Celebrate National Golf Month by Warming Up and Cooling Off

Back in 1993, the Professional Golf Association deemed August National Golf Month. For the golf obsessed, this is a great excuse to get out and play a round with family and friends. The month-long celebration is a way to promote the game and introduce new people to the sport.

Tiger Woods was 17 in 1993 and had won the last of his three straight U.S. junior amateur championships. For the majority of the golfing world and certainly for those in the mainstream, not much was known about this 17-year-old from California, but golf insiders thought he could be golf’s next great champion. Fast forward to April 1997. “Tiger Mania” was about to explode, and the “win for the ages” at The Masters cemented him as golf’s best player and changed how golf was perceived as a sport.

Before Tiger Woods, golf was considered a soft sport, one where you didn’t need to be at peak physical fitness to play. Tiger’s influence changed how golfers around the world approach fitness and nutrition.

With advancements in sports medicine and nutrition, we now recognize the importance of a pre-round warm-up, (no, not just showing up 15 minutes before your tee time and hitting a few balls on the range) to your game – and your physical health. Without a proper warm-up and hydration, we are setting ourselves up for failure and possible injury.

It is recommended that you start a solid round of stretching before you get to the golf course, with a focus on your core, back, elbows, shoulders, hips and knees. With proper stretching, you will increase your flexibility and help prevent injury.

Nutrition and hydration can also affect your performance – and eating the right foods is key. These are some examples of good nutritional foods.

Hydration is probably the most important issue when on the golf course. On an average day, your body loses up to 64 ounces of water. Playing a round of golf in the summer heat, you’re likely losing far more fluids, and failing to replace it can have serious consequences. Drinking a quart of water per hour will keep you hydrated. A good rule of thumb is to multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 2/3 to determine how much water you should be drinking. Avoid alcoholic beverages until the round is over.

Also, make sure to apply sunscreen (30-50 SPF) on your skin before you head to the course and reapply every nine holes. Also, a hat and golf apparel with UPF 30-50 are recommended.

So, before you celebrate National Golf Month with a round of golf, be sure to stretch, hydrate, apply sunscreen and eat something nutritious.

Most of all – have fun and play well.

Andrew Colburn is the man behind the machine (X-ray, that is) at Boca Grande Health Clinic. Before committing to healthcare full-time, he spent nine years as the assistant golf pro at the Coral Creek Golf Club, while also working part-time at the Punta Gorda hospital as a CAT scan tech. Andrew joined the Boca Grande Health Clinic in September 2022. Golf remains his passion.