When it comes to anything performance-based, nutrition plays a huge role. What you eat as a golfer will affect how you play on the course, your performance in the gym, and how you recover afterwards. Today, we are going to cover what you should eat during a round of golf. We are going to break it into 4 main categories
- pre-round
- middle front 9
- the turn
- middle back 9
For each category, we are going to cover the goal of the category, as well as give examples of food you should eat that will provide sustained, consistent energy to finish the round strong.
Macro-nutrient summary
Before getting into the categories, we need to understand the main energy provided by the macronutrients – protein, carbohydrates (aka carbs), and fat.
- Carbohydrates (AKA carbs) provide quick energy. Since carbs, especially simple ones, are digested quickly they provide energy to the better in a relatively short timeframe after consumption.
- Fats provide long, sustained energy due to the time it takes for them to broken down after consumption.
- Protein is not typically not an energy source. Proteins are primarily for recovery.
Pre-Round
The theme for pre-round is balance. With golf, you are headed into a 5-6+ hour competition when you include your warmup and range time. This means you need quick energy, long energy, and something in your body to help with recovery when it’s all done. This meal should be relatively balanced, containing protein, carbs, and fats. The carbohydrates eaten should be complex (instead of simple) which will provide energy without an excessive blood sugar spike. The fats should be quality fats, such as avocados or nuts, not fried or greasy foods. Often, the fat in fried or greasy foods can upset the stomach, which is certainly not what you want to be worrying about during a round of golf. In addition to those foods, you want to make sure you get plenty of water. Gatorade and other sports drinks are fine too, but since those are simple carbohydrates, too much can cause an excessive spike in blood sugar followed by a drop in energy. I suggest limiting the amount of simple carbs pre-round and take advantage of the energy spike later on in the golf round.
Pre-Round examples
- Eggs, toast, and fruit. You can add sausage or bacon as long as you avoid excessive grease.
- Turkey or chicken sandwich, avocado, and a piece of fruit.
- Almonds (or any nut), piece of fruit, protein bar.
Middle of the front nine
Rule one of in-round nutrition is to eat before you are hungry. Hunger is your body sending signals that it is lacking something. You may see a drop in concentration or performance before your body sends any hunger signals. A bad routine I’ve seen golfers get into is waiting until they are hungry, over-correcting with consumption of too many simple carbs, a spike in energy levels, and then a crash before the round is over. That will not help your performance.
Since you are still early in the round, you want to maintain some balance in what you’re eating. I suggest, at minimum, something carbohydrate based such as a fruit, carbohydrate heavy energy bar, or a peanut butter sandwich (many players love an Uncrustable). Since there are multiple hours of the round left, protein and fats are appropriate as well. Something easy to consume on the golf course, such as a protein drink, nuts, or trail mix works great. You can start consumption of a sports drink now (especially if its hot), but I suggest having equal consumption of sports drink and water to keep it balanced and manage overall blood sugar fluctuations.
Front nine examples
- Fruit
- Energy bar
- Peanut butter sandwich (Uncrustables are preferred by many golfers – click here)
- Trail mix
At the turn
Your snack at the turn should look similar to the one during the front nine, but with a shift toward more carbs. You have 2-2.5 hours likely left on the course so you could use a small amount of protein and fat, but your main concern is having energy readily available in the short term, and that means carbs. You want to keep your fluid intake consistent, but could start shifting towards sports drinks for a quick supply of carbs.
Carbohydrates – take note, carbs are not only a source of energy for your body, but also the primary fuel source for the brain. If you find yourself having difficulty focusing on the back nine then it could be a lack of carbs and dropping blood sugar. If you are on the course and notice your focus starting to drop I suggest immediately consuming quick carbs such as Gatorade to raise your blood sugar and give your brain what it needs.
At the turn examples (similar to the front nine)
- Fruit
- Energy bar
- Peanut butter sandwich (Uncrustables are preferred by many golfers – click here)
- Trail mix
- Dried fruit
Middle of the back nine
This is the most flexible portion of your round as it depends how you are feeling and how you are performing. Overall, the idea is to consume mostly carbohydrates from this point on. You need energy for the next hour-ish of golf, and the only way to get that is carbs. Protein and fat both take too long to be broken down and converted into energy to be useful at this point. You want to be focusing your consumption on things like sports drinks, dried fruit, and carb-based energy bars. This will keep your body and brain fed and fueled, ready to dominate the last few holes of the golf course.
Middle of the back nine examples
- Sports drinks (Gatorade, Pedialyte)
- Dried fruit
- Fruit bars
- Carb-based energy bars
Post-Round
Post-round is the time to get plenty of protein and plenty of fluids. Protein will give your body what it needs to rebuild. Fluids will hydrate, which makes just about everything in the body work better. If it’s hot, hydrating become twice as important. You can have fats without as much worry of it making you feel sluggish because you are done for the day. If you are playing the next day, it may benefit you to keep the carbohydrates on the higher side as well.
Don’t forget about your post-round fitness routine and plenty of high-quality sleep as well!
If you want more ideas on what to eat and drink, I included a list of my favorite on-course food and drinks below
LMNT (my hottest days go-to) – buy here
BASE Salts (another hot day favorite. can be consumed on its own or added to a drink) – buy here
Dried fruit bar – buy here
Carb-based energy bar (favorite minimal ingredient option) – buy here
Uncrustables (simple favorite of MANY golfers and other athletes) – buy here
– Dr. Joe Combs