Golf Hydration and Nutrition: Planning for the Round

Why plan hydration and nutrition for golf?

Golf hydration and nutrition can support endurance, focus and recovery through a round. Plan fluids and food around playing conditions, activity demands and individual needs, with practical snacks ready in your bag. Whether watching golf at the professional level or the college level, the hosting site has coolers set up on every tee box to allow players to stay hydrated.

These coolers are set up during the practice rounds and the actual tournament itself. Additionally, most of the players will have pre-made snacks in their bags. When they are walking up to the first tee, most of the starter’s tents have small and easy grab-and-go snacks for both the players and their caddies.

They do this to maintain their nutrition throughout the round. Staying on top of hydration and nutrition helps prevent dips in performance as the round progresses.

How can dehydration affect golf performance?

Hydration is one of the key factors that golfers have to address during a round. If a golfer becomes dehydrated, it could lead to a drop in both their cognitive and motor performance.

Smith, Newell and Baker’s 2012 study compared seven low-handicap players in hydrated and mildly dehydrated conditions. Mean body-mass loss was 1.5%. In the dehydrated condition, mean shot distance was 114.6 meters versus 128.6 meters when hydrated, and off-target distance was 7.9 meters versus 4.1 meters.

Mean distance-judgment error was 8.8 meters versus 4.1 meters. These small-sample results describe the tested conditions, rather than a fixed loss for every golfer or club.

If a golfer cannot hit the ball the desired distance it could cost them strokes and, ultimately, the round.

How can golfers plan fluids during a round?

Dehydration may make distance judgment harder. The PGA TOUR’s 2026 competition update prohibits distance-measuring devices on the PGA TOUR, while allowing specified devices on its Champions, Korn Ferry and Americas tours. Golfers should check their applicable competition rules.

If one of the players misgauges the distance and uses the wrong club, it can also cost them strokes and money. Adam Scott of golfwrx.com (2016) stated that, on average, a golfer can lose anywhere from two to five pounds during a round of golf.

His suggested 60-ounce round and 16-to-20-ounce six-hole portions are historical rules of thumb, not one fluid requirement for everyone. Weather, round duration, body size and individual sweat losses affect planning.

Professional player Rickie Fowler, during the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, was seen carrying a 26-ounce water bottle filled with water and electrolytes to maintain his hydration.

What are the energy demands of golf?

Just as hydration plays a crucial role in cognitive and motor functions, nutrition is another key factor a golfer should address to maintain peak performance.

Kasper and colleagues’ study, published online in 2022, reported activity energy expenditure of 663 to 756 calories per competitive round across different methods of transporting clubs. For every tournament, on average, a golfer will play at least one practice round and two 18-hole competitive rounds.

A practice round is typically played once or twice by most players on the Tuesday and Wednesday before a tournament. It usually consists of playing all 18 holes of a course but playing 2 or 3 extra shots per hole to gauge different angles.

Using that range as an illustration, three rounds would total 1989 to 2268 activity calories. Some of the best golfers in the world will play four competitive rounds and half of a practice round.

For four and a half rounds, the same illustrative calculation is approximately 2983 to 3402 activity calories. These estimates are not total daily food requirements. With golfers burning this many calories in a weekend, they have to stay on top of their nutrition to stay at the top of their game.

What does nutrition for golfers include?

Two of the macronutrients that elite-level golfers consume are protein and carbohydrates. They must be able to meet the energy demands on and off the course, as well as the recovery required between rounds.

Carbohydrate intake can help support blood glucose during a round. The cited 2023 narrative review describes a study in which blood glucose declined about 20% when golfers did not eat during the first half of an 18-hole round.

Some of the effects are a drop in focus, decision-making, and depth perception. Golfers also need to consume sufficient protein for their body weight for recovery. Protein plays a role in maximizing training adaptations, recovering from exercise, and reducing the risk of illness.

Research has also shown that many golfers do not consume enough protein in the morning and during a round. Rather, they typically consume more protein towards the end of the day.

Spreading protein across meals can help meet a daily goal. The source’s four-to-five-meal, 20-to-40-gram example is not one requirement for every golfer; appropriate amounts depend on body size, training and overall intake.

According to a 2020 article by Rachel Bleier, some professional players like Tiger Woods will usually have a peanut butter banana sandwich on the course. Phil Mickelson likes to have almonds. Joel Dahmen likes to have beef jerky or trail mix. Brendan Steele likes to eat beef jerky, while Sebastian Cappelen likes to have epic bars (a protein bar).

In a TikTok video, Evan Thompson, who is a former collegiate golfer for Kennesaw State, talks about what he typically eats when playing a round of golf. He says that his favorite on-course snack is two to three uncrustable grape sandwiches, but he also carries with him two bananas and a Quest bar.

How can preparation support a round of golf?

While golfers may focus on how they are playing and their scores, they should also understand how their hydration status and nutrition can have a major impact on their performance. These two factors are vitally important. Inadequate hydration or nutrition can affect cognitive and motor performance and the golf swing.

A practical starting point is to keep a water bottle and snacks (peanut butter crackers, granola bars, or protein bars) handy. Use breaks in play to check your plan, adjusting fluids, food and any electrolyte needs to the conditions and your individual requirements.

References

Bastable, A. (2023, June 18). Rickie Fowler’s Water Bottle playing starring role at U.S. open. Golf. https://golf.com/lifestyle/rickie-fowler-water-bottle-us-open/#:~:text=That’s%20because%2054%2Dhole%20co,a%20lifeboat%20in%20a%20tempest.

Berlin, N., Cooke, M. B., & Belski, R. (2023, September 23). Nutritional considerations for Elite Golf: A narrative review. Nutrients. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10574085/#B5-nutrients-15-04116

Bleier, R. (2020, January 29). PGA Tour players reveal their favorite mid-round snacks. Golf. https://golf.com/instruction/fitness/best-mid-round-snacks-tour-pros/

Kasper, A. M., O’Donnell, A., Langan-Evans, C., Jones, A., Lindsay, A., Murray, A., & Close, G. L. (2022). Assessment of activity energy expenditure during competitive golf: The effects of bag carrying, electric or manual trolleys. European Journal of Sport Science, 23(3), 330–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2022.2036817

Reinman, J. (2023, June 18). Why Rickie Fowler is carrying a metal water bottle around Los Angeles Country Club. PGA TOUR. https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2023/06/18/rickie-fowler-metal-water-bottle-canteen-stickers-u-s-open-los-angeles-country-club-lacc

Scott, A. (2016, June 6). Nutrition for the everyday golfer. GolfWRX. https://www.golfwrx.com/375992/nutrition-for-the-everyday-golfer/

Smith, M. F., Newell, A. J., & Baker, M. R. (2012, November). Effect of acute mild dehydration on cognitive-motor performance in golf. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. LWW. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2012/11000/effect_of_acute_mild_dehydration_on.23.aspx

Thompson, E. (2023, September 6). Snacks for the Golf Course. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@evanthompson12_/video/7275806772772736299

PGA TOUR. (2026). Competition updates: Limitations on distance-measuring devices, p. 10. https://caddies.pgatourhq.com/static-assets/uploads/Competition%20Updates%202026%20%20Final.pdf

“Hydration is one of the key factors that golfers have to address during a round.”

“If a golfer cannot hit the ball the desired distance it could cost them strokes and, ultimately, the round.”

“Research has also shown that many golfers do not consume enough protein in the morning and during a round.”