Golf Health Archives • GolfStinks

How To Stay Protected Out On The Golf Course

July 10, 2017 | By Greg D'Andrea | 3 Comments

Golfers are more at-risk for sun-related diseases. Do you apply sunscreen before and during each 9- or 18-hole round? If not, you should and here’s why.

SKIN Sunscreen GOLF — A golf bag necessity: Use sunscreen both before and at the turn of every round!

Now be honest, do you liberally apply sunscreen before every round of golf? I certainly didn’t. My first decade on the links was largely sunblock-free.

My neck suffered the most. It would inevitably burn at some point during the summer and then turn a deep tan. And once it had tanned, I figured, why should I apply sunscreen now?

Most of us who enjoy the game end up having the “golfers” tan. You know; your arms from the elbows down; neck; and legs from the knees down to our ankles are tan but nothing else. We joke about it, but it’s no laughing matter.

The Facts Are Scary

A 2014 PGATour.com article highlights how golfers are at a greater risk for sun-related diseases:

Golfers spend a significant amount of time outdoors so they’re definitely at a higher risk than the average person…We see a lot of golfers and tennis players. They have signs of more damage than the average patient and it manifests itself at an earlier age…Treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers increased by nearly 77 percent between 1992 and 2006 and one in five Americans will develop some kind of skin cancer over the course of their lifetime.

The Solution – Apply Sunscreen!

Just after we tied-the-knot, my wife shared similar stats around the dangers of prolonged sun exposure and sunblock quickly became part of my pre-golf routine. And I urge you to do the same.

Because golfers are at a higher risk, there are sunscreens specifically for them. As such, the good folks over at SKINSunscreen GOLF sent us some samples to try-out. Their formula is non-greasy; sweat and water resistant; provides UVA/UVB protection; and is Oxybenzone free.

From their website:

As we demonstrated the need for awareness for sunscreen to young golfers and their families, it became apparent to us that this proactive measure – applying sunscreen — is every bit as important to the outdoor athlete as is the warm up on the driving range or stretching before your round.

I can apply SKIN Sunscreen GOLF to my neck, ears, face and arms right on the first tee and not have any greasy residue left on my hands to mess with my grip. They even sent along a sunscreen lip balm to boot! And the stuff really works – at spf30+, it keeps you protected while you’re out on the links (doctors recommend reapplying all sunscreen brands every 90 minutes – or if you’re like me, just reapply at the turn).

One of the great things about golf is it’s a game you can play well-past retirement age. Protect yourself and get the most out of it!

Hit ’em Long; Yell FORE; Apply Sunscreen Liberally!

Back Pain and Golf

August 7, 2013 | By Greg D'Andrea | 2 Comments

It was the end of my senior year in high school. I was 17 years old and had never felt any back discomfort in my life whatsoever. But after golfing everyday for most of April, May and June for my high school golf team, along with practicing my chips and putts for many additional hours on top of that, something finally gave way.

I woke up one morning and literally couldn’t get out of bed. My lower back, right hip and a bit down my right leg were stiff and painful. I finally was able work myself into a sitting position and remember barely being able to walk to the car for my doctor’s appointment. One I reached the car, it was nearly impossible for me to sit inside!

According to the doc, it was my sciatic nerve acting up. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and plenty of rest. Two weeks later, I felt back to 100 percent, but I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I began a stretching routine before each round, which I continue to this very day.

Fortunately, the issue has never cropped up again. Of course, I don’t play as much as back then, but that doesn’t mean I won’t ever run into problems. Now pushing 40, I realize I’m more susceptible to aches and pains – as well as easily aggravating old sore spots.

According to recent statistics, more than half of all male golfers (and nearly half of all female golfers) suffer some sort of lower back pain. If you play a second sport besides golf (like softball or even bowling), your chances for back pain increase by an additional 40 percent! And the risk goes up the older you get – especially for those over 50.

Want more bad news? Most recreational golfers (like many of us), work full time jobs where we sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. This puts us even more at risk for back problems! So what can we do to help avoid these lower back flare-ups (besides popping multiple doses of ibuprofen or acetaminophen or both)?

Well, according to this article from sportsmed.org, warming up before the round can lower your risk by more than half! Their study found that lower handicap golfers were also twice as likely to warm up for 10 minutes or more before each round (I warm up for probably 2-3 minutes)!

In addition to warming up before your round, it is strongly recommended you incorporate some sort of exercise program into your general life – especially one that helps strengthen your core, since a strong core can help stabilize you during a golf swing.

A few years ago, GolfDigest published this article specifically targeting exercise programs for golfers – and strengthening your core muscles was very important. According to the author, utilizing his golf exercise program three times per week will not only help rid you of pain, but also help improve your golf swing!

How about a massage? Did you know there were massages geared specifically for golfers? Not only that, the massage therapist actually massages you with…wait for it…golf balls! These types of massages, like the ones from SPABallMassage.com, make the following claims:

“Remarkably therapeutic, deeply relaxing, and essential to help golfers stay flexible and injury free. It combines smooth compression strokes with the therapist’s hands and forearms, deep trigger point and cross-fiber work with the SPAball Kaddy™ and golf ball, as well as performing essential stretches that every golfer needs to stay in top form.”

Now, I’ve never received one of these types of massages, but I’m definitely willing to give it a try! The bottom line is back pain is a reality for half of the golfers out there – and we weekend hacks are at even higher risk. At the very least, stretching before the round can help. But working in some sort of exercise – especially one that targets your core – can not only help you be pain free, but also can help your game to boot.

As always, check with your doctor before implementing any stretching or exercise routine. But in the end, staying healthy can allow you to play this game well past retirement age – I know that’s my goal!

Why I Like Walking the Golf Course

December 12, 2012 | By Greg D'Andrea | Leave a Comment

Walking the golf course offers more than just exercise (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

I’ve been doing allot of walking lately, which was brought on by my car’s transmission deciding to conk-out after 140,000 miles. While we still have my wife’s car in the family, she’s at work during the day (I work from home) so my legs are my primary mode of transportation from 9AM to 5PM, M-F.

So I was walking to the post office on my lunch break yesterday (about a mile) and realized there are details along that route that I had never noticed before – even though I had driven that same route many, many times.

That reminded me about why I like walking the golf course instead of riding. This past season, I rode most of the time. This was a detraction from my normal routine, in which I typically walk the course. But the main reason I kept riding this season was the fact that I wasn’t laboring towards the end of my round – my feet didn’t hurt and I had more energy down the home stretch (16, 17 and 18).

But the interesting thing was despite my lack of fatigue, my scores didn’t really improve. And as I was walking back from the post office, I realized why. When you ride in a golf cart (or “buggy” for my friends in the UK), the time it takes to get to your ball is greatly diminished.

While golf courses like this because you ultimately play faster, it can have an adverse affect on your game. For example, while you’re walking to your ball, you have time to consider your next shot: Which club you will play; where the pin location is; what the wind is doing. Of course, all of these things can be ascertained upon getting out of the cart, but with much more haste – which can lead to a wrong club selection or mis-calculation of the wind.

What’s worse, sometimes your cart-mate will drop you off at your ball so they can go find their own. Now you’re left with a quick decision on which club to grab. Or perhaps you went with them in the cart to play their shot first and then scooted across the fairway for your shot. Mentally, you’ve observed the path to a ball that was not yours and then took an irrelevant path (the cut across the fairway) to your own.

I use the term “irrelevant path” because when you walk the golf course, the path you take to your next shot is usually a direct line between your ball and the flag stick – thus mentally preparing yourself for all aspects of your next stroke. When you ride, that mental aspect has been hindered – either by the quickness it takes to reach your ball or the irrelevant path you take to get there (or both).

But improving my game isn’t the only reason I like to walk: It’s good exercise too. Now I know there are people that will say walking a golf course is not good exercise – in fact, my doctor is one of them. Well, my doctor should read THIS post. In short, a recent study proves that walking the golf course is indeed good exercise (time for a new doctor)!

And there’s one more reason I like to walk the golf course – for that I’ll relay another story from my lunchtime walks in my neighborhood. On the way back from one of my recent walks, I noticed a sign posted a few yards into the woods. It was all about a glacier kettle that was right in front of me through the trees and something that I’d never noticed before.

You see, walking allows you slow down and notice interesting things that you would never see zooming by in a car – and the same is true on the golf course. In addition to improving your game and getting exercise, you have more time on your hands to appreciate nature. After all, the great outdoors is perhaps among the most rewarding aspects of golf.

Tough Mother Golfer.

August 24, 2012 | By Pete Girotto | Leave a Comment

If you are into fitness, I’m sure you are well aware of the obstacle course races that are gaining popularity by the day. Even if the extent of your daily exercise routine is getting out of bed, you might have heard of these obstacle course races as well. There’s the Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, Spartan Sprint, Spartan Beast – the list goes on. What’s great about these races is that along with getting you in shape they are also associated with great causes such as the Wounded Warrior Project.

GolfStinks is very thankful and proud of all the men and woman who serve or have served. We are also advocates of staying healthy (although some of our physical appearances might lead you to believe otherwise) and obviously we love golf. So, what if we were to incorporate golf with some sort of an obstacle course and do it for a great cause? Instead of holding a normal golf tournament, let’s put a spin on things and get our heart rates above dead!

Here’s the basic idea:

We use the Texas Scramble method.
No carts. We give them a day off and use good old fashioned man-power to cart our stuff.
Dump and chase. We take this ice hockey principle and use it on the course. Hit the ball and then run after it like it owes us money.
On the way to your ball there’s a few obstacles that need to be conquered first. Hurdles, a wall to climb and maybe an “Arctic Enema” (an actual Tough Mudder obstacle) for good measure. That gives me the chills just thinking about it, no pun intended.
Everything is based on teamwork. Not so much as who finishes first but making sure your foursome completes the course together.
Oh yeah, skipping obstacles costs you strokes so don’t be cheatin’!

I think I have a good thing going. It’s in the beginning stages but with a little help and some planning this could fly. Now I’m asking you, the golf community, for some input. If you have any ideas or comments let’s hear them.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Golfercising

November 18, 2011 | By Pete Girotto | Leave a Comment

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.