Re: Older, less flexible golfers

The lack of suppleness is mostly the result of weakening of the muscles. Something that is not generally recognized is that stronger muscles are more flexible. As we age, we start to lose muscle mass, unless we work specifically to prevent this. This starts at age 40 or even earlier for some, and accelerates at 50. As we lose muscle mass, we get weaker and stiffer. Stretching may help a little but it is not really the solution. The *only* answer is strength training. You don't have to do a lot, if you do it right. I recommend short-duration, high-intensity workouts just once a week--twice at most, if you feel like it. This is enough to halt and reverse muscle loss.

Obviously diet matters too, for fat control, but fat control and muscle retention are too separate matters. I'm 52 and I work at a university where we have the opportunity to get fitness testing done, including lean body mass measurements. I do *one* whole-body strength workout a week, which lasts 30 minutes at most. In addition to that, I do two daily exercises in the morning: a set of push-ups to failure, and a set of ...dunno what they're called. I sit on the floor with my legs extended in front of me and my palms on the floor on either side of my butt. Then I just push my torso up until my feet are flat, my knees are at a 90* angle, and my torso is parallel to the floor but raised (and my head hangs back). Anyway, the lean body mass measurements show that my muscle mass has actually increased in the 23 years that I've worked here, although the increase all took place in the first year, when I started strength training. Since then it has stayed the same. The morning routine takes 2 or 3 minutes.

Abdomenal fat, in addition to being unhealthy and converting your testosterone to estrogen, also makes it harder to made a good swing. I don't know how guys like John Daly and Craig Stadler do it. I've managed to drop 20 lbs since October and it has helped.