Eating Your Way to Better Golf Performance
By Mark Pajich
Fuelling your body with proper nutrition can give you the competitive edge needed to fuel your body during your golf game and to help with your recovery afterward. Poor nutrition can directly impact your ability to focus and concentrate.
Eating properly before, during and after your game can help maintain energy, mental acuity and recovery, and prevent muscle fatigue.
What to eat before a round of Golf?
You should plan your meal to suit her tee off time, however the meal should always be a balance of low GI Foods, lean meats or other high-protein source, and healthy fats.
Low GI foods are desirable as they promote stable blood sugar, therefore supplying energy over the course of a few hours and avoiding a crash and burn that you get from sugar. Secondly a small amount of protein is also recommended as it’ll prevent hunger over a long round of golf. Lastly healthy fats such as avocado etc.
A General rule of thumb is to usually consume your meal three (3) to four (4) hours before tee off time as it’ll give you plenty of time to digest your food and to absorb the nutrients. Of course, if you have an early morning tee off this is not going to be suitable so you’ll need to adjust it to suit.
According to the Sports Dietitian Association of Australia, the following suggestions are recommended as a good option for pre-meals for golfers.
Grainy wrap with cheese, chicken and salad
Fruit salad with natural yoghurt
Sweet potato salad with tuna
What to eat during a Game?
Everyone has their favourite snack to take with them but what should you eat during your game to maintain peak performance? To ensure that you don’t fatigue it’s best to eat at regular intervals. Such as two small snacks during the front and back nine. Alternatively some golfer’s split it between 3 such first six, middle six and Final six.
According to the Sport Dietitian Association of Australia the types of snacks that you should consider are:
Granola bars
Dried fruit and trail mix
Bananas
Light sandwiches
What to eat after a Game?
Replenishing your glycogen and allowing for adequate recovery should be your main focus. A well-rounded meal with a lean protein (for muscle repair & development), plenty of vegetables, and carbohydrates (fuel) should be your go-to.
Again, the following are some suggestions from the Sports Dietician Association of Australia.
A chicken or egg and salad sandwich
Homemade burritos with chicken & salad
Fruit based smoothie
Lean beef burger on wholegrain bun with salad
Hydration
Hydration is critical for golf performance As we sweat, there’s a loss in body water and water loss at 3–5% of body weight leads to loss of blood volume, low oxygen delivery to muscles, faster lactic acid build up, and ultimately causing fatigue and a lack of concentration to set in much earlier.
To avoid dehydration the following is recommended by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association).
Before Golf: 2 to 3 hours before: 500ml (about 1 water bottle) then 15 minutes before: 250ml.
During: 125ml of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes (2 to 3 large gulps)
After: 500-600ml of fluid for every 1lb lost. This differs from person to person and also depends on the weather.
Sports Drinks
Sports drink can be a beneficial during long rounds and as we sweat, we not only lose water but also electrolytes, however the majority of sports drinks in Malaysia contain excessive amounts of sugar which defeats the purpose. If you can find one with very little sugar then it’s worth considering.
For more information on the studies mentioned above or if you have any questions pertaining to diet and nutrition, please contact us at 012-334-1511 or send us an enquiry here.