Golf is not a walk. Nutrition is important

People often have no idea how physically and mentally demanding it is to play golf at the highest international competitions. It often requires playing up to six rounds of golf a week, coaching, training, travelling each week from country to country, from continent to continent, staying in different hotels and dining at different restaurants each week.

Nutrition is extremely important for game performance and is one of the cornerstones of the game plan. The right food stimulates and helps improve concentration and physical endurance up to the last hole. Today, players know that good nutrition is essential for proper regeneration and builds a more injury-resistant body.

Pasta is a history

Nowadays, the professional golfers pay much more attention to proper nutrition than ever. Golf lounges at golf tournaments offer mostly easily digestible food such as salads, legumes, cereals, rice, chicken or beef. Seeing a “professional golfer” drinking fizzy energetic caffeine beverages before or during the tournament is rather rare.

Previously, players filled up their stomachs with pasta or sandwich. Today, the vast majority of players prefer vegetables, a piece of meat, rice or potatoes. Professional golf has recently been affected by trends such as drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices, gluten or lactose free diet or vegetarian and vegan diet.

Bad nutrition can spoil your game

If your body cannot keep up with the game and you run out of energy you can hardly enjoy the game. The last five or six holes are crucial. You can get very tired, lose concentration and collect unnecessary extra shots. Then it is important to determine whether the mistakes are due to the poor physical condition or underestimated food and fluid intake.

During a game, blood sugar level and hydration vary greatly and so does game performance because the starving body distracts the mind from the game. A lack of concentration during the key moments of the game spoils the scorecard.

Replenishing your energy after every three or four holes played is essential. My favourite snacks are nuts, bananas or apples. I prefer fresh food to biscuits, pastries or energy bars bursting with sugar.

Fresh water is an ideal drink.

Drinking frequently is even more important, preferably at every tee. Fresh water is an ideal drink. Hypotonic sports drinks that hydrate the body and at the same time complement the energy are suitable for those who play more rounds a week. You should forget about strong tea, sugary fizzy drinks, coffee or even alcohol – these will not help your game.