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.

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Crumbles, Korean Bae Wins.

Korean Sang-Moon Bae won the HP Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Texas, with a last round of -1 under par, 69,  for a total of -13 under par. Keegan Bradley crumbled under the pressure and could only manage a last round of par, finishing two strokes behind the leader at -11 under par.

Sang-Moon Bae with his first PGA Tour Trophy/ Pennington / Getty Images

Sang-Moon said winning a PGA Tournament was something he had always dreamed of;

“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, winning on the PGA TOUR. It was surreal to have Mrs. Nelson there and with all the history, I was in awe, actually, so almost I didn’t know how to react.”

Sang-Moon’s  previous best finish on the PGA TOUR was a playoff loss to Luke Donald at the 2012 Tampa Bay Championship. He said he was happy that he played the back nine better;

” When my iron play came back in the latter part of the round, I had confidence. On that shot on 17, I knew it was short, and the wind pushed it over to the right, and I was happy and relieved that it turned out OK.”

Despite struggling all day Keegan was uplifted by a birdie putt on 15, and thought he could then go on and be the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to win this competition wire to wire;

“I’m pretty disappointed but Moon played very well. I just didn’t play great today, but I hung in there. I chipped away. When I made that putt on 15, I was pretty confident that I was going to win.”

South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters Champ, shot a last round of -2 under par, 68, to finish in third place on his own third at -10 under par.

 

 

 

European Tour. American Peter Uihlein Wins First Tour Event.

American Peter Uihlein won the European Tour, Madeira Islands Open, his first career win on the Tour.

Peter Uihlein with his first Trophy/ Getty Images

Peter’s nerveless last round of -4 under par, 68 and tournament total of -15 under par earned him a two-shot victory at Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra, in Portugal. He said he was thrilled and delighted with the victory;

” I’m just thrilled, to do it playing well on the back nine, coming down the stretch, is sweet. I know Morten played a heck of a round and Mark played really well so it was nice to come out on top. I just knuckled down I guess. It was all putting that did it today, I was just trying to free up and they started to roll in so it was nice. I hit some good putts coming down the stretch. When I was at the 17th I saw Morten was on 15 under and I thought it might have been a little more difficult but when I got to the 18th green I obviously saw he had dropped back. I’m just delighted to have won.”

This win confirmed to Peter that he had made the right choice in starting his professional career on the Challenge Tour and European Tour, on the advice of his father.

“ A year ago I wasn’t even thinking about playing, I was just really struggling, it’s a funny game. But I’ve learned a lot over the last year. When you’re struggling, it’s one of those things, you hate it when it happens but it’s almost the best thing that could happen to you. It definitely was for me and I’m pretty happy with how things turned out. You grow up quick out here and that was the main reason I came over. It’s been a good process so far and hopefully I can keep going.”

Tied in second place were  Morten Ørum Madsen and Mark Tullo, at -13 under par for the tournament.

Mark reported that it had been a positive week.

” It was a very positive week, I could have won this tournament. I had three bogeys from 100 yards today which hurt a lot, but hats off to Peter. He played really well on the back nine and that’s what you need to do to win tournaments. I didn’t do that but it was very close and that’s a positive. Maybe there’s something further along the road for me in a big tournament.”

Morten Ørum carded an impressive -5 under par, 67 to finish tied second alongside Mark, both on 13 under par. Unfortunately for Morten his score included a six, on the last hole.

As Peter Uihlein said, it is the putting that makes the difference, that’s what I keep telling everyone, so if you are struggling with your putter you should consider using a White Dragon Putter.

 

Volvo World Match Play Championship. G-Mac Wins

G-Mac, Graeme McDowell, won the Volvo World Match Play Championship. beating Thongchai Jaidee 2&1 in the final round at Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort in Bulgaria.

G-Mac with the coveted Trophy / Getty Images

Graeme had to come from behind to beat Thongchai Jaidee in the final round of the Volvo World Match Play, he was last years runner-up, and was determined to go one better this year. One down at the turn G-Mac had a winning streak of three wins in four holes, which was enough for him to lift the Trophy.

G-Mac was elated to finally add his name to the illustrious trophy;

 ” Obviously a nice day and a great trophy. I talked about it all week about the prestige of this event and how many great champions, and nice to add my name to that list of legends. We talked a lot about what Volvo have done with this event, what they have done with golf around the world and coming to Bulgaria this week obviously was a brave move, but I think it’s paid off. Sitting here with the trophy I’m going to say great things about the place but I think if you talk to all the players, I think everyone enjoyed themselves, everyone enjoyed the golf course. It was a little bit more tentative this afternoon. It was tough to keep that level of golf up all weekend, and the key putts really this afternoon were with the par saves on nine and ten , they were massive.  I sensed from Thongchai after that that he was starting to fatigue a little bit; I really sensed a bit of an opening. I just had to hit the shots and I did that well coming down the stretch. The mistake he made on 14 and then the birdie I made on 15 was really the telling stuff. “

“Like I say, it’s great to put my name on the trophy. I’m looking across to see Montgomerie and Westwood just popping off the trophy at me, great European Tour legends, Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, the history of this event, it’s fantastic. This feels really, really like a special win. I’m sure Volvo are going to work hard to take this tournament from strength to strength and get it back as one of the premiere events, one of the special events on The European Tour season, which it needs to be. Els, Montgomerie, Westwood, Ballesteros, Norman, Lyle, Faldo, Player, Palmer, it’s just crazy stuff really. To thrust yourself into that – to have your name on a trophy this cool is pretty special.I’ll drink a couple of cold ones tonight and enjoy this. This is a special moment in my career, no doubt about it. Wins are super special, two in five weeks, that’s great. I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

Final Results, winners in Blue.

Semi Finals

 Thomas AIKEN 3&2 Thongchai JAIDEE 

 Branden GRACE 3&2 Graeme MCDOWELL 

 

Final

 Thongchai JAIDEE 2&1 Graeme MCDOWELL 

 

 

Beckham The Best. Retires From The Game of Football

David Beckham waves Good-Bye to the Paris Saint-Germain Supporters. / PA

David Beckham was undoubtedly one of the Best English players to grace the football pitches of the World in the modern game. He gave his all for his Country, putting in some marvelous match winning performances along the way. I for one was certain England would once again win the World Cup with David playing in the team. Sadly that did not happen, but it does not in any way diminish the contribution that David has made to football, for his country and for all the teams he played for. Paris Saint-Germain won the Ligue 1 title with David in the team, he only signed for them in January.

David was full of emotion after the whistle, explaining that he loved Paris and hoped to remain in the City in his playing retirement. He hinted that he might even stay at Paris Saint-Germain, in some other capacity;

” To finish my career here is special. Paris is the most beautiful place in the world. I’m sad to go. I feel a lot of satisfaction and emotion. Tonight is the end of my career, for sure. I’ve done my time at all the clubs where I’ve been, be it Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy. Now, we’ll see what happens, after a 22-year career, I’m going to take a few months off to relax with my family. I said before that, one way or another, I would stay in Paris. It’s special for me here and I want to continue to be part of PSG, one way or another.”

We all know the Super Star side of David Beckham, but he is also just a regular guy, team-mate Mamadou Sako had this to say about David Beckham;

“I was lucky to be with him here in the capital, is there anything more beautiful? It was a very emotional exit, especially given the scope of his career. He brought us his joie de vivre, and above all the simplicity of life both on and off the pitch. A little anecdote, for example, we organised a barbecue at Sylvain Armand’s house, he was called, and he came to eat sausages with us in Sylvain’s garden!”

I guarantee the world has not heard the last of David Beckham, I am certain he has a lot more to offer the world.

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.

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Continues, Just

Keegan Bradley continues to lead the HP Byron Nelson Championship, just, even though he made bogey again on the last hole, that’s three out of three times so far. He now has a slender one shot lead at -13 under par for the tournament.

Keegan Bradley / Pennington / Getty Images

Keegan shot a third round of -2 under par, 68 on the par 70 lay-out TPC Four Seasons Resort course in Irving Texas. Given the way he has played the eighteenth this week he will probably need more than a one shot lead tomorrow as he stands once again on the last tee box. He sarcastically said;

” One of the most solid rounds of the year.”

Alone in second place is Sang-Moon Bae, after he put together a third round score of -4 under par, 66, to close the gap at the top of the leaderboard to just one shot. He has a total of -12 under par.

Tom Gillis is alone in third place, at -11 under par, mainly thanks to holing out from the bunker on the last for an unlikely birdie. From just 130 yards out Tom had somehow managed to find the front bunker, but his excellent bunker shot made amends in the best possible fashion. He remarked afterwards;

” That’ll make dinner taste a little bit better, that’s for sure.”

In fourth place is Scott Piercy, he also had a -4 under par, 66, and occupies the position alone at -10 under par for the tournament.

The winner will surely come from one these four players, it is hard to imagine someone from further back can get up to win. But golf is a funny game, and anything could happen. Keegan will be hoping to win, wire to wire and join the short list of golfers who have achieved this distinction.  Tom Watson did it in 1980, and back in 1976, Mark Hayes also went wire to wire.

Volvo World Match Play Championship. Day 3. McDowell & Aiken in Semis

Graeme McDowell beat Nicolas Colsaerts, a revenge for being knocked out of the competition by him in the quarter finals in 2011. Thomas Aiken knocked out Francesco Molinari , he will face Thongchai Jaidee in the other last four match.

Graeme McDowell / Getty Images.

Graeme was cruising at three up after nine, and was set to go four up when Nicolas hit his drive on ten into a public toilet. Nicolas was heard to say;

“ I ain’t hitting from in the loo!”

The rule book says take a one shot penalty drop, ” At the nearest point of relief” which explain the position perfectly. Nicolas took the penalty drop, pitched the ball on the green, and then sunk the 15 foot putt for par, and a halve.

Nicolas was laughing;

“I was laughing because I was going to look like a clown. ”I’m going to make ‘A Question of Sport’ and I’m sure it’s going to make the news, some Belgian dude dropping the ball in a toilet. It’s fun to be recognised for stupid stuff like that.”

Graeme explained it like this;

“I was looking like going four up on the tenth and Nicolas then literally makes par from the toilet. It’s when the Rules of Golf get a bit funny and wacky and people watching will be wondering what’s going on, but what a four he made. I keep giving guys a look in and you don’t want to give them too many chances. I’m happy to get through and excited to be in the semi-finals. It’s a very historic event and a trophy with a lot of legendary names on it. The golden years at Wentworth I remember watching a lot of my heroes win it and I would dearly love to add my name to the list. Branden will be a very tough competitor. My game plan has been to hit fairways and greens and not give my opponent too much of an opportunity and it has worked pretty well so far.”

Thomas Aiken wishes he was a little fitter, playing thirty six holes a day is tiring;

“I wish I was a little bit fitter, but I think if you can get through the match tomorrow morning you’ll be extremely focused for the afternoon.”

Branden Grace is also feeling worn down;

 ”I have little aches and pains, a little stiff. It’s been a long day and I can’t remember the last time I played 36 holes in a day.”

Thongchai Jaidee is showing no signs of distress;

” Im playing very well all week, I’m very confident with this format. I’m confident in my golf game this week, we’ve won all the matches, and we look forward to tomorrow.”

 

16 Qualifiers		Branden GRACE		4&3		Brett RUMFORD
	16 Qualifiers		Richard STERNE		5&3		Chris WOOD
	16 Qualifiers		Francesco MOLINARI		6&4		Carl PETTERSSON
	16 Qualifiers		Shane LOWRY		19th		Thomas AIKEN
	16 Qualifiers		Scott JAMIESON		1 Hole		Felipe AGUILAR
	16 Qualifiers		Thongchai JAIDEE		21st		Peter HANSON
	16 Qualifiers		Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO		2 Holes		Nicolas COLSAERTS
	16 Qualifiers		Graeme MCDOWELL		1 Hole		Bo VAN PELT
Quarter Finals
	Quarterfinal		Branden GRACE		2&1		Chris WOOD
	Quarterfinal		Francesco MOLINARI		3&2		Thomas AIKEN
	Quarterfinal		Nicolas COLSAERTS		2&1		Graeme MCDOWELL
	Quarterfinal		Scott JAMIESON		4&3		Thongchai JAIDEE

 

 

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.