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Tom's Featured Tip: Nutrition and Hydration While You Play
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Nutrition and Hydration While You Play
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The Divot Board
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Nutrition and Hydration While You Play
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
I found this information on nutrition and hydration in a couple of golf newsletters that I receive, and the importance of nutrition and hydration while you play can't be overemphasized.
The points of emphasis reinforced what I've been doing for about four years, except that it's a bit more protein than I usually take when I play. I discovered that I maintained my focus much better on the back nine by drinking a 30g Fairlife Protein Shake at the turn. I'm adding a protein bar to my routine, at hole 5, then a protein shake at hole 11, as well as making sure that I'm hydrating more before and during my round.
I'm not really a water drinker, but I'm making that change this year.
As a side note, I've switched to 30g OIKOS Protein Shake's because they're less expensive with the same nutritional value. My household drinks a lot of them, so cost is a factor. You can get them at BJ's. Full disclosure: they taste great, but not quite as great at Fairlife 😄
Nutrition
Here's Rory McIlroy's eating routine during rounds
- Protein bar after 5-6 holes.
- Protein shake walking down 10.
- Another protein bar around 15-16.
It came up because at The Masters, he forgot. Everything that happened on 15 and 16... he just didn't eat. Then between 17 and 18, cameras cut to him eating a protein bar. Which is kind of funny when the tournament is almost over.
It wasn't. He was just behind on his routine.
"With everything that was going on in that back nine, I just forgot to eat the protein bar."
Ok so pretty detailed insight here but why bring it up?
A lot of us fade coming down the stretch. And nutrition / hydration has a huge impact on focus and performance. That was me four years ago, then I added the protein shake at the turn and my focus on the back nine changed for the better dramatically.
Stock up on some protein bars and protein shakes, and throw them in your bag before your round.
It's not hard to do, and I guarantee that it will have a big impact on your game, especially the back nine.
Hydration - Lack of it is Costing You More Than You Think
Earlier this week, an elite player was talking about on-course nutrition and hydration. This is an important topic that most golfers pay zero attention to. I know that personally, I'm probably guilty of the lack of hydration aspect, but after reading about this study - that changes this year for me.
There is an interesting study titled Effect of Acute Mild Dehydration on Cognitive-Motor Performance in Golf by Mark F. Smith, Alex J. Newell, and Mistrelle R. Baker.
Golfers tend to think about hydration as a comfort issue. Was I thirsty? Did I feel tired? Did I get a headache? Was it hot out?
There is much more to it than that.
The Study
Smith, Newell, and Baker looked at seven low-handicap golfers and tested them in two states: hydrated and mildly dehydrated.
The dehydration protocol was simple. A 12-hour fluid restriction. That is essentially not drinking anything after dinner until the next morning.
This wasn't some extreme survival test. These players were only mildly dehydrated. On average, body mass dropped by about 1.5%. For a 200-pound golfer, that's about 3 pounds. You wouldn't even feel it.
That matters because a lot of golfers either start the round that way or drift into that range during a round without thinking much about hydration. Especially in heat. Especially when they walk. Especially when they're "too busy playing" to hydrate.
The players did two golf-specific tasks. First, they hit shots with a 9-iron, 7-iron, and 5-iron. Second, they completed a distance-judgment task where they estimated yardages to the flag.
What They Found
When players were dehydrated they hit the ball a lot worse. They were about a club shorter when dehydrated, and their offline dispersion was much worse, going from about 13'6" to 26 feet. They were likely making worse contact, and that worse contact was showing up as both shorter distances and a bigger miss pattern.
Their distance judgment got much worse. Average error in estimating distance to the target jumped from 14 feet off to nearly 29 feet off.
Why This Matters
A lot of golfers think hydration only becomes important once they "feel" dehydrated. That's probably too late.
By the time your focus is down, your energy is flat, and your yardages start getting fuzzy, the damage may already be showing up on the scorecard.
This was a small study. Seven players under controlled testing. So we shouldn't assume it answered every question about hydration in golf.
But it does remind us that even mild dehydration can affect the body and the brain in a game that depends heavily on both.
And that lines up with what many players have experienced even if they didn't label it correctly. "I just felt a little off." "I couldn't focus." "My numbers felt weird." "I wasn't sharp late in the round."
Maybe it wasn't your swing. Maybe it was your hydration.
Don't make hydration an afterthought.
- Show up hydrated.
- Start hydrating early.
- Sip during the round instead of trying to play catch-up later.
- And if you play in warm conditions or tend to sweat a lot, have a plan ahead of time.
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Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, The Stack and Tilt Swing
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, and remember that golf is a game of discovery. Don't be afraid to experiment when you practice, it's good for your golfing brain.
Tom
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All the best,
Tom Tucker
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