Recovery Strategies

Fitness

Recovery Strategies 

In my last post I spoke about the often overlooked part of a golf training program, recovery. Four areas were mentioned in the post and I promised that I would give you some strategies that you could use for each area to give you the best possible chance of including effective recovery as part of your golf training program. The four areas that need to be addressed in a recovery program are hydration, fuelling, physical and psychological recovery. Below you will see some easy to use approaches that you can use in your own golf training.

Hydration is arguably the most important area as just a 1% drop in your hydration levels will negatively impact on your golf performance. Replacing the fluid lost during a round of golf is extremely important if you are playing several days in a row so it needs to be part of your recovery program. A simple way to monitor your fluid levels is to check your weight prior to and after your round of golf. Every kilogram of weight you have lost during the round is 1 litre of water you need to replace after the round. You need to replace a little more than what you have lost during the round to allow for urination so as a general rule you should replace 150% of what you have lost during the round. This means that a golfer who weighs 80kg prior to a round and 78kg after a round needs to drink three litres of water after the round to ensure they are fully hydrated for the round the next day.

Fueling is the next part of recovery and as golf is not as physically taxing as some other sports and is played at a pace that allows for snacking to occur on the course this is not as large an issue as it may be with some other sports. That being said it is important that you eat a balanced diet and fuel your body with healthy meals prior to and in between rounds. Lean protein and vegetables are a great evening meal between rounds to refuel carbohydrate stores as well as being easy to digest. It is important to ensure you plan your meals as it is easy to get caught in the fast food trap, especially if you are traveling for an event. Make sure you have access to cooking facilities and appropriate sources of food to avoid unhealthy choices.

Physical recovery is something we all can relate to as we have all finished a round at some stage and felt stiff, sore and tired. The easiest way to deal with this soreness is with massage and a qualified masseuse can be very beneficial in aiding recovery between rounds. Unfortunately, we can’t all afford to have such a person on call so there are a variety of self-massage techniques you can use. You can access self-massage strategies using foam rollers by clicking here or spikey balls by clicking here. Massage can also be used in conjunction with hydrotherapies such as hot and cold immersions to ensure a well-rounded physical recovery strategy is maintained. By alternating between a hot shower for one to two minutes and a cold burst for 30 seconds you will assist the recovery process. The shower also provided an ideal environment for self-massage.

The final area is psychological recovery. This is an area that is often unknowingly completed by golfers but it is often done very poorly. Most golfers will finish a round and retire to the clubhouse with their playing partners to relive the round and talk about all the shots that got away and the bad shots that they played. This discussion is a good thing but the focus on the bad shots is only going to make it easier to replay the same shots during the next round. A golfer needs to debrief after a round and “complete” the round from a psychological point of view. This can be done very effectively by using a debriefing work sheet (click here to find an example of one that I use). This sheet can then be used to start a conversation with your coach, playing partners or other friends. Once this conversation is over the player needs to get rid of the sheet (sometimes I have players rip them up!), focus on the positives of the round and refocus on the game plan for the next round.
Hopefully the above information gives you some help when you are next facing a tournament with golf on several consecutive days.

Until next time,

Brent Davis

Sources:  TPI, Brent Davis Golf, Perform Better

Brent Davis

Brent Davis

PGA Professional

Training & Education Coordinator
PGA Centre For Learning Performance
Melborne, Victoria, Australia

Email: [email protected]

 

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Recovery

Fitness

Recovery 

This post is on a golf fitness topic that is often overlooked by golfers as not being very important to playing better golf. Today I will be talking about recovery and how it relates specifically to golfers who are playing golf several times a week or even for several days in a row. Recovery, when discussed in this format, is basically defined as an activity or series of activities that give them the best possible chance to play at the highest level possible for their next event. This is important as sometimes we need to compete and play golf a number of times in close succession. Continuous rounds of golf require a good recovery strategy to continue a high level of play.

There are four main areas that need to be addressed in a good recovery program. Each of these areas is important and needs to be completed effectively for the recovery to be beneficial to the golfer.

The first area is re-hydration which is arguably the most important. During practice, play, or training fluid is lost. These lost levels of fluid need to be replaced as dehydration has a serious effect upon golf performance.

The second area that must be covered is the refuelling of the golfer’s body. Again, as golfers compete or train, energy is used and needs to be replaced. Energy replacement needs to occur as soon as possible after the completion of a round or practice session. All golfers should be educated to eat or have to a sports drink as soon as possible after the round.

Physical therapies also need to be covered in a recovery program. Flexibility is an extremely important for a golfer to be able to swing the golf club effectively and as such, it needs to be addressed in recovery. Stretching after a round will assist in reducing the likelihood of injury and ensure the golfer can compete or practice on consecutive days as is needed in a tournament situation. There are other physical therapies that may be used during recovery. Techniques such as hydrotherapy, sports massage and acupuncture may all be used in a recovery situation.

The final area that needs to be covered is psychological recovery. When an athlete competes, psychological fatigue occurs as well as physical fatigue. The levels of psychological fatigue may be even greater in sports such as golf where concentration needs to be high during competition. Techniques such as imagery, meditation and progressive muscle relaxation may be used during recovery to “reset” an athlete after competition. By being able to complete the days performance, whether it was good or bad, will assist in a fresh start for the next competition.

In my next blog post I will outline some specific strategies and protocols that you can use to add recovery to your golf training program.
Until next time,

Brent Davis

Brent Davis

Brent Davis

PGA Professional

Training & Education Coordinator
PGA Centre For Learning Performance
Melborne, Victoria, Australia

Email: [email protected]

 

Fitness Archives

Fun In Fitness Training

Fun In Your Fitness Training If you have been following my blog posts on this website, you are probably getting the message that fitness training for golf is important. Well, I will emphasise here again that it is very important, both to your golf and your general...

read more

Golf Fitness, Is It For You?

Golf Fitness, Is It For You? There has been a lot of coverage lately in the media and on social media about golf fitness and the training that certain tour players complete. Some of the comments made have been negative towards fitness training for golfers and I...

read more

TEAM MFG BLOG

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