Opinion & Analysis
The Frost Delay: Building a fitness routine
So I’d better start this out with an admission: I’m a pre-Tiger golfer. While he’s only one year my junior, anyone who learned the game before the aforementioned Mr. Woods took over understands just how different of a game golf used to be.
When I played the majority of my competitive rounds, Nike was a company that made basketball shoes. More than $25 was a lot to pay for a round, and most importantly, golfers didn’t workout.
This came from the top down. The tour was full of a bunch of skinny dudes (Paul Azinger, Payne Stewart, Corey Pavin), the occasional fat dude (Craig Stadler) and one dude who looked like he could beat them all up (Fred Couples). These were not “athletes” in the traditional sense. These were “golfers,” and until Tiger came into prominence, other “golfers” seemed totally cool with it.
In fact, after following a terribly unsuccessful freshman football season with a reasonably accomplished freshman golf season, my high school coach sat me down and had a heart to heart.
“Danny,” he said, “I talked to your football coach. We both agree that you’re never going to be Mike Singletary, and you’d probably be better served to spend your falls pounding range balls than getting slaughtered on his football field.”
Looking back, the man had a point.
However, the second I dropped football, I also dropped any sort of formal strength training — coach’s orders. As far as we knew back then, weight training was bad for a “golfer.” The logic was that the reduced flexibility and added strength would make it harder to maintain a consistent swing. The only strong dude I had ever played golf with was the late Derrick Thomas (who was a member at my country club), and to be honest, his muscles really did get in the way of his golf swing.
Obviously, the game has changed tremendously since then. My attitude toward fitness, however, has not. Don’t get me wrong, I love athletic activities — I used to ski 40 to 50 days a year when I lived in Denver. And I’ll happily play the Stockton to your Malone in a pick up game of hoops and, if it’s below 90 degrees outside I’d rather walk than ride. But I’d never spent an minute in the gym until last year.
I’m not sure if it was the realization that I was about to go from “a little doughy” to fat, or maybe it was in an effort to keep myself alive for a couple more years, but I the notion of getting my self in a bit better shape became non-negotiable. And to be honest, for the first three months of the year last year, I was really enjoying it. I felt stronger, slept better, tended to eat healthier and had a ton more energy — all good things for a father of three. But alas, life and work got in the way, and after a couple horrible weeks I fell off the wagon.
Getting back on the wagon
As I’ll be working out toward something this year (a better golf game versus general health), I’m going to separate my exercise into two separate types this go round: The first type is pretty obvious—it’s the kind of general health and fitness we should all seek and it will be the focus of this column. There are, however, some things we should look for as golfers when we design even a general workout. While this isn’t universal, I believe golfers should workout for strength and tone rather than to “bulk up.” This means lifting less weight and doing more reps. I’m sure that there’s an exception for every rule, but I’ve never played with a giant muscle head dude who could
- Break 80, or
- Hit the ball further than me at my skinniest
In my honest opinion, I don’t believe that giant pecs and arms that are so big that they can no longer lay static next to your body are conducive to a “proper” golf swing. I made a couple call to some instructors I know, and I didn’t hear anything that changed that assertion.
Now, back to the matter at hand. I consulted with a trainer last year and we settled into a circuit-based workout. This provides a couple of advantages for me: First, I have limited time, and I can generally get one of these workouts in over a lunch break. Second, I have the attention span of a gnat, so long cardio sessions are out for me. By combining strength training with my cardio I tend to keep more engaged and am less inclined to spend my hour at the gym staring at random shiny things.
Here’s my general strength/fitness program:
I start with a 5-to-10 minute warmup. I had a back surgery 15 years ago, so the treadmill tends to tear me up a bit. I’ll generally run one of the “programs” on the bike — usually something that has to do with a heartrate.
I move to the bench machine. I do three quick reps of 10 at 75 percent weight, monitoring my heart rate. The whole point of the circuit idea is to keep your heart pumping like you’re doing cardio.
The next step is the bicep machine. Again, I do three quick reps of 10 at 75 percent. Then I move to the shoulder press machine. Again, three reps of 10 at 75 percent.
My final upper body station is the lat bar. I tend to alternate between lat pulls and tricep push downs, each 10 at 75 percent.
Abs are next. I hate sit ups and crunches — I mean I seriously hate them. I find them both boring and miserable, so I tend to do less of the more difficult inverted situps. If it’s a day where I’m doing legs as well, I’ll generally do them to burnout (which is generally less than 50 if the bench is steep enough). Afterward, I do my leg excercises, and then do my abs to burnout again. If I’m not doing legs, I do them to burnout, give myself a minute, and do it again.
As I mentioned before, sometimes my schedule works out better to do a full workout three days a week, and sometimes it works out better to do six shorter workouts (alternating between upper and lower body with abs being the only constant). In the case of the latter, I’d hop back on the bike, ride it 5-10 more minutes, stretch and hit the shower. If it’s the former, we move on to legs.
I start out on the leg press. Back to the three reps of 10 at 75 percent.
I move on to the quad machine. Three of 10 at 75 percent.
I move to the inner thigh machine. Three of 10 at 75 percent
I then move to the hip flexor machine (this one beats me up for some reason). Three of 10 at 75 percent.
I finish with leg curls. Three of 10 at 75 percent.
I then cool down with 5-10 minutes on the bike, and finish with a five-minute general stretching session.
A couple additional notes on this workout:
I’m certain you could do a full circuit workout with free weights, and I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t do it all kinetically. I personally don’t like free weights (I’m always nervous some chic next to me is going to be lifting more) and don’t understand enough about the kinetic thing to have any advice on it, so this is what works best for me. Your milage my vary.
Sometimes I mix it up — I’ll do more weight with less reps, or less weight and more reps. I can’t tell you this is for any important reason other than sometimes I have a little less/more time and sometimes I just get bored.
Finally, it’s critical to let your muscles rest, as strength is essentially built by tearing up your muscles and letting them heal stronger. If you want to workout every day, you’ll need to either alternate from upper to lower body or one day of full-body and one day of cardio.
With all this being said, an exercise routine is a lot like a golf swing. Sometimes it’s cool to learn stuff on the Internet, but often it’s better to enlist the help of a professional (or in this case a trainer). I’d highly suggest at least a fitness consultation before starting a new workout program.
Click here for more discussion in the “Instruction & Academy” forum.
Next column: Golf specific flexibility and using training aids to increase “golf” strength.
- LIKE3
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK2
The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
- LIKE6
- LEGIT3
- WOW1
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP3
- OB1
- SHANK1
After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.
For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.
The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.
The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.
*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*
Past Winners at LIV Adelaide
- 2023: Talor Gooch (-19)
Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami
Green in Regulation
- Richard Bland
- Jon Rahm
- Paul Casey
Fairways Hit
- Abraham Ancer
- Graeme McDowell
- Henrik Stenson
Driving Distance
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Joaquin Niemann
- Dean Burmester
Putting
- Cameron Smith
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Matt Jones
2024 LIV Adelaide Picks
Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)
When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.
At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.
The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.
Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)
Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.
In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.
For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.
- LIKE12
- LEGIT3
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP1
- OB1
- SHANK1
Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.
Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.
But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.
To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.
Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.
If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.
In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.
Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.
While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.
So, what about grooves and face texture?
Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.
Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.
But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?
The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.
So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.
And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.
- LIKE32
- LEGIT7
- WOW1
- LOL1
- IDHT2
- FLOP3
- OB1
- SHANK3
Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
John Daly stuns fans into silence with brutal opening tee shot on PGA Tour Champions
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)...
Rory McIlroy WITB 2024 (April)
Rory McIlroy what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus...
Sam Burns WITB 2024 (April)
Sam Burns’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees...
Will Zalatoris WITB 2024 (April)
Will Zalatoris’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)...
-
19th Hole2 weeks agoDave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole2 weeks agoTiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
-
19th Hole1 day ago‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
-
19th Hole3 weeks agoReport: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole2 days agoJustin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
-
19th Hole1 week agoTwo star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
-
19th Hole1 week agoReport: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
-
19th Hole1 week agoNeal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
Cris
Feb 19, 2014 at 1:54 pm
This is one of the most ill-informed articles I’ve ever read. We should start asking for specific credentials before we allow nonsense like this to be posted. It can really hurt people. The comment below from Ryan is substantially more accurate.
kcslonghitter
Jan 30, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Great Article it helped me understand that some of me problems may not be another swing lesson, but an increase in Body mobility
Ryan
Nov 30, 2012 at 12:32 pm
I think a lot of people are misinformed on this subject. I agree that bulky muscles are not ideal for golf but in order to get stronger you should be working with more weight and less reps, and not circuit training. Strength training will not give you bulky muscles. Strength is largely due to training your nervous system to send stronger signal to your muscles and muscle size is largely down to hypertrophy, the breaking down and regrowth of muscle you mentioned.
I believe anyone serious about improving their athletic ability should fragment their training. Strength training separately in order to get the most return for your time invested. Proper stretching routines to stay flexible and then separate cardio if they feel fitness is an issue.
It’s a myth that the above cannot be achieved without a large amount of time invested. The focus should be on quality not quantity; proper warm-ups and one or two intense working sets. This approach will get you in and out of the gym faster, stop you getting bored and keep you coming back, improving.
Circuit training is fine if you just want a generic workout but it won’t allow you to focus enough on each component (strength, power, cardio, flexibility) or let you have the energy to commit to each component 100% and progress as quickly as you should be in each separate area.
I would also avoid ‘golf-specific’ training if you’re trying to hit the ball further. I guarantee you ‘ll hit the ball further if you increase your deadlift or squat by 50 lbs than if you can do 100 press ups on a Bosu ball and pull a cable to mimick your golf swing. Lower body strength is the key.
Everyone needs to find what works for them based on their personal preference, goals and limitations, but I submit that circuit training is second to a number of other methods in the pursuit of athletic improvement.
Having said all that, improving your physique is 90% diet, exercising is the easy part!
fitnessforever
Nov 29, 2012 at 9:51 pm
While I commend you on working out, your workouts are as pretty old school and don’t do much service to your body. Routines like you posted become tiresome, repetitive, and will NOT provide the results your are looking for after your body gets used to the workouts. There’s plenty of research out there that shows after repeating the same workout a few times, it becomes ineffective. This type of training will undoubtably lead to plateauing.
To be more effective, look for workouts that use plenty of energy within a short timespan, require more explosive movements (pushups, burpees, squat jumps, etc), use body weight and weighted movements, and utilize aerobics during and in-between sets. Otherwise, you’ll end up where you started if you continue to do the old school “circuit training.”