Brooks Koepka has, well, you know, kind of, did a…. oh dear!

[Dando]

You just described me.

I was 17 stone at around 12% body fat, destroyed my back during a weight training session and crept up to 21 stone in the space of a 2 year lay off. Always been big my whole life in a chunky way unless I commit a lot of time to training and nutrition to keep lean otherwise I get big quick.

My swing has changed so much as a result but i'm creeping back down now at 18 stone and feel quite comfortable.

I'm like John Daly one year then Brooks Koepka the next

My golf is more Arthur Daley!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Muscle reducing flexibility is a myth, that for some reason despite all the science to prove against it, still perpetuates in golf. Even without the science, you only have to look at weightlifting and gymnastics to see 2 sports where athletes are both more flexible and more muscular than most golfers (male and female). Obviously, if you get to the point where you are so huge that muscles physically block you from moving, that's different, but we are talking absolute edge cases with huge steroid usage to get to this point.

The above and your second line is kind of my point. Golf lives in its own bubble regarding both fitness and physiques.

Interesting to hear. I suppose I go off other sports people, what are their physiques. I don't tend to see muscle bound tennis players, footballers, hockey players etc. You occasionally get overly muscular centre halves but they tend to be slow, Nadal is a tennis exception. My impression is that muscular people lack elasticity but I have no issue being wrong on that.

With all of the sports tech going out there though I would accept us amateurs to be misinformed but why are we not seeing muscular golfers then? Tony Finnau is a big lad but why are others not going down that road if it can give them an edge?

 

[Britishshooting]

Interesting to hear. I suppose I go off other sports people, what are their physiques. I don't tend to see muscle bound tennis players, footballers, hockey players etc. You occasionally get overly muscular centre halves but they tend to be slow, Nadal is a tennis exception. My impression is that muscular people lack elasticity but I have no issue being wrong on that.

With all of the sports tech going out there though I would accept us amateurs to be misinformed but why are we not seeing muscular golfers then? Tony Finnau is a big lad but why are others not going down that road if it can give them an edge?

I imagine the muscle fatigue, tears and strains associated with building muscle just isn't worth the risk, not to mention the impact it will have on the swing on a daily basis.

I played golf for years since being a junior, I quit when I started bodybuilding as the two didn't go hand in hand from my experience. My swing changed on an almost weekly if not daily basis depending on fatigue, stiffness etc.

I imagine for a tour pro, training to get bigger could be a minefield on how it impacts their routine, swing consistency etc. and finding the right balance that would fit in with the countless hours they spend practicing.

Granted you can train and be fit, and strong but to build enough muscle mass to look noticeably bigger than other average built guys could be detrimental from a risk of injury / overtraining stand point etc.

 

[Wolf]

Interesting to hear. I suppose I go off other sports people, what are their physiques. I don't tend to see muscle bound tennis players, footballers, hockey players etc. You occasionally get overly muscular centre halves but they tend to be slow, Nadal is a tennis exception. My impression is that muscular people lack elasticity but I have no issue being wrong on that.

With all of the sports tech going out there though I would accept us amateurs to be misinformed but why are we not seeing muscular golfers then? Tony Finnau is a big lad but why are others not going down that road if it can give them an edge?

There's a huge difference with building muscle compared to strength and conditioning work that would be beneficial to golfers.

I've done a lot of work with varying sportsmen, women, dancers, gymnasts and professional body builders. Programming training for each is very different for example the amount of time under tension (stress effectively) put on a muscle to just make it grow is hugely different to working for explosive power which is what's more required for golf in the modern game.

Whilst Tiger got jacked years ago and Brooks was bigger muscularly in other years training has changed the more they have come to understand the dynamics, its how Molinari got longer in recent years without being significantly more muscular, its working on better engagement of type 2 muscle fibres and strengthening or ares of the body to allow the spring to deliver maximum power whilst maintaining flexibility.

I imagine the muscle fatigue, tears and strains associated with building muscle just isn't worth the risk, not to mention the impact it will have on the swing on a daily basis.

I played golf for years since being a junior, I quit when I started bodybuilding as the two didn't go hand in hand from my experience. My swing changed on an almost weekly if not daily basis depending on fatigue, stiffness etc.

I imagine for a tour pro, training to get bigger could be a minefield on how it impacts their routine, swing consistency etc. and finding the right balance that would fit in with the countless hours they spend practicing.

Granted you can train and be fit, and strong but to build enough muscle mass to look noticeably bigger than other average built guys could be detrimental from a risk of injury / overtraining stand point etc.

What you've said is pretty much correct with the time it would take in detriment to building muscle versus golf swing dynamics changing. But also now there isn't need to be significantly bigger to be stronger and generate the power required for distance etc.

I've done quite a bit of work recently with 2 different pros to improve their games but also with their students where they have involved me in lessons so I can see the movement patterns there students have not for me to give swing advice but for me to identify the areas in which a good strength and conditioning programme can help improve the areas of there body under most stress points of weakness and how they want to make improvements. I then structure it dependent on how much time they have ideally we could do 3 sessions a week 2 with focus on strength and condition the other session being purely on mobility which aids the other work.

 

[Dibby]

I imagine the muscle fatigue, tears and strains associated with building muscle just isn't worth the risk, not to mention the impact it will have on the swing on a daily basis.

I played golf for years since being a junior, I quit when I started bodybuilding as the two didn't go hand in hand from my experience. My swing changed on an almost weekly if not daily basis depending on fatigue, stiffness etc.

I imagine for a tour pro, training to get bigger could be a minefield on how it impacts their routine, swing consistency etc. and finding the right balance that would fit in with the countless hours they spend practicing.

Granted you can train and be fit, and strong but to build enough muscle mass to look noticeably bigger than other average built guys could be detrimental from a risk of injury / overtraining stand point etc.

I'd suggest the reason you don't have many really big strong guys on tour is that there are better things to do with their time. Up to a certain point getting stronger will help golf, beyond this point the return diminish so much that there are more productive things to do with your time that will benefit your golf more.

As a random example, a golfer who was untrained would probably see a benefit to their swing if they trained leg strength to get their squat up to 150% of their body weight, however going on from this point to 200%, 250% etc.. the gain to the golf game would reduce and the effort needed to make the strength gain would increase. Instead for the minimal impact it would have on their swing, the golfer could do something else, such as go out and hit balls, which will yield a better return.

Like most things in life, more isn't always better, be it with strength, flexibility, medicine, food or whatever there is an optimal amount.

So it's understandable why golfers don't have particularly high strength levels or impressive physiques, just strange that they are impressed by the top end of golf physiques when the in the general population this is not impressive.