Calories in Vs Calories Out - How Keeping an Eye on your Calories Can Help Get the Best out of your Round.
Here we are back again with Blog number 6! Today’s topic is centred around nutrition and the caloric needs of the average golfer.
Calories are a measurement of energy and the term k/cal is the specific unit of measurement used when discussing the energy properties of different foods. Our bodies require calories for all sorts of daily functions including breathing, moving, digesting food and exercising. If a person is regularly consuming more calories than they are burning they are likely to be overweight or on their way to being. The opposite applies, where a person consuming less calories than they are burning is likely to be losing weight.
Our Co-Founder Luke has been looking into the caloric needs of a golfer for quite some time now. He has been tracking his calorie expenditure through his smartwatch most rounds now for about 12 months. It should be noted that a smartwatch will never be able to tell you your exact calorific output but for those that just want to start gaining a basic insight, they are the most affordable and available option.
So, what did he find out? Firstly, some things about Luke. He is. 33, 5’11, weighs roughly 82kg and plays off 9. Below are the results summarised from the data he gained:
Average Time to complete a round: 4:10
Average Distance covered: 6.25 miles
Average Amount of Calories burnt: 1205 k/cal
Obviously, there are some variables to this. Luke chooses to carry his bag (the extra calories burnt by doing this won’t be accounted for by his watch) and his home course (Welshpool, where he recorded all rounds in his data) is particularly hilly though not particularly long. But if we take these stats as our guide, we begin to paint a picture as to how much energy we require to be at our best for a full 18! If we take into account carrying a 12-15kg bag for the full round as well, we wouldn’t be far off assuming he is expending 1400 calories each time.
This is backed up by a study conducted by Neil Wolkodoff, Director of the Rose Center for Health and Sports Sciences in Denver. Neil set out to answer the question; How many calories do golfers burn during a round of golf? At the Inverness Golf Club in Denver, Colorado, with the help of 8 male golfers between the ages of 26 and 61 (and handicaps between 2 and 17) he conducted his experiment. The results over nine holes found that on average, these 8 male golfers burned on average 721 calories whilst carrying their bags and 718 when using a trolley.
According to www.healthline.com (1), a lack of proper nutrition can not only affect our physical performance, but our mental performance too. It is believed that through not eating enough, your body will lack the essential nutrients it needs. Our brain requires a multitude of vitamins and minerals to ensure the complex chemical reactions that occur within, can do so effectively. Without these, issues such as brain fog, anxiety and irrationality can develop, 3 things none of us want to see whilst out on the course!
So what are the takeaways from this article? Take a look below:
On average a golfer consumes roughly 360-400 calories per hour. Without a proper nutrition schedule, your body is being depleted of energy after every hole. With a lack of energy, optimum performance is simply out of the question.
Carrying a bag burns more calories but as we can see from the above study, using a trolley burns a similar amount of calories. The key is to ensure that you have no unnecessary weight in your bag. If you have certain clubs that you barely ever use, take them out. There is no point carrying them around for 4 hours using precious energy.
If you are a higher handicap, you will burn more calories. Simply put, the more zig-zagging, looking for balls etc means that you are moving about more, thus using more energy. If this sounds like you, the right snacks then become even more important, as lack of energy can lead to even more zig-zagging! Not a fun way for your round to play out!
If you don’t consume enough energy, your mind can also be affected. This means that your decision making and critical thinking on the course may become flawed, leading to dropped shots, mistakes and misery!
Our gels, FOCUS-18, will provide you with 116 k/cal per serving. These calories are packed with carbohydrates to ensure your muscles have the fuel to keep performing optimally throughout your entire round. Not only that, the addition of L-Tyrosine and Ginseng will help keep your brain working at optimum levels. Keeping your brain sharp for a full 18 will lead to less mistakes, meaning lower scores and more enjoyable rounds!
So there we are, that concludes our round up of a golfer's caloric needs! Keep an eye out on our socials for the announcement of our next blog!
