Pro golfers & gyms

[Gareth]

Walk the course. Don't use a buggy

[RichF]

Umm....I would bet a small dog Tom Watson works out and is in very good shape.

LMAO.

He's SIXTY years old, you numpty .

[Shanks A Million]

LMAO.

So, you can't work out and be in good shape at 60? This is the first I'm hearing of this.

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

Some random thoughts about earlier posts.

Jim Furyk was a basketball player and still plays. He is wiry-thin.

It used to be that there were two physical types on the big tour. There were the skinny guys like Chi Chi Rodriguez and Gene Littler and the paunchy powerful guys like Gay Brewer or Billy Casper or Raymond Floyd. Now there are very few who are really paunchy. (Is John Daily back on tour?)

Successful golfers feared becoming muscle bound, and so intentionally did not work out. Sam Snead was a fine all-round athlete, but as a pro golfer claimed he did nothing more than some sit ups to "keep the gut down."

Snead was freaky physically. It is said that he could extend his thumb backward and touch the tip to the wrist of that arm. That past middle-age he could stand flat on one foot and kick the lintel of the doorway above his head with the other like a Rockettes dancer.

David Duval made a big change in physique, from plump to fit. Some went the other way, Lee Trevino, for example, who grew in girth before our eyes.

Is Cabrera still about the longest hitter on tour? Wonder how much beer he drinks.

Spot reduction may work, some, in some places and under some conditions.

Being 60 does not mean you are dead. I am 58 myself, and have been hitting the weights pretty hard as well as walking and riding a bicycle.
The other side of that coin is that when you get older, you worry about wear and tear. Instead of hitting every muscle twice a week, you often tone it down to once a week, or every ten days. Schwartzenegger is still in shape, some, but has had (I think) two hip replacements and who knows what other surgery, besides his facial reconstruction to make him look less cave-man like. Bodybuilders are like football players in the wear and tear on the body. A high percentage are dead by 40, and who knows how many others suffer from debilitating injuries. So Tom Watson is probably careful how and how much he exercises.

Jack Nicklaus had a powerful body, especially in the legs, even though he was popularly regarded as pudgy. There is a pic in his autobio of him as a shirtless college student, and he looked like a weightlifter or football player. He did play basketball, and--didn't he want to play college football? One commentator said that Nicklaus was as powerfully built as Packers' running back Paul Hornung.

I speculate that Nicklaus would not have had his double hip replacements yet if he had stayed away from tennis. Tennis is fearsome hard on the joints. But so is golf, when you hit a ball really hard, 200 times a day for years on end.

Golf is not an easy sport. Just look the injuries and surgeries pro golfers have had. Repetitive stress, if nothing else.

Who was the first golfer to work out in a gym as a top golfer? Maybe Gary Player, the Jack Lalanne of golf? Wasn't there a gym trailer at pro tournaments back in the 90s?

[whetstone]

You could eat more. I entered the marine corps at 140 lbs, 6ft tall. While in, I learned to eat and train correctly and 2 yrs later I was up to about 180lbs. A few yrs later, 240, with abs still showing... but that kind of size is hard to maintain without getting fat. I've settled in at around 205-210, and don't lift as heavy as I used to, but I still can. Google Mark Rippetoe, 5x5 if you're serious about putting on some size.

Yea I'm on that side. I can't pretend it's horrible, but sometimes I wish I could gain more weight, it's not like I don't eat more than 3000 calories a day (really, just healthy calories). I was 126 lbs, 6', 16 years old at the end of the summer last year. Through weight room training at school and at home, i'm now 145 same height and 17 years old. It's a huge accomplishment for me. I want nothing more than to have bigger forearms, wider shoulders etc. Whether you're trying to put on muscle, or lose weight, it's all a matter of willpower. It comes slowly, but as long as you keep at it it's going to happen. I can honestly say after a month or so when i first reached 130, I was frickin estatic. Made it all feel worth it.

[p_funk]

I have picked up some very helpful things in this thread, thanks guys. I recently started working out, and am trying to eat right. I have lost a total of 8 pounds in 6 weeks. I think the hardest part for me, is eating right. Does anyone know of a website that would be helpful in this area? Like showing me what to eat for certain meals, like a guide of some sort. Thanks for any help.

[Shanks A Million]

I have picked up some very helpful things in this thread, thanks guys. I recently started working out, and am trying to eat right. I have lost a total of 8 pounds in 6 weeks. I think the hardest part for me, is eating right. Does anyone know of a website that would be helpful in this area? Like showing me what to eat for certain meals, like a guide of some sort. Thanks for any help.

http://www.eatright.org/ The ADA, the professional organization of professional, registered dietitians. It's similar to the AMA for Medical Doctors, or the ABA for Lawyers.. All members have to have college degrees in nutrition, as well as be certified at the national level. No scams or BS, just professional advice and information. http://www.acefitness.org/ For exercise, there's ACE, the fitness instructor's/personal trainer's equivalent. Slightly less demanding, but still you must be a certified professional with CPR and AED certification. Again, no BS, but they are not certified in diet.

[p_funk]

Thanks Shanks.

[RichF]

So, you can't work out and be in good shape at 60? This is the first I'm hearing of this.

Show me the proof that Watson or Couples or any other OLD ••••••••er works out with weights.

And then prove to me it enables them to play better golf . Fat guys on this forum (i.e. a LOT): you need to wake up and realise that, you can lose 30lb...you can start benching 250-300...you can start clocking 20-24 min, 5km runs...but you're never, ever going to start hitting 170yd 8-irons or booming 300yd drives or start playing 'TV Golf'.

[soon_tourpro]

Thanks Shanks.

www.artdevany.com there is a lot of different variations but that guy is the best there is out there in regard to what to eat and working out. at 72 he is in better shape than everyone on this forum ;)

[Shanks A Million]

Show me the proof that Watson or Couples or any other OLD ••••••••er works out with weights.

I don't think I get this. I can hit an 8 iron (39°) 150 yards easily, and 165 is not much of a problem. What does that have to do with weight? I've hit drives over 320. Swing speed and technique is what matters, not weight. If you don't believe that, ask John Daly or Angel Cabrera.

www.artdevany.com

Caveat, first, his website is

http://www.arthurdevany.com/ , and second, I can't verify if he is a respected expert or not. I'd have to ask a professional's opinion. Fortunately, we have one on the forum, and who's posted in this thread. Hopefully he can take a look and verify. The ADA and ACE are widely respected organizations who's certifications are recognized by the government and major health organizations. Another great group that I didn't mention is this one: http://www.nasm.org/ The National Academy of Sports Medicine, which is made up of doctors, trainers, and other professionals in the field. It too offers certifications in fitness instruction.

[zeg]

I don't think I get this. I can hit an 8 iron (39°) 150 yards easily, and 165 is not much of a problem. What does that have to do with weight? I've hit drives over 320. Swing speed and technique is what matters, not weight. If you don't believe that, ask John Daly or Angel Cabrera.

I wouldn't think too hard trying to "get this." The guy's argument from the beginning has been "a bunch of guys who I assume are in bad shape are winning so working out doesn't work," and it's devolved from there. Now I guess, in case it turns out his assumption is wrong and Watson or Couples DO work out, we have to PROVE that it improves there game. That's some quality debate right there.

[right handed phil mickelson]

I don't think I get this. I can hit an 8 iron (39°) 150 yards easily, and 165 is not much of a problem. What does that have to do with weight? I've hit drives over 320.

Exactly. My girlfriend golfs and she's 16 years old, 5'6'' tall, 120 lbs, and averages 165 with her 7 iron, and 250 with her driver. It's crazy and whenever I comment on her taking steroids (Jokingly of course), she says "Nope, it's just timing." She's about the same handicap as me. Her best score in competition on 18 holes is 69. She's atheletic, don't get me wrong. She plays softball (.600 batting average for this season so far, and is catcher), soccer (goalie, mvp last season), and golf (scratch handicap, and hasn't played in 3 months). But she's still fairly tiny, and anyone that small that can hit it 250 can only mean it's timing. Guy that works at golf galaxy that is about to get on tour told her that if she actually practiced, she could enter into any D1 college she wanted to.

[Jeepthrills]

I am an exercise physiologist and I teach Sports Medicine and I can assure you that working out and looking like a bodybuilder do not have to go hand in hand. It is a matter of how you train. It does not benefit these guys to look like Mr. Olympia, but being stronger, leaner, more flexible and more cardiovascularly fit all can and do help the golf game. I spent a lot of time in the gym during the off season and I am looking forward to my return to the course. Last Summer I started getting back in shape and my distance came back quickly. I am now stronger than ever and in the best shape i have been in close to 10 years. I am confident it will carry over to the course.

[mtsalmela80]

Exactly. My girlfriend golfs and she's 16 years old, 5'6'' tall, 120 lbs, and averages 165 with her 7 iron, and 250 with her driver. It's crazy and whenever I comment on her taking steroids (Jokingly of course), she says "Nope, it's just timing." She's about the same handicap as me. Her best score in competition on

Does everything she touch turn to gold?

[right handed phil mickelson]

Does everything she touch turn to gold?

Haha honestly I thought it was too good to be true at first but hey, its true. She's the best gf a guy could ask for

Plus with all that said I'm hoping someone remembers it and in the future if I post something saying she beat me on the course I won't be TOO humiliated....

[killerduck]

The pro that teaches me, and is on the new One Asia tour as part of being on the Australiasian tour, is 6'2", skinny as, might weigh about 80-85kg, and he IS a 'gym-rat'

But he doesn't pump iron for size, like MOST retards out there, he pumps iron for strength. Strength in the right areas. He works his core (like pretty much all Pros these days). Especially his side muscles, which he says do most of the hitting.

Again, he looks like a bean pole. Nothing of him, but his body is incredibly strong. His average drive is 280 metres, with 260 metres of carry. Actually, that might be more of a minimum...

[Leftygolfer]

Question related to this thread. Does anyone else play sore. I worked hard on my legs friday with the hardest part being dead lifts. My legs and butt were incrediably sore Saturday and I played terrible. I thought it was just the day and went out sunday, the same. I played on Tuesday the first time all season not sore and played the best I have all year yet 4 days later I just played like a dog. Is it an excuse or do you think that part of the body being really torn up have an adverse affect?