SHINING EXAMPLE
Lockdown can’t hinder Langer as German adapts training regime to stay in shape
BERNHARD LANGER recently became a first-time grandfather when his eldest daughter, Jackie, gave birth to a son. But Champions Tour rivals who are hoping the two-time Masters winner is about to invest in a pipe and slippers and focus more on family matters can forget it.
The fittest man on the Over-50s golf circuit by far has no plans whatsoever to take his foot off the pedal.
The 62-year-old German legend regularly puts many golfers half his age to shame with his incredible staying power.
But there’s no secret to his success, no special elixir of life that gives him an edge over opponents who now include the likes of fellow major winners Ernie Els and Jose Maria Olazabal.
It’s all about hard work and a strict fitness regime which is still firmly in place despite the sport being in lockdown.
Langer continues to put his body through the mill daily to ensure he is in peak shape when the Tour eventually resumes.
With his local fitness centre near his home in Florida closed, Langer is being creative in the absence of his personal trainer.
He revealed: ‘I swing a heavy club — a seven-iron with lead down the shaft — and I also have a treadmill and exercise bike in my fitness room at home, as well as mats for stretching and body-weight exercises.
‘I’m also learning to do some workouts in the pool, which is actually better for my knees and shoulders.
‘You need to be creative and use what you have and everyone has that opportunity. You can do sit-ups and pull-ups and benching just using your body weight. You don’t need a lot of other equipment.
‘I also have a little putting green in our back yard and I can chip around that, too.
‘There are a lot of things that need to come together to win out there and you have to be fit and healthy to swing the club the way you want to.
‘You also need to be determined and you have to practise every aspect of the game.
‘You need good technique, be able to withstand the pressure, control your shots and chip and putt well, while at the same time control your emotions.
‘There is so much that contributes to being successful and fitness is certainly a big factor.’
The Tour’s leading money-winner after 13 years of almost total dominance, Langer’s victory at the Cologuard Classic at the start of last month maintained his remarkable record of at least one win in each of his 14 seasons since turning 50.
His latest success also took his total number of victories to 41 — just four short of Hale Irwin’s record set in 2007.
Langer, who also has 11 senior majors on his CV, said: ‘We don’t live and die for records, but it’s fun to have a couple of them all the same.
‘But I don’t contemplate Hale’s record too much. My goal is to get better and improve my game, because I know if I do that and play close to my best, then I can win tournaments and majors and reach 45 Champions Tour wins.
‘For a long time I didn’t think it would be possible for anyone to reach the record, but I’ll keep trying. My focus is just to be the best I can be.’
It’s a measure of Langer’s age-defying longevity that he will compete in his 36th Masters later in the year.
He has only missed two either side of his Augusta triumphs in 1985 and 1993, the last time in 2011 when a thumb injury ruled him out. But it’s also a mark of the man and his adherence to protocol that he still made the effort to attend the champions’ dinner at Augusta that year.
And he pledged: ‘If they hold the Masters, I’ll be there. I’ve never played Augusta in the fall, but they tell me the conditions in November will be very similar to April, just with fewer flowers in bloom.’
But, mindful of the coronavirus pandemic, he was also keen to stress: ‘There are far more important things in life than playing golf.’