Walking Turnberry's fairways last week during his near-victory of the British Open, Tom Watson was anything but a tired old duffer. The lean 59-year-old was nailing tee shots and blasting irons, nearly becoming the oldest player to ever win a major.
And while Mr. Watson may have lost in a playoff, he is proof, experts say, that anyone who wants to play good golf well into their 50s and beyond better starting paying attention to the importance of physical fitness.
“In terms of improving your performance on the golf course, it can make a huge difference,” says Greg D. Wells, an exercise physiologist with the Royal Canadian Golf Association and director of physiology for the Canadian Sports Centre.
The idea of golf fitness is relatively new, says Dr. Wells. Only in the era of Tiger Woods – a player known for having a ripped physique – has the concept come to the fore. And while there are plenty of beer-bellied duffers out there, developing a proper fitness regimen can not only lower scores, it can decrease the likelihood of injuries, making it a key facet of the game, especially for players in their Watson years.
“We know that the decrement of physical performance over time can be lessened much more by a prudent training program,” says Rob Lloyd-Smith, a primary care physician at the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre in Vancouver.
The ideal golf fitness regimen involves five key areas, says Dr. Wells: cardio, strength training, balance, stretching and developing core strength. “If you can train those five things, in general you're going to be incredibly healthy, and your golf game is going to benefit from that immensely,” says Dr. Wells.
Developing a proper fitness regime is relatively easy, he says: Do some form of cardiovascular exercise at least three times a week for 30 to 40 minutes; hit the gym and do push-ups or weight-lifting a couple of times a week; and stretch for a few minutes every day. To better your balance, stand on one leg for 30 seconds every day and to boost core strength, do a few crunches or a few back arches most days.
“It's really, really important for preventing things like lower back pain but also things like helping you be more accurate when you play out of the sand or out of the rough, because that's when the core really gets engaged,” says Dr. Wells.
Those who doubt the importance of cardio, take heed: A study Dr. Wells conducted earlier this year showed that Canada's national team players with the best cardiovascular fitness are also the players who have the lowest scoring average, take the fewest putts, have the most accurate chipping and have the highest carry distance and ball speed. Strong cardio not only prevents fatigue from setting in, it also helps a player to quickly lower her heart rate and thus better able to calm down and focus, says Dr. Wells.
Perhaps most importantly for older golfers who face decreasing muscle mass and joint degeneration, developing a fitness regimen can decrease the chances of injury. “Typically, we find the kids with the best core strength and the most flexible hamstrings, they simply do not get injured in their lower back,” says Dr. Wells. “I'm sure that that translates to older people taking up the game.”
Golf may not be as punishing as getting checked into the boards or tackled on the gridiron, but the repetitive and asymmetrical nature of the swing can lead to a broad range of injuries, from torn rotator cuffs to knee pain, especially in older players, says Dr. Lloyd-Smith.
The growing recognition of the importance of physical fitness comes at a time as more older people are taking up the game. Golf participation among seniors – considered 55 or older – rose from 14.2 per cent in 2001 to 20.6 per cent in 2006, according to an Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of the RCGA.
While more older people are taking up the game, many still don't recognize the importance of physical fitness. “A lot of senior golfers accept physical decline, and they expect that as they get older their game will get worse,” says Mike Pederson, an Arizona-based golf conditioning expert. It's hard to make that case when Mr. Watson nearly won the British Open at 59, says Mr. Pederson.
“If I were in my 50s or later and started losing hope in golf and I watched Tom Watson playing against guys half his age, I would be like, ‘Hey, I can get out there and still make this happen.'” Indeed, Mr. Watson's performance at the British Open has opened a lot of people's eyes to the fact that golf is a physically demanding game that can be played at a top level by people in their later years, says Dr. Wells. “He's inspired people all over the world to reconsider what golf is and what they're capable of doing well into their 50s and 60s,” he says.