Player’s Corner 15TH CLUB
No Time Like the Present The winter of our discontent for the 50-plus golfer? Not if you make the commitment to an off-season fitness routine. To play better next season, get to work right now. By Neil Wolkodoff GIVEN THE INCREASED number of rounds played in the summer and fall, the winter might be a needed break if you are a golfer over 50. Yet the next couple of months are critical to how you approach your fitness and health heading into next season. First, let’s look at some numbers: on average, you likely played two or three times per week and probably walked more than you normally would. You might have walked for exercise once more per week, yet made no trips to the gym for aerobic or strength training. Your
golf was at least as good as normal, maybe a bit better because you were able to fine-tune your swing and tendencies. Let’s call this person Greg Golfer (for the sake of application, she can also be Ginny Golfer; the basic physiological relationships and axioms are applicable)—how does he or she approach the off-season, perhaps with the goal of improving their fitness, and maybe even dropping a few pounds? The average 50-plus golfer is a complex mix of sports activities, regular exercise, genetics,
medical history and even medications. The guidelines presented here need to be tempered with your individual factors, whether you do that in consultation with your physician or a trained health professional. Not surprisingly, the older golfer functions very differently at 63 than at 25. Possibly the worst thing Greg can do is approach the offseason using the training program of someone on the PGA TOUR or a similar caliber player. Those guys want to hit it a little further, whereas Greg (or Ginny) should be concerned with not losing
GO YOUR OWN WAY: Rather than copying the routine of a tour professional, the average golfer should ease into an off-season fitness program.
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Winter 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
