Recovery Between Rounds Competitive Golf

[Themightyoz]

What are some proven strategies to recover if you have to play 18 holes of tournament golf each day for 2, 3 or even 4 days.?

 

Right now my weekly practice is as follows

 

Monday Off

Tuesda Par 3 course focusing on distance control with irons and 40 minute putting session

Wed Range Day focusing on odd numbered irons and driver.  Experimental shots, hooking, slicing on purpose.  

Thursday 9 holes for score,  maybe a short game range session

Friday Another short game session (putting chipping, pitching)

Saturday AM 9 holes for score, Afternoon Range session practicing shots needed for Sunday

Sunday AM Hot Tub soak, drive to the course to arrive 1hour before.  Warm up through bag with wedges, odd numbered irons and driver 18 holes

 

I'd like to be able to do 18 Saturday and Sunday but need some tips on how not to be so sore Sunday if I'm going to play 2 18s in a row.  

 

 

[klineka]

Are you paying attention to your sleep and nutrition? Those are two huge factors in recovery.

[David in FL]

How old are you?

If you’re struggling to play 18 holes 2 consecutive days, I’d look hard at your overall fitness and consider what could be done to improve strength and stamina.

You might want to consider cutting back on some “practice” too.  Don’t let practice get in the way of actual play...

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by David in FL

[mcanadiens]

My old club championship was a two-day event. From what I could tell, the real key was not drinking like a lunatic after the first round.  I'd see guys pounding it down and some of them never showed up the next morning.

I agree with @David in FL, that sounds like an awful lot of practice if you aren't sure you can play 18 on consecutive days.

Some of the old guys I know play 18 just about every day. If soreness is a problem, you may want to see a doctor.

[CarlSpackler]

My secret is bourbon and chicken wings. That and having a wife / job that prevents me from playing more than 1-2 times a week.

[Rkrider99]

I'm 70 years old, and I still play 18 holes, 6 days a week. Even on the 7th day, if I'm not happy with my game, I may go up to the driving range, or putting green to work on something. The toughest time I have is our Member/Guest Tournament. First day, 18 hole practice round. 2nd and 3rd days, 27 holes per day. By the last day, last 9, I'm just usually looking to get out of there and home. But, it gets better, if you win your flight, you get to play again on that last day in a playoff against the other winners of their flights.

[David in FL]

14 minutes ago, Rkrider99 said:

I'm 70 years old, and I still play 18 holes, 6 days a week. Even on the 7th day, if I'm not happy with my game, I may go up to the driving range, or putting green to work on something. The toughest time I have is our Member/Guest Tournament. First day, 18 hole practice round. 2nd and 3rd days, 27 holes per day. By the last day, last 9, I'm just usually looking to get out of there and home. But, it gets better, if you win your flight, you get to play again on that last day in a playoff against the other winners of their flights.

Ours is the same format.  I solve the last day problem by never winning our flight.  

[Bonvivant]

22 hours ago, Themightyoz said:

I'd like to be able to do 18 Saturday and Sunday but need some tips on how not to be so sore Sunday if I'm going to play 2 18s in a row.  

I hate saying this but the big factor in this is conditioning. You have to build up stamina/get stronger if you want to be able to do this. You don't really mention it, but I am assuming that it is your "golf muscles" that are sore after the first 18? If so, reps is the key IMO. Going and chipping balls doesn't count as reps either. It's great for improving your game, but does next to nothing for stamina.

Another odd thing, semi-conditioning related, is that I see very little in your schedule for grooving in your desired full swing. You talk about doing experimental stuff, which is good and all, but you don't say anything about how many balls, and if any of them are just your stock swing. If you spend your time working odd muscles because you are manufacturing swings that you don't normally play, and then get on the course and only use your stock swing, I could see how your muscles would get tired.

One more point is the afternoon range session on Saturday. If you skipped this, could you get through 18 holes both days? Seems odd to waste what stamina you have on a range session in between rounds. You should already have "the shots you need" before the weekend. That's what all the practice during the week should be for.

Something you may want to do, is track how many full swings you take during a one week period. If it is under 200-250, playing 18 two days in a row may be tough. You seem to spend lots of time on short game, but very little on full swing.

[Cantankerish]

For sure, conditioning is a big factor.  Also, a handicap of 32 means a player is swinging the club a lot more times per round than a lower handicap.

 

[Bonvivant]

7 minutes ago, Cantankerish said:

For sure, conditioning is a big factor.  Also, a handicap of 32 means a player is swinging the club a lot more times per round than a lower handicap.

 

I thought about this, although I wonder how many are full swings. I know that it will be more than short game, as the full swing is much tougher to master and getting good, usable distance is tough at this handicap. But how many is it really? Just doing simple math, a scratch golfer is probably hitting between 32 to 36 full swings per round, that is if they don't have any penalties and depending on the length of par 5s. This may be less if it is a particularly short course where they are left with under 100 yards on many par 4s, but just as a baseline. A 32 handicap is probably shooting around 105-110 total score. At least 36 of these are most likely putts (probably more like 40-45), and if they are anything like I was at this level, duffed chips come by the barrel (I may have had 25-30 chips per round at my worst). I'd guess that a 32 handicap golfer probably takes 45-55 full swings per round. This is less than a medium bucket of balls around these parts, and should be achievable with full swing range reps. I'm no pro, and definitely out of shape, but I get 54 hole weekends in when I can. Sure, Monday is rough (usually my feet from walking), but by Tuesday I am ready to play again.