Golf and the White House
Two of my passions in life – golf and White House history. This book is a great read – I highly reccomend it. Check it out at your local library or click the image of the book to take you to Amazon.com.
Excerpt from the hardback cover:
Presidents who cheat at golf? What’s next? A Washington correspondent for the New York Times, Van Natta has the inside scoop on presidential golfers both then and now: who has game, who doesn’t and who should lay down his clubs in deference to those who appreciate fair play.
From the best (John Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt) to the worst (Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan), to the cheaters (Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson), Van Natta shares insights about our nation’s leaders and their passion for the game. Lyndon Johnson used golf to intimidate political opponents. Woodrow Wilson played every day, often during political crises. JFK feared the implications of public knowledge of his prowess.
The public had not appreciated Eisenhnower’s obsession, since golf was still seen as a "rich man’s game," and not an appropriate activity for the "champion of the people." Van Natta’s research is impressive and his writing style is engaging, but the text feels a bit like a one-trick pony. Filled with anecdotal bits and pieces, there is more of interest here to historians than to serious golfers.
Article – Gearing Up For Golf
Golf is rapidly becoming the sport of choice for many Americans.
While some view the sport as slow-paced, golf actually requires a great deal of strength and stamina, not to mention skill. While you may not have to be in the best cardiovascular shape to play golf, your muscles, particularly those of the legs and upper torso, must be both strong and flexible to keep your handicap below an embarrassing level.
The key components:
To be successful in golf there are three components of fitness that you should focus on: strength/power, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance. These also are the three most important components of any well-rounded fitness program.
Strength and power
Developing muscular strength and power is essential for generating club head speed, a determining factor in how far you can hit the ball. The box to the right lists specific exercises that will help you generate more power in your upper body as well as stabilizing strength in your lower body.
One or more sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise should be performed three days per week.
A recent study found this regimen to be extremely effective. As similar studies have shown, strength training brings about significant improvements in lean body weight, reduced body fat, increased leg strength and joint flexibility and a reduction in systolic blood pressure.
But more important, at least to the golfers in this study, was the significant improvement in club head speed. The 17 exercisers increased the speed of their swing by an average of 5 mph. The control group experienced no such improvements.
Flexibility
Flexibility is another important key to developing a full, fluid golf swing. Simply swinging the club is not enough, but you can increase the range of motion in your shoulders, trunk, low back and hamstrings with just a few minutes of daily stretching.
But don’t save your stretching until five minutes before you tee off. Flexibility exercises must be done every day. And always warm up your muscles before you stretch them to increase your range of motion and prevent injury.
Cardiovascular conditioning
Finally, cardiovascular conditioning is essential to help you keep your energy up during a long round of golf. That conditioning can help you deal with the stress of making a crucial putt or of getting out of a sand trap.
Try to fit in at least 20 minutes of walking, cycling or whatever aerobic activity you prefer, three times per week.
Improving your golf game requires a bit more than simply playing a lot of golf, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in the gym. Try the exercises outlined here and you’ll not only come closer to par, but you’ll also reap numerous health benefits, such as increased lean body weight, reduced body fat, lower blood pressure and increased strength and flexibility.
While it may be difficult to motivate some people to stretch or begin strength training, telling them they might lower their handicap may be just the ticket to get them to head to the gym. Or work out at home. Whichever is most convenient.
The point is to do it, regardless of whether it’s for health or for a better golf score.
Reprinted with permission from the American Council on Exercise