Chef Matt at TPC Sawgrass executes the plan
PONTE VEDRA BEACH — A golf clubhouse or 19th hole grill usually entails meals such as a fried egg sandwich before golfers head for the first tee, and a cheeseburger and fries, chased by some beer, following the round.
PGA Tour professionals eat a lot better at tournaments such as The Players Championship — and healthier.
The level of golf required to be successful in the 21st century PGA Tour requires a much different approach to nutrition. And a program begun on the Tour in 2021 to upgrade player dining the week of tournaments is offering healthy alternatives with one overriding theme: golfers at the world-class level are athletes and need to fuel as such.
“A lot about diet for athletes depends on the energy systems of that sport,” said Ryan Harmon, who has a Master’s Degree in Nutritional Science from the University of Florida, was the former head of nutrition for the Tampa Bay Rays and is now the nutritionist for the Tour’s Player Dining Nutrition Program, in its fourth year. “There are power sports and endurance sports. Golf is a little bit of both. They tap into both energy systems and there’s no question they are athletes.”
Unlike team sports, where coaches and a training staff might have to educate their athletes, PGA Tour Vice President for Food and Beverage Kent James said the greater push for healthy alternatives in player dining came from the athletes themselves.
Some Tour players have employed nutritionists and their own cooks for years, and since Tiger Woods set the example of training for golf like an athlete, and their overall knowledge of nutrition and health has increased far beyond the cheeseburger and fries days.
“The starting point has been, what are the players asking for,” James said. “We’re giving them what they need and we’re here to help craft a program that focuses on pre-round energy and postround recovery. It’s not like a meal plan. It’s not like we’re telling them these are things they must eat. But there are things we recommend and a lot of it is coming from them.”
James described the goal of providing food in all groups that are “nutrient dense.”
The nutrition program is in place at The Players Championship and the PGA Tour’s eight other Signature events, with the hopes of expanding.