Dehydration While Playing Golf. Is This Your Problem On The Back Nine ?

This is a post from Ian Hardy, well worth reading. If you have not already caught up with Ian and his Blog, this is the link http://golfhabits.com/   Why you need to seriously consider drinking while playing golf Posted: 19 May 2013 02:31 PM PDT “I learned you can’t drink whiskey and play golf.” – John Daly By Ian Hardie Ever had a round of golf that the further you went The harder ‘work’ it seemed? You felt more and more tired as you went along You struggled to concentrate Your body temperature increased so much that you started to feel uncomfortable And no matter how well you were playing in your previous round or practice session Your technique and abilities seemed to have completely disappeared? A lot of golfers apparently do And it comes down to a simple thing Those golfers that experience what I have described above Aren’t drinking on the golf course Well actually to be more correct, it would be more like They are not drinking enough before they play and while on the golf course Turns out that drinking while playing golf Is incredibly important In fact I would go so far as to say it should be compulsory to Drink water while playing golf and lots of it! What did you think I was talking about? Before you go any further though – this is going to get a bit technical And potentially outside my area of expertise So make sure you read my Disclaimer before you go on The states described above are symptoms of something called Dehydration Which occurs when the body eliminates a greater quantity of water Or receives a lesser amount than it requires To adequately cover its needs during an activity Considering that most golfers either don’t take a drink or if they do They take one that would be less than a litre in size Most golfers potentially suffer dehydration to some degree Nearly every round they play Mainly because instead of keeping themselves fully hydrated during the round They generally only react to their feelings of ‘thirst’ Which apparently because they take a bit of time to come to us Only do so once we have water loss of around 1 – 1.5% of body weight And you might think that’s not that important Until you read the following; The elimination during a round of more than 2% of body weight by dehydration reduces our physical capacity by between 5% and 10% That’s a pretty big decline in performance! One that is basically influenced by our water intake during a round And it gets worse; More than 3% loss of weight by dehydration during a round lowers the capacity of muscle contraction by more than 20% and muscle cramps can begin The scariest fact that I found; If during a round you had more than 8% loss of body weight by dehydration there may be a serious risk of death I’m pretty sure that’s not ideal! So it seems there is a fine line between feeling thirsty on the golf course Which most experts will agree is actually too late to start drinking water And becoming badly dehydrated on the way around As for the effect that this dehydration can have on golfers performance I found this brief study summary ‘EFFECT OF ACUTE MILD DEHYDRATION ON COGNITIVE-MOTOR PERFORMANCE IN GOLF Smith M.F., Newell A.J., Baker M.R (2011)’ Which was done on 7 low handicap amateur golfers a couple of years back The numbers are pretty sobering It looks like they started by having the golfers perform three skill tests as a base line Target accuracy, distance control and total distance The study then induced a 2% dehydration in the golfers Which with the average weight of participants being 75kg Means the golfers lost 1.5kg from dehydration during their round They then tested the golfers skills using the same tests as prior to their round The average base line target accuracy was 4.1m before Which nearly halved to 7.9m after only 2% dehydration The golfers distance control of 4.8m Suffered similarly, moving out to a 8.4m variation The total distance of their shots (I’m not sure how this was measured) Went from 128.6m base line Down to 114.4m after 2% dehydration Does that go some way to explaining how sometimes on the golf course It just doesn’t go as you think it should? I’m going to cover how to work out the amount you need to drink while on the golf course And a few other things about hydration In ‘Why you need to seriously consider drinking while playing golf – part two’ soon Until then take some water with you if you don’t already And of course Drink it before you feel thirsty! Play well

Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Jennifer Johnson Wins.

Jennifer Johnson won the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic at RTJ Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove, the Crossings Course, breaking the Tournament record with -21 under par score.

Jennifer Johnson / Getty Images

Jennifer fired in a final round -7 under par 65, for a tournament total of -21 under par,  to become a deserved Rolex first-time winner at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic in Mobile Alabama. She confessed to being a little shocked at the result;

” I’m a little shocked, I didn’t even realize I shot 65. The whole back nine was kind of like a; I don’t know, I don’t know what was happening.  And yeah, the birdie putt on 17, that’s when I started to think a little bit more about winning the tournament, on 17.  A little bit on the front nine, but you can’t afford to think about that. Before I hit my birdie putt on 17, I saw that Pornanong was tied with me at 20 and I didn’t want a playoff so I was like, I’m going to make this thing. The putter has kind of been the missing link all the tournaments because I’m hitting the ball so well and when they go in, it really helps score. Before this week I had experimented with more of a forward press and it just doesn’t fit my style of putting.  So I worked with my coach on making it kind of more like a pendulum and this new putter that I put in play really emphasizes that, and so I can like stroke it easier and I don’t have to work as hard to get it like rolling on line.”

Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum raced up the leaderboard with a run of five birdies on the back nine,  including three-consecutively, to close out the round as the clubhouse leader at -20 under par.

Tied with Pornanong at -20 under par was Jessica Korda.  Pornanong had three putted the first hole, three days on the trot. She said it was something about that 1st hole;

“  I think like the 1st hole I three‑putt like, yeah. every day, three‑putt. Just the thing about the 1st hole, just keep going with what I have to do. I just concentrate on my game and do what I have to do and try my best, yeah, and putting very good today, so like just didn’t have pressure on myself today.”

There was a whole bunch of ladies at T4 on -19 under par, Jiyai Shin, Ariya Jutanugarn, Karrie Webb, Anna Nordqvist and Chella Choi.

Defending Champion Stacy Lewis finished T6 at -18 under par, and said she had just been concentrating on making birdies all day;

” I was just trying to make birdies.  It wasn’t really until probably the last five or six holes that I really started paying attention to what people were doing.  You just try to make as many birdies as you could.  It was fun there at the end, though, because Jennifer was making putts and I don’t think she realized what she was doing.  I told her when I hugged her, I said, I think you just won yourself a golf tournament, and she’s kind of like, what?  It was really cute.  But she played great today.”

As the final scores show, this was a hotly contested tournament, all credit to the professional Ladies of the LPGA.

Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Chella Choi Trumps Anna Nordqvist.

Chella Choi has the third round lead at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, at the RTJ Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove Crossings Course in Alabama.

Chella Choi / AP

Chella shot a second consecutive round of -6 under par 66, to take the lead in the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic by just one shot at -17 under par for the tournament.

Anna Nordqvist had an amazing third round of -11 under par 61, which catapulted her up the leaderboard, sharing second place with Jessica Korda at -16 under par.

Jessica had a more modest third round of -3 under par, 69.

Karrie Webb is in fourth spot, she also had a -3 under par 69 in the third round, for her total of -15 under par.

Stacy Lewis, the defending Champion had a wonderful third round of -9 under par 63, which has put her well and truly into contention for this tournament, and retain her title as Mobile Bay Champion. Stacy is now in fifth place at -13 under par, four shots back of the leader.

Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Korda Climbs to the Top

Jessica Korda climbed to the top of the leaderboard at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic with second round of -7 under par 65, for a total of -13 under par.

Jessica Korda / LPGA

Jessica said she felt comfortable;

” I feel really comfortable out here, this is definitely one of the stops I wanted to come back to and I hope we can keep this event as long as possible out here because I really like it. I feel good. Today actually I didn’t have one shot where I was kind of;  kind of windswept or anything so it was good, it’s definitely moving in the right direction. I saw Sydnee, I saw she was like -8 under through 12. Like dang, that’s getting it done today. But no, not really, I kind of just went out here with really no mindset. Just come out here, try and hit good shots and convert when you can and kind of take your punishments when you have to.”

Karrie Webb is alone in second place after her magnificent round of -9 under par 63, gave her a tournament score of -12 under par.

Karrie,  played alongside of Jessica, and remarked she would need to keep up with her bogey free rounds, to keep up with her opponent, she is just one shot back at -12 under.

” I think I’ll need to do that for the weekend playing with Jess, she played really solidly for two days. I’m not sure the last time I had a bogey‑free round, so I’m really happy about that. That’s sort of been my problem is I have bogeys at the wrong time and it really kills momentum. That’s what happened yesterday, I turned at 2‑under and then doubled 1 and bogeyed 2 and all of a sudden I’m at 1‑over. I just was really happy with that fight back yesterday to finish at 3‑under and I think that really carried over into today and it was nice to play today without any bogeys.”

Chella Choi occupies third spot, a second round of -6 under par 66 lifted her clear of the bunch on -10 under par. She is dreaming of her first win;

” Maybe my first win, I’m just kidding. My shot is really good, my shot is really good and my distance is better than before than last year. My putting it’s not bad, but bad then last year, so I tried really hard on my putting, focus my putting like 80 percent putting, just 20 percent shot. So shot is same, my condition is same, shot, everything same, but putting is much better than before, last tournament.”

Stacy Lewis could only manage another -2 under par round, and is now at -4 under par, nine shots off the lead, she admitted she made too many mistakes;

”  I just made a bunch of birdies and just didn’t ; made too many mistakes and you can’t do it when people are shooting lights out.”

Notables missing the cut, which was at even par;

Moriya Jutanugarn, Brittany Lincicombe, Felicity Johnson and ex wonder kid Michelle Wie.

 

 

Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Lexi Thompson & Eun-Hee Ji Share 1st Round Lead.

Lexi Thompson and Eun-Hee Ji share the lead after the conclusion of the first round in the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, played on the RJT Golf Trail Magnolia Grove, Crossings Course, in Alabama.

Lexi Thompson / LPGA

Lexi Thompson and Eun-Hee Ji both shot first rounds of -7 under par, 65, to share the lead at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. They lead by just one shot from Jessica Korda, who had a -6 under par, 66 and is in third place alone.

Lexi said she was working on her momentum;

” I love the par fives here, I get to hit pretty much driver on every hole out here so it’s definitely an advantage for me. I definitely had some momentum, I made a few birdies at the end of my first nine. I was hitting it pretty close and I drained a few putts. So I was just taking one shot at a time, not trying to get ahead of myself because it’s golf, anything can happen, and I was lucky enough to make a few more birdies on the second nine.”

Lexi finished her round on the ninth hole, with a birdie. She was happy to regain the shot she dropped on the 1st;

“ Yeah, that was a good shot to end on, I just had a three‑quarter pitching wedge and just committed to it. I actually came out of a shot on the first, and the last hole and just scratched that.”

Eun-Hee, the 2009 U.S. Womens Open Champion, said she had a good day putting;

” I felt really good with my putting today, if I had 5- or 10-foot putts, I felt like I could make it. So I was really focused on it and I was really positive with my putter. I just like a really fast green, this is really fast and in really good shape on the course. I just like it.”

Defending Champion Stacy Lewis was upset that nothing seemed to go her way today;

” I didn’t really have anything go right today. I had one ball hit the sprinkler and go in the trees and one hit the cart path and go in the trees.”

I know that feeling well, amazing how it all goes wrong, all day.

 

First Win with White Dragon Putter

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have just heard that a White Dragon Putter customer has recorded a win in a competition.

New Zealand, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club member Brent Hartridge, won the Sunday Stableford competition, with a points score of 41 with a round of 86. Congratulations to Brent, who when speaking in the members lounge after his round said;

” I did not three putt once today”

Another good report came from Steve, in London, who put a message on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whitedragon/150707995082605

Message read;

“Using White Dragon putter superb will not be going back to Ping putter”

Thanks for the Likes on our Facebook page, if you are a fan of White Dragon Golf please go and click on the like button while your checking out Steve’s message.

“

Lydia Ko in Japan. World Ladies Championship.

Lydia Ko / Getty Images

Lydia Ko, the Worlds number one amateur player has finished in a share of fourth place in the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup in Japan. Lydia continues to impress people from around the world with her good golf and easy happy manner. Lydia had a final round of -4 under par,68 and finished the tournament at -5 under par, just four shots off the lead. She said of her time in Japan;

” I have enjoyed my week up here.”

Lydia’s next assignment on her world professional event calendar is to tackle the LPGA Championship at Rochester, New York, USA.

The Salonpas Cup event in Japan was won by 36 year-old Mogi Hiromi, with a winning score of -9 under par for the tournament at the Ibaraki Golf Club.

Mogi Hiromi

L.E.T. Turkish Airlines Ladies Open. Lee-Ann Sets the Pace

Lee-Ann Pace won the L.E.T. Turkish Airlines Ladies Open on the tough par 73 National Golf Club at Antalya, Turkey. She had set the pace and was sitting in the club-house waiting to see if anyone could equal her total of -3 under par for the tournament.

Lee-Ann Pace / L.E.T.

Lee-Ann had a final round of -1 under par 72, to come from behind and chase down Charley Hull and Carlota Ciganda and win by just one shot. Both Charley and Carlota had birdie attempts on the last hole to force a play-off. Carlota lipped out and Charley grazed the edge of the hole, both of them finishing on -2 under par. Lee-Ann said it was a heart stopping moment;

” My heart stopped for a while, for a beat, but you know, if it happens, it happens. We may have had to go to a play-off but I was just hitting some putts and trying not to look. It’s so nice to win again. It’s been a while and to do it again is fantastic. It’s definitely one of the toughest golf courses, also because the greens get quite a lot harder at the end of the week and quicker. It’s a very tight golf course so of course you have to keep the ball in play.”

Carlota said she had tried hard to win, but congratulated Lee-Ann;

“ I’ve been playing good but today wasn’t like the days before. I didn’t hit the ball that good and I only hit 12 greens compared to 15 or 16 the other days. It was a bit tough but I tried until the end. I finished with one birdie on the last five holes and until the end I was trying to fight, but only one person can win and Lee-Anne played great so congratulations to her.”

Rookie Charley just seventeen, finished equal second for the third time in as many tournaments. Charley was a bit annoyed with the result but was at least pleased to have at least parred the last hole, the previous three rounds she had bogied it every time;

” I’m pleased but just a bit annoyed. At least I parred the last, I didn’t play very good on the first 11 holes. The back nine, I played a lot better. I seem to perform better when I’m under pressure and I have to chase, like the last couple of holes. I just edged my putt on 17 and literally edged the hole on 18 and I thought I had it, but it was a good try. I’ve had three second place finishes in my first three tournaments so I just want to win one now.”

Charley can not believe her last putt did not drop / L.E.T.

L.E.T. Turkish Airlines Ladies Open. Two Tied At The Top

There are two players tied at the top of the L.E.T. Turkish Airlines Ladies Open at the conclusion of the third round at the National Golf Club in Antalya, Turkey. Carlota Ciganda from Spain and England’s Charley Hull sit atop the leaderboard at -4 under par.

Charley Hull / L.E.T.

English rookie Charley Hull is attempting to win her first L.E.T. event and her third round score of -4 under par 69 has catapulted her to the top of the leaderboard for the start of play in the final round tomorrow. She has had two second place finishes already this year, at the  Lalla Meryem Cup and also the South African Women’s Open.

Charley was happy with her third round apart from the three putt on the last hole today;

” It was a really good round but I’m very disappointed because I three-putted the last hole. I haven’t parred that hole yet, It was a really good day but I’m a bit annoyed. You want to be as good as you can. I didn’t expect anything but I played in quite a few events last year and did well and I felt like I was playing well so I kind of did expect. I wanted to come out with a bang, and I have.”

Carlota Ciganda / L.E.T.

Carlota had a third round of -1 under par 72, but thought she had played better than that score;

” I did one-under today, so I think it’s good to make under par on this course, I think I played better than the result. I missed a few putts out there and I’m happy because I’m at the top and there is one more day so I’m going to try my best. I hit good shots, very solid off the tee, so I’m going to try to keep it up.”

Alone in third place is defending champion  Christel Boeljon, her fabulous third round of -6 under par, 67, has put her right back into the mix.

Christel was pleased with today’s effort but rued yesterdays 78;

” A good round, I’m really happy with it and no bogeys, so my game felt really good and the stats are very good, so I’m really pleased. Yesterday, I felt like I didn’t get my rhythm. I didn’t get my tempo and I was fighting to find it all round long. Today, the swing felt really solid; I had a good rhythm and therefore I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and made some good putts.  I know you can make bogeys here and I know you can make a lot of birdies. Its not easy, so if you have a good round, it’s a really good round, but if you have a bad round, it can go fast. I’m happy to be back near the leaders. I don’t know how they are going to finish but it’s nice to be close and we’ll see what tomorrow brings. Tomorrow I’m just going to try to do the same, play one shot at a time.”

The more experienced players made a move in the wrong direction on moving day, the younger ladies showed them the way. Trish Johnson, now in a share of fourth at  -2 under and Laura Davies sharing tenth at +1 over par lost out. Carmen Alonso  ended the day back in a share of 15^th on two over par after a six-over 79.

L.E.T.Turkish Airlines Ladies Open. Trio At The Top

On the Ladies European Tour there is a trio of ladies tied at the top of the leaderboard at the half way stage of the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open.

Laura Davies, Trish Johnson and Carmen Alonso are all tied at -4 under par for the tournament at National Golf Club, at Antalya Turkey.

First round leader Carlota Ciganda watches Laura Davies tee off / LET

Laura did not think this course suited her game, but that she putted well for her -3 under par round of 69;

” It’s not a course that I generally think suits my game because it’s pure precision golf and obviously I’m not known for that, but it just shows that a bit of discipline, you can actually get it round. I putted well today which is something I haven’t done for the last 18 months. I really holed two very good par putts and they are almost more important than the birdie putts. Finishing the last with those three shots was great.”

Trish Johnson / LET

Trish was talking to reporters about her -2 under par second round of 71 when Laura made birdie on the 18th green;

” I think Laura’s just made birdie at eighteen, which is typical, always taking the limelight away. I played well, played sensibly. It was tough today, hard work. You can see from the scores no one’s really made a load of birdies. Pins were tough, tricky conditions and it just felt like a day for hanging in there really. My short game’s good, my putting is good; most of its good, so hopefully two more days and we’ll see how it goes.”

Carmen Alonso / LET

Carmen was really happy to be joint leader, especially after she struggled for a double bogey on hole eight;

” I’m really happy to be the leader and to be in the tournament, so nothing to say, no complaints!”

First round leader Carlota Ciganda is just one shot back of the leaders at -3 under par, she also fell to a double bogey, on twelve, but also threw in two bogey’s, she struggled on the par fives today;

” I’m still there in the mix. I had a good day of playing golf and from tee to green it was really good but then I had a few holes where I didn’t hit the ball that well and that was on the par fives. I made a few mistakes on those, a double and two bogeys, so that was a bit hard.

It is really tight at the top, and the par 73 lay-out is proving to be a tough test, maybe the experience of Laura Davies or Trish Johnson will be enough to overcome the talented bunch of youngsters.