains a driving area, an area for irons, chipping area, putting green and even a couple of bunkers! If you’re in the mood for more than just practice and are looking for a little competition, they also have a couple of simulators. Also, if you need a little help with something, there’s a PGA Pro right on-site.

So maybe, like me, you’re stuck with some projects around the house. Who isn’t? Maybe you have some other involuntary commitments that are getting in your way. Whatever the tie-up may be, you can’t let that crap take over your golf life! Get yourself out to one of these places and get to work. With any luck, you can hit the course next season looking more like Jack Nicklaus than a Jackass.

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