Swing time: You have to work on loosening your muscles. Photo: AFP

So you play golf. So you have a potbelly. So that doesn’t diminish because playing the game’s the only thing you do to stay fit. So what, golf doesn’t require you to be as fit as a football player. Right? Get out of town! Welcome to the world of new-age golfers who don’t play the game to stay fit; they stay fit to play the game and excel at it too. And the world (by that we mean Indians) is suddenly waking up to the fact that a different kind of fitness is needed to successfully clinch a round of 18 holes.

Visit the DLF Golf Academy in Gurgaon, Haryana, on the outskirts of Delhi. It’s serious business here. Even for six-year-old Vinayak, who knows exactly how he should position his legs and place his thumb on the grip while hitting the ball with his little club. He’s just been taught a particular aspect of the game and has been given three days to practise it. “We even record the action, and then play it back in slow motion to point out the weaknesses of a particular player,” says Karan Bindra, chief instructor at the academy.

All that you must do

Physical fitness is as necessary to golf as the golf clubs are. Bindra says that he teaches his pupils a set of 18 stretching exercises before they actually start practising the game. “It is very important to loosen the golf muscles to get your swing right,” he explains. And while we’re talking of muscles, ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa would like to make one thing very clear. He says golfers don’t require the conventional muscular build to excel in the sport. For example, good biceps are not required for golf. Strong triceps are more important. And a firm derriere isn’t just for the onlooker to wow at. It helps your shot as well, so jump to it! Most important body parts for golf are the forearms, the shoulders, and the lower back muscles (which are some of the weakest muscles in our body). In golf, these muscles are used to balance your stance when you are swinging.

Taking a few shots in the air with the club helps the golfer get his act right, and also ensures the damage to the weaker muscles of the body is minimal. “Seventy per cent of golfers suffer from low back pain,” says Dr Tarun Jain, a sports medicine specialist and certified PGA instructor, who works with India’s top golfers. The lumbar region and the sacro-illial muscles of the hip undergo a lot of strain, he says. A very important part of the golfer’s body is, without doubt, the legs. A round of 18 holes means walking more than nine kilometres a day. “Most golfers think they walk a lot anyway. But that kind of walking won’t do,” explains Dr Jain. Walking has to be brisk, like that on a high-impact treadmill. “You shouldn’t be able to sing a song or whistle while walking. Only that kind of exercise will contribute to your cardiovascular fitness,” Dr Jain says.

There, now you have a complete golf regimen. So what’s stopping you from following that?

Watch the birdie

Yoga not only stretches the required muscles, it helps concentration. It’s a game of coordination of the mind and body. Golf requires not just a golfer’s body. “A golfing mind is as important,” says ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa who never travels without a yoga instructor. The DLF Golf Academy is also in the process of employing one.

“A typical warm-up exercise for golfers who do not play the game regularly is to make a few swings with a very heavy club,” says the chief instructor at the DLF Golf Academy, Karan Bindra. “It’s the standard practice all over the world. The club weighs 40 ounces and is too heavy to play with.”

About diet. The doctor will order a strict one, no doubt, but as Karan Bindra says, “Kids will have hamburgers, and men will have their beer.” However, while club temptations are hard to resist, dal, roti and sabzi are the best things to stick to.

What golf dieticians forbid is eating bulk food. There’s no need to eat to support the exercise you’re taking. The food will only weigh you down on the course.“Ideally, I eat a banana or a bar of chocolate after every two or three holes to replenish the energy levels,” says the experienced Jyoti Randhawa. Dr Tarun Jain, sports medicine specialist, stresses “A golfer should eat light meals, and at least two litres of water per round of golf.”

A golfer speaks

Arjun Atwal shares his fitness formula

• I was introduced to golf at the age of 14. Prior to that I played all sorts of games, just like all youngsters do in school. But golf is a very different game — it demands so much and for so long a time that it’s rather absorbing. As a result, I stopped playing all other games and zeroed in on just golf.

For the golfer, yoga is really helpful. So that’s on top of my exercise list. Apart from that, I do a little bit of gym work too. During the golf season, I do cardiovascular exercises about three to four times a week. Otherwise, I do cardios almost every day and follow it with weights. My home is now in Orlando, Florida, and I like to visit a gym at the Driving Range.

I follow certain simple rules regarding food. My breakfast is really big while my lunch is very light. I don’t touch junk food and always eat home-cooked grub. But when I am touring, I have to eat in hotels and restaurants. There, I make sure that I get food that is cooked with little oil and spices.

As told to Sipra Sen Saha