You Gotta Eat. Hear me out.

I recently went to play but got hung up at work and missed lunch. Having also skipped breakfast, I showed up to the course on an empty stomach, figuring I’d power through. Deep down, I knew I was wrong. I’d been down this road before.

The first couple holes were fine, good even. But then, beneath the surface, shots started missing their marks. By a little bit at first, then by a lot. The swing felt more and more off. As the tank reached “E”, fatigue spiked and energy plummeted. By hole 12, the stall was unrecoverable. A near-scratch golfer was suddenly topping 3-woods and blading chips. And for a very avoidable reason — I was hangry.

Even in a slow-paced, low-impact, low-cardio sport, keeping energy levels up is important. What golf lacks in physicality it makes up for in demand for focus to execute precise movements over and over again. During a 4 or 5-hour round, it’s very easy to not notice when the fuel gauge gets low. Or like me, to simply believe that being hungry isn’t an excuse for bad play.

The point is, eat something before you play. And not half a banana — eat a real meal. Bring a favorite snack for on the course too. I promise that forgoing 10-15 minutes of a warm-up for an egg sandwich and a few bites at the turn will save you strokes. Trust me.