Three Ways To Recover After Playing Too Much Golf

Your focus is gone, your strength has waned and your muscles have left you sore to the core. What can the average golfer do to recover after playing too much golf?

Some golfers say, no matter how much golf they play it is never enough! Recently, the Myrtle Beach Patriots attempted to play one-hundred holes of golf to benefit disabled veteran and their families - a noble cause.

After a long, and tiring, golf season, Phil Mickelson mentioned after the Ryder Cup, that he believed he "made a bit of a mistake" by playing too many events in a row. As amateur golfers, we may not play in tournament after tournament, but the same might be said if we decide on another nine holes after a grueling eighteen comes to a close.

Golf for Beginners tends to agree with Mickelson...twenty-four golf starts in a row for a PGA Tour pro are way too many rounds...especially for a more seasoned player who is no longer in his twenties and who quietly suffers from Psoriatic Arthritis. In this article, we give you three ways to stay in good health and bounce back when your body says no.

1. Hydration and Food: Sounds simple enough but most golfers don't drink enough water and don't grab snacks that will energize them during a round. Try a drink that has low sugar content and electrolytes like Vitamin Water Zero. I also keep healthy snacks in my golf bag - a snack at around the tenth hole is a fruit and nut bar or a 10th Tee Golf Nutrition bar.

2. Get Loose: Make sure you stretch your muscles before you hit your first shot of the day and keep loose throughout the day. If you are playing golf several days in a row, follow the same routine and don't overwork yourself on the driving range. Practice correctly with most of your shots being chips, pitches, and putts.

3. Rest: No matter how many holes of golf you will be playing, take time to rest both body and mind in between shots and rounds - you need both to function well for your best chances of success.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of our Golf for Beginners blog.

How Team USA can Take Back the Ryder Cup in 2020

Although Team USA golf fans grasped onto some small level of hope during the Ryder Cup singles matches, Europe held off their opponents and reclaimed the chalice.

You win some, you lose some...but a thrashing should never have taken place.

"Our studs," said an anonymous someone in the U.S. team room, "didn’t play like studs this week."

The final Ryder Cup count was Team Europe with 17.5 points and Team USA at 10.5 points. Tiger Woods failed to thrill (but brought a large audience by just being on the team) and Mickelson, who is on-again, off-again about this being his final Ryder Cup appearance, was benched on Saturday and had a lackluster overall performance.

It is understandable why these two great golfers continually play in the Ryder Cup although it doesn't help Team USA secure a win. Mickelson, for example, according to RyderCup.com, "has the most losses than any player in U.S. history, though Tiger Woods is now only one behind after three straight defeats in France."

So, how can Team USA take back the Ryder Cup in 2020?

The first fix is fairly obvious; don't choose Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as captains pick for Team USA. Of course, if the captain agrees, this means a large loss of overall viewership, from the USA to across the pond (although I believe that the two, working together, would make interesting Team Captain/Assistant Captain). If either of the golfers makes it onto the team due to their own merits, this option will not work.

The second fix involves rescheduling the FedEx Cup finale... the Tour Championship, as it is possible for those players to be very tired going into the following week and performing at their peak. Perhaps the Ryder Cup needs to be moved ahead on the schedule one extra week to allow the players flight time and a short rest period before this stressful event?

According to several online blogs, Tiger Woods, looked "tired" and "listless" during all of his Ryder Cup matches and that is being blamed on his tight Tour Championship schedule which bled into the following week's matches.

Finally, how do you think Jim Furyk did as the Team USA Ryder Cup captain?

In my opinion, he did not utilize Patrick Reed to his best advantage - Reed sat on the sidelines during foursomes matches...and this is where he shines, and where he has been unbeaten.

"For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am, I don’t think it’s smart to sit me twice," Reed said when interviewed by the New York Times.

What do you think can be done so Team USA has a chance at the 2020 Ryder Cup? Comments are welcome in this golf blog and tag us with your ideas on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

Tiger Woods' Tour Championship Game Plan Can Help You Win at Golf

There was always a mystique that surrounded Tiger Woods; whether he won or not in golf, throngs of fans have followed his progress (and decline) through a five-year winless streak on the PGA Tour. The influence Woods has had in over the past twenty years has changed the face of golf.

The outcome of the Tour Championship changed both our perception of the former number one player in the world as well as his own self-esteem as he smiled broadly during his round knowing he also had the slim possibility of a FedEx Cup victory.

Tiger Woods' Strategy for Tour Championship victory

Woods looked like the Tiger of old as he proceeded to implement his plan for victory and he could not hide his joy as he stepped out onto the 18th green, sunk a par putt, and accepted his reward for a job well done.

"The game plan was to shoot under par, and I birdied the first hole right out of the gate,'' Tiger Woods said after winning the Tour Championship. "I just had to suck it up and hit shots."

But there was more to Tiger Woods' plan than to shoot under par and "suck it up" on the course. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced amateur, creating a strategy before playing your round will benefit you by lowering your score.

Below are three golf tips which Tiger Woods implemented at the Tour Championship.

1. Leave your ball below the hole - an uphill putt is better than a downhill slide as you can give the ball a good, solid roll as opposed to tenderly judging your speed.

2. View putt from behind the hole. Tiger Woods looked at the green from several angles to determine the lie and angle of his putt.

3. Place your tee shot on the correct side of the fairway to give yourself the right approach onto the green. Take trouble out of play and visualize your next shot.

Tiger Woods went back to the basics to win after a five-year drought - if he can do it, so can you.

Although Justin Rose struggled to a FedEx Cup victory while Tiger Woods dominated at the Tour Championship, Golf for Beginners wishes hearty congratulations to both the current and former world number-one golfers in the world.