Lifestyle of winning
SERIOUS golfers, whether they are amateurs or professionals, are aware of the need to keep their metabolism in the best of shape.
Even if it’s simply to hit that long drive or remain in top form for several days of gruelling competition, a quality diet and lifestyle play a crucial role in their daily routine. Cardio workouts are amust, and so are those muscle building drills. And to keep their body healthy, they choose food rich in fiber.
Four exceptional golfers share with Inquirer Golf how they continue to prime themselves for top-level play.
ANGELO QUE
ANGEL Que is one of the most in-form professional golfers the Philippines has , winning the Philippine Open earlier in the year and running as the top Filipino in the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.
And like the other champions in his sport or in any other, success has never come easy for this long-hitting formerWorld Amateur veteran.
“If I have the time, I join my wife Tracy in doing some yoga at least twice a week for a good stretch,” Que says. “I also jog around the place I live in for some cardio workout.”
Que is one of the longest-hitting players in the local tour and has a very promising future even outside of the Asian Tour. After representing the Philippines in the British Open last July,Que is seen by many as someone who has a solid shot at barging into the US PGA.
And to do that, he needs to stay in the best of health.
But the most important thing in his regimen is one which we can all have: “It’s always important for me to wake up in the best of moods and to carry that on throughout the day.”
TOMMY MANOTOC
TOMMY Manotoc feels strongest at this point in his life – now that he’s 59.
“I feel a lot stronger now than when I was 45,” says Manotoc, who recently played all four rounds of the Hong Kong Amateur in Fanling, quite a rare feat for someone his age – considering that he walked the course all four days.
Manotoc, aside from eating only organic foods, consumes 80% of his food intake, mostly vegetables, raw, with the remaining 20% allotted for the usual fish and brown rice, just one cup, once a day.
The fish he eats are usually off the can or broiled and never fried, always bringing his food in little canisters.
His usual dish consists of a salad made up of lettuce, alugbati leaves, kang kong, monggo sprouts, etc., which his wife Yvette seasons with homemade vinaigrette, assorted organic nuts and raisins.
Manoto stays away from greasy food and limits himself to poultry if seafood is not available.
Throw in regular pilates and swimming sessions and Manotoc feels that this is the kind of lifestyle that’s fit to maintaining championship form.
LEANA FARRALES
FOR Leana Farrales, putting in 12 to 14 hours a week in triathlon training is a good way to keep her golf game in competitive shape. “I get fit to play golf,” she says. A good workoutmeans putting in an hour and a half of swimming. Or 100 kilometers of cycling. Or running 15K.
To build muscle mass, she goes to the gym to lift weighs at least twice a week, or whacks balls at the driving range.
A golfer of three decades, Farrales values having an enduring stamina when playing in tournaments. For this petite lady, one has to be fit to play exceptional golf.
Of her many colorful moments since she started playing at 9, one particular story stands out.
While taking up her masters in the US , Farrales remembers being pitted against the then champion of the local golf club in a match play. All 5-foot tall and dainty, she handily beat her opponent, a young man who promptly forgot his gentlemanly manners as he snapped his driver in two and dumped the pieces in the garbage can.
The 2007 Canlubang club champion is also fastidious about her diet. She avoids food high in fat, highly processed sugar, and white bread. She would rather have more chicken, fish, eggs and beans rather than red meat.
“I don’t allow myself to be hungry,” she says. She favors frequent meals that are high in fiber – fresh vegetables, lots of fruits and wholegrain breads.
VINICE GODIO
NOT many golfers can lay claim to winning a club championship in six consecutive years, which is why Vinice Godio is pretty proud of herself.
A former aikido player, Godio exchanged her brown belt for a set of clubs and irons 13 years ago – and has never looked back.
As defending champion of both the Alabang and Sta. Elena ladies championships, she pursues amean physical conditioning regimen while at the same time keeps a fastidious watch on her food intake.
She visits the gym every day, starting her routine with 45 minutes of cardio work on the treadmill and electric bike, followed by another 45 minutes of jogging.
Godio then allots 20 minutes to strengthening her muscles before giving another 20 minutes to core movements such as sit-ups and ball exercises.
A trip to the Alabang driving range is amust at least once a week, where she sets aside two to two-and-a-half hours practicing her drives and pitches.
Like most golfers, Godio maintains a high vegetable and meat diet for her body’s fiber and protein needs. Before a golf game, she says a meal is amust. It’s a little carbo and an egg for breakfast, and 70% vegetables for lunch.
For snacks, Godio prefers a bar of dried fruits and nuts instead of a bowl of arroz caldo or mami that many golfers at her home course usually favor.
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