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Alternative Energy
A new category of bars, supplements and drinks promises better golf through noshing. We look into their performance claims.
By Mary Christ Anderson May/June 2008
Any golfer who's felt her energy flag midway through a round knows what poor concentration can do to your score. Hunger is usually the culprit; it can lead to fatigue, which hinders your ability to focus on your game plan. Hunger pangs signal a decrease in your blood sugar levels, which impairs brain and muscle function. It's hard to sink a four-foot putt when you can't stop thinking about a 12-inch pizza.
"People typically get hungry every four hours," says Nancy Clark, RD, author of the Sports Nutrition Guidebook. Clark recommends fueling up with a 500-calorie pre-round meal that includes complex carbs, fiber and protein (a bagel with peanut butter, a hearty bowl of cereal with milk, or a hefty sandwich), which help you feel full longer. Paula Creamer's typical breakfast of choice includes egg whites (which have protein for energy), fruit (which has sugar for an instant pick up) and oatmeal (for complex carbs that help her stay satisfied).
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the average 135-pound woman who carries her clubs burns 290 calories per hour on the course (226 if she opts for a cart). To maintain energy and performance, she'll need to eat while she plays. "If you're active on a golf course, you'll get hungry every two or three hours," Clark says. Consuming electrolytes, which maintain water balance and prevent muscle weakness, fatigue and irritability, and carbohydrates, which maintain blood sugar levels, helps you stay mentally sharp down the stretch. "On the course, there's no schedule to when I eat," says fitness buff Annika Sorenstam. "I eat when I'm hungry: bananas, nuts, raisins, a protein shake."
For those of us who don't have the time or inclination to brown-bag our on-course snacks, a batch of just-for-golfers energy bars, supplements and drinks are formulated to keep your mind and mojo on your swing. But are these golf-specific products that different from the average protein bar?
We asked GFW contributing editor Keri Glassman, a certified nutritionist and founder and president of A Nutritious Life, and Felicia Stoler, RD, an exercise physiologist who serves as the Nutrition Coordinator for the ING New?York City Marathon, to give us the skinny on several bars, supplements and sports drinks that market themselves as energy for golfers. Here are their verdicts.
Energy Bars
- 1st Tee Pre-round Golf Nutrition Bar
- This Rice Krispies Bar—like snack bar contains 280 to 290 calories, 44 grams of complex and simple carbohydrates, and nine grams of protein.
Pros: 1st Tee has plenty of carbs to boost blood sugar levels, as well as 11 vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12 and iron, and oats for long-lasting energy.
Cons: Stoler and Glassman are skeptical that chamomile, hops and valerian root will do the job advertised ("reduce stress and anxiety"). Plus, the chocolate-peanut coating could melt on a hot day.
Taste: GFW's staff named the "pleasantly crunchy" bar, which tastes more like a sweet treat, the delicious winner.
- 10th Tee Back Nine Golf Energy Bar
- This chewy back-nine companion to the 1st Tee Bar has 200 to 210 calories, 29 grams of carbs, vitamins and minerals, and green tea extract. Panax ginseng is meant to sharpen your focus and concentration down the stretch.
Pros: The calories and carbs will keep you going, though Glassman would like to see more than one gram of fiber. There should be "at least three grams."
Cons: The green tea extract "is basically just caffeine," Stoler says. "The manufacturer claims Panax ginseng improves circulation and energy, but taking a walk will do both of those things."
Taste: GFW staffers found the chocolate-peanut-caramel flavor "sweet but not unpleasantly so."
- Whole in One
- This organic dates-and-nuts-based bar, which has 230 calories, 33 grams of carbs and four to five grams of protein, is tailored to those golfers who prefer all-natural foods.
Pros: The bar has no artificial ingredients, so "when you read the label, you understand what you're eating," Stoler says. And, unlike many other bars, it doesn't have high fructose syrup and fractionated palm kernel oil, which, Glassman says, can "act like glue for your arteries."
Cons: You'll need to acquire a taste for this slightly bitter bar. Consider it a price you'll pay for eliminating processed ingredients.
Taste: Some staffers found the nutty chocolate variety "similar to fudge," but most deemed it "bland" or "too dry."
Supplements
- Back Nine 'Lytes
- Designed to be taken with water each hour of play, this zero-calorie capsule replenishes electrolytes lost through sweat.
Pros: Additional electrolytes could come in handy on hot days, when it's easy to sweat out potassium and sodium, critical in preventing muscle weakness and mental confusion. And it doesn't contain sugar, gluten, preservatives or chemical additives.
Cons: The pills don't provide calories, the key to buoying blood sugar, which your brain and muscles need to function. Don't leave your snacks behind if you plan to swallow these pills when you swig your water.
Taste: None whatsoever.
- Amino Vital Conditioning Golf
- These caplets containing amino acids, the building blocks of protein, are designed to be taken prior to teeing off and again "at the turn to finish strong," the company claims.
Pros: Amino acids are key in the breakdown of glycogen, which your body uses for fuel.
Cons: "Your body already has plenty of amino acids to do the job," says Stoler, who adds that they're more important "an hour or two after exercise."
Taste: Nada.
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