Carl Pettersson
If Carl Pettersson has an exercise regimen, it’s a secret he holds close to his comfortable belly.
But never let it be said fat men don’t wear plaid. Pettersson drove it a ton, hit more greens than anybody, and made tons of putts over the weekend, and they found a red tartan jacket to fit him as the champion of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town in Hilton Head.
Colt Knost, even more jumbo than Pettersson, finished third. Robert Garrigus, no Slim Bob himself, averaged 311 yards per drive at Harbour Town, contended seriously and finished tied for 13th after a Sunday 74.
It was a good week for the big boys.
In this first third of the PGA Tour season, we’ve seen the whippet-lean Kyle Stanley win. He works out …
We’ve seen Hunter Mahan win … he works out.
We’ve seen Tiger Woods win … he works out, for better or worse …
We live in an era where the Titleist Performance Institute, for one, is in the business of golf-specific exercise, where you tailor your exercise program to fit your physical limitations, if you have any (!), to be able to play without injury, and to strengthen and increase mobility where you’re weak and immobile, all in the service of a stronger, freer, more repeatable golf swing.
For instance: In the fitness world in general, it’s all about the core … At the TPI, at the risk of oversimplifying, it’s no good to have a strong core if it won’t move, so mobility is more important than strength.
Check out the core on Colt Knost … six-pack abs, for sure, and not because his belly is taut and ripped.
We’ve seen Dustin Johnson in Golf Digest doing some one-legged squat thing with his other leg straight out in front, a pose heretofore thought physically impossible by humans. On the cover of that magazine, Johnson was swinging a club while standing on a physio ball. Do not try this at home.
Really, don’t try it at home … the TPI people I talked to said the stunt on the ball demonstrates superior balance (if you can do it at all), but does nothing for your golf swing.
We don’t know what Dustin Johnson does for a workout, but we know he missed the Masters with a lower-back injury … those same TPI people said, more or less, see? See what we mean?
