I’ve been focused on improving my golf game for a long time. Regular practice, playing, competing, working out, studying the sport, all that. I set goals every year and work toward them. And I have improved. In the last couple of years I’ve played in two Champions Tour events and several state seniors. But as I started to qualify for those higher levels of competitions, my wife and I noticed something…I was strong for two days, but by the third and fourth day, my strength would begin to fade. I would be fatigued and it was hard to finish strong.
In 2019 I qualified for the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, for the first time, which was played in May 2020 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Most qualifiers are only a few days or weeks before the tournament which doesn’t leave much time for specific preparation. But since this tournament is several months away I had the chance to work a plan to help me perform better at this level. I’d had some thoughts about this for a while but they were brought to the surface because of my wife’s pain…let me explain.
Barton Creek, Sr. PGA Professional Championship, October 2019. Hole 9, Fazio Course. Par 3, forced carry.
In December 2019 Hannah went for a long run, finishing the Percy Warner Park 6.2 mile loop in 71 minutes. She felt great at the end but three days later a big problem developed starting in her right hip. It eventually affected her whole leg and she was in tremendous pain. After trying all the normal things you do in this situation she sought a different path, on the advice of a friend, and had stem cell therapy at Compass Cellular Healing in Nashville. We were cautiously hopeful. Stem cell is not cheap and it’s not covered by insurance.
My Diet Paleo’d In Comparison
Dr. Lee Howard did Hannah’s treatment. During that process we talked about my career and my goals. We mentioned the fatigue that sets in on day 3 of a tournament. He asked about my eating habits. I’ve never had a weight problem and felt I had a healthy diet. I don’t really like desserts or sodas or much alcohol. Chicken, fish and veggies were what I ate most of the time. But I love tortilla chips and ice cream, and I sneeze a lot when I eat. In our first conversation Dr. Howard said he felt that addressing my nutrition would give me more stamina that could help me push through the last half of a tournament without the fatigue. And he thought he could fix my sneezing. We talked about the testing he could do that would lead me to a specific nutrition plan. He said that if he could work with me for 3-4 months on nutrition, supplements and hormones, he could get me to the best place possible biologically.
Dr. Howard used the InBody Composition Scan which told me in five minutes that while my weight was fine, I needed to put on 8 pounds of lean muscle mass. The blood tests he did showed the list of things I should never eat, the things I should minimize and the foods I should focus on. It’s basically no dairy, wheat, beans, bread or refined sugar; a Paleo diet but with other restrictions because of allergies. For instance, the detailed report showed that I should eat the yellow of an egg, but not the white; cashews but not almonds. No coffee or tea, and on and on. Dr. Howard told me that 80% of the effect would come from eliminating foods that I shouldn’t be eating.
Breakfast is weird. Salad greens with canned salmon or sardines, 1 cup of dark berries, 1 stick of celery with cashew butter, 8 ounces of water with 1/2 tsp of Himalayan salt, trace minerals and lemon, and another 8 ounces of plain water. He also recommended that we replace our Blue Apron meals with Factor 75 which is more focused on nutrition and gives you more options regarding specific dietary requirements and allergies.
Hannah’s trainer, Dan Defigio, once told her that good health was about making thousands of good, small decisions over the years. I was skeptical, but committed, and it worked. In just 3 weeks I lost 8 pounds and several inches in my torso. Six weeks in I had lost 18 pounds. We had realized how lazy we’d gotten in our eating habits. Even though they weren’t terrible, there was room for small changes that would give yield big improvements.
Training At Mach Speed
The next thing I wanted to address was golf-specific strength training. I’ve been working out regularly with Bruce Lyon for two years. He has helped me in innumerable ways. I wanted to add specific training that would increase my club head speed and strengthen my core. Buddy Harston, a fellow PGA teaching pro at Vanderbilt Legends is a good friend of mine. We often compete in the same tournaments. Buddy has been using the Mach3 Speed Training system for a while. So, in addition to my training with Bruce, I met Buddy for 7AM workouts three days a week. In less than two months I improved in all areas and my club head speed increased 5 miles per hour. Buddy inspires me. We push each other just like in tournaments. Having a partner to hold you accountable makes a difference.
Whatever your goals are for your golf game or for your life I hope you’ll get the right coaches and doctors to help you learn what your specific needs are. I’ve been focused on health and fitness all of my life but I didn’t realize how making just a few changes could make such a big difference. The true test will come in May, but I feel good about it. I like pushing myself so I won’t have any regrets.
Oh, and Hannah’s leg and hip are just fine now. Through the combination of stem cell (70% improvement), spinal decompression and Action Spine & Joint (20% improvement) and CBD oil from Also Organics (the final 10%) she has no pain and a 12.3 handicap.
Links - Hannah’s Team:
Dan Defigio, Trainer
Action Spine & Joint, Chiropractor
Also Organics (CBD), CBD
Compass Cellular Healing, Stem Cell
Factor 75, Prepared Meals
Links - Bill’s Team:
Bruce Lyon, Trainer
Compass Cellular Healing, Nutrition
Also Organics (CBD), CBD
Factor 75, Prepared Meals