Best Golf Recovery Routine for Golfers
In this article we share the best recovery tips after a round of golf takes a toll on the body and back.
- Hydration strategy for optimal performance
- Refueling
- Physical
- Psychological
Tip #1: Hydration
Hydration can affect the performance of golfers. Performance can be adversely affected with only 1 percent dehydration. Dehydration limits the capacity of your body to filter out the chemicals and waste products that your system generates during your workout.
The fluid loss must be replaced during and after your golf course round for recovery and success. Constantly rehydrating during your round helps to sustain your level of hydration rather than waiting for a few bottles to down at once.
Isotonic sports beverages such as Powerade, Lucozade & Gatorade are the best rehydrating drinks during your cycle since they have similar amounts of salt and sugar that your body loses in practice.
Resource: Foy Golf Academy Practice System – Lower Your Golf Scores Fast
Hypertonic beverages are better performed after round rehydration since their carbohydrate content increases by 10 percent. This helps to restore the energy of your body. Also, for each kilogram of body weight lost during exercise, you have to substitute a liter of water.
The recommended water intake is ½ body weight in ounces of water. So, for a 200-pound male, that means 100 ounces of water per day. This number should increase if it is exceedingly hot out and/or if you a prone to sweating a lot.
It is important to begin consuming water at least 2 hours before activity. Here is a good hypothetical schedule recommendation from TPI for a hydration plan for a 10 am golf round:
- 8 am: drink 15-20% of daily water
- 10 am: Tee off, during your round try to drink 40-50% of water
- Try to drink 12-14 ounces every 6 holes (42-54 ounces in total)
- After round: continue to drink the remaining 30-45% over the day.
Resource: How to Break 100, 90, 80 Golf Scores
Tip #2: Refueling
Your diet as a golfer is critical before, during, and after your rounds for refueling. Make sure you eat a healthy diet to help the body heal quickly and efficiently.
Lean proteins and vegetables are perfect as an after-meal because they help to recover your muscles and the carbohydrates refresh your capacity.
It is necessary to try to make sure your food or snacks fit into your workout. One of the positive things about golf is that it helps you to have healthy snacks when you’re golfing.
Tip #3: Physical
Using a sports therapist is vital to help recovery between rounds, and also to prevent injury. You can use a spray roller or massage ball as a self-massage if you can’t have access to a therapist.
Alternative cold and heat treatment also speeds up healing in the form of hot and cold baths.
Finally, it is very important to stretch between rounds, not only to increase flexibility and the range of movement but also in the future to avoid muscle strains.
Tip #4: Psychological
This can be achieved if you spend an hour or two after your round of games, where you played well and which areas you need to focus on before your next round.
This is vital because once you do that you can move on emotionally and don’t care about traumatic events during the last round. The mental side of golf takes its toll on you.
Sleep is also a vital strategic psychological recovery because it lets you relax so you will be reinvigorated and ready to practice and design your approach for the next round when you wake up.
Checkout our golf mental game ebook
Tip #5: Foam rolling
The short-term effect of foam or roll massager seems to increase joint ROM without adversely affecting the muscle performance and may help you to attenuate muscle performance and DOMS decreases after vigorous exercise.
Foam rolling will help you to lower any muscle pain following exercise. If you do not know how exactly it works, it is recommended for you to roll foam after around to feel better. It’s simple and safe to do so.
Target areas that are stiff or sore after your round: calves, glutes, quads, back upper, and back lower. Try to roll on these areas for 3-5 minutes in total.
Here is a great foam roller form Amazon
Tip #6: Deep breathing/relaxation drills
Enabling our parasympathetic nervous system to relax and reduce muscles by positional diaphragm breathing is a tactic to use, particularly after golf. Golf can be a stressful mental and physical game, so it is important to develop a post-round physical and mental recovery.
The Golf Swing is a recurring activity based on extensions, and golfers with suboptimal mechanics usually experience more extension than mechanically sound golfers, especially through the lumbar spine. A significant principle is the ability to shift position and flex after the round.
- Modified Child’s Pose
- Deep Squat Lat Mobilizations
- 90/90 Deep Breathing
Read: Golf Yoga Poses & Breathing Drills
Tip #7: Gentle mobility drills
These exercises aim to shift positions with minimal loads and to re-establish the range of motion and mobility in areas where the golf swings are tight or limited. Smooth and relaxed, these exercises can help avoid too bad and steady. You can try the followings:
- Cat-Camel
- Side-lying Thoracic Rotations
- Quadruped Rock Backs
Tip #8: Light cardiovascular exercise
Whether aerobic light-intensity exercise will reduce the effects of DOMS after intense exercise. Lightweight aerobic exercise will potentially increase your cardiac rate, increase blood circulation to your muscles and remove metabolic waste.
Post-round aerobic activities are advisable to maintain at 3-5/10 intensity.
Bike, elliptical, or rowing machine for 5-10 minutes.
Give a try of these strategies before, during, and after the next golf round. Hopefully, after your tour, you will not feel sorry, steep, and want to move to the next round.
Resource: Foy Golf Academy Practice System – Lower Your Golf Scores Fast
Tip #9: Practice Self-Pliability
The use of a vibrating roller or sphere directly after a golf round helps to heal and relax the muscles so that they are folding to prevent soreness and injury.
Tip #10: Replenish Your Electrolytes
It is necessary to have electrolytes in your water during or after any round of golf, in particular when you lose electrolytes through sweat during hot days. A tiny squirt of electrolytes will give you back what you missed from sweat that day after the morning and after the golf.
Tip #11: Refuel your Body The Right Way
If you go into the 19th hole or go home, within 30 minutes of finishing the round the muscles need a source of protein preferably to help heal them. Try to pack a single powder or bar of protein in your golf bag for a simple solution. For the rest of the night, follow the Nutrition Guide for the best diet recommendations.
Tip #12: Take time to Reflect
Take the day to focus on your roundabout 10-20 minutes later. Evaluate your results and look forward to your next round of improvements. If you can write down your feelings, it will help you get closer to your target. Assess the mobility of your swing in three main areas – hip mobility, spine mobility, and stance.
Tip #13: Rest and active recovery
Unless you’re in a tournament, avoid playing a hard game two days in a row. Give your body time to relax between hard muscular exercises with sufficient sleep. Active rehabilitation requires mild activities, including walking. This helps the body recover and increases blood flow.
Tip #14: Put ‘em on ice
If you have acute soreness, the icing will minimize swelling and reduce discomfort for 20 minutes at a time. The use of 20 minutes of ice and 20 minutes of no ice is effective to aid recovery of pain and pace.
Tip #15: Compression
Wrapping an ace bandage with mild compression tends to minimize swelling and discomfort when you are very bad in one of your extremities.
Tip #16: Nutrition
Make sure that you consume sufficient protein to rebuild the muscles. Some research suggests that 2:1 of protein carbohydrates are taken on a workday to help with soreness.
Tip #17: Medicines
Analgesic creams such as Bengay and IcyHot can treat pain, but will not do much to heal the muscles more quickly. Taking an anti-inflammatory surgery (NSAID), such as ibuprofen or naproxen, can certainly help in acute muscle pain.
Try to blend turmeric into your diet for a natural cure without adverse side effects. This ancient Indian spice is an over-the-counter medicine-on-par natural fighting inflammatory drug.
General Q&A
How do you come back after a bad round of golf?
Do not go out for the next round to fire the best round. Just go to the course and concentrate on reaching the first fairway. After that, proceed to the next shot and repeat the process.
Where should I be sore after golf?
Target areas that appear to become round or sore: calves, glutes, quads, top back, and lower back. Try to roll on these areas for 3-5 minutes in total.
Golf Practice System for Lower Scores
Learn the exact golf practice routines thousands of students at Foy Golf Academy are using to lower their golf scores.
Follow these step by step practice plans and watch video lessons to learn how to improve your golf swing, chipping, and putting fundamentals.
Get access to hundreds of golf drills to practice as well as content on the mental side of golf, fitness plans, worksheets, and many more resources. This is a complete golf practice system.
Start Following These Practices —> Nick Foy Golf Practice System
Work hard,
Nick Foy, Instructor