by PONTE VEDRA BEACH – A golf clubhouse or 19-hole grill usually features meals like a fried egg sandwich before golfing for the first tee, and a cheeseburger and fries, followed by a few beers, after the tee. round.
PGA Tour professionals eat much better at tournaments like The Players Championship – and healthier.
The level of golf required to succeed on the 21st century PGA Tour requires a much different approach to nutrition. And a program started on the Tour in 2021 to upgrade the food of the week’s players is offering healthy alternatives with one overriding theme: world-class golfers are athletes and need to be encouraged as such.
“A lot about an athlete’s diet 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, is the former head of nutrition for the Tampa Bay Rays and is now the head of nutrition the Tampa Bay Rays. nutritionist for the Tour’s Player Nutrition Nutrition Program, now in its fourth year. “There are power sports and endurance sports. Golf is a bit of both. They benefit from both energy systems and there is no doubt that they are athletes.”
Unlike team sports, where coaches and training staff may have to educate their athletes, PGA Tour Vice President of Food and Beverage Kent James said the pressure on choices comes more from the athletes themselves other healthy in food players.
Several Tour players have employed nutritionists and their own chefs for years, and since Tiger Woods set the example of training for golf like an athlete, their overall knowledge of nutrition and health has increased in far beyond the days of cheeseburger and fries.
“The starting point is what the players are looking for,” James said. “We’re giving them what they need and we’re here to help put together a program that focuses on pre-round energy and post-round recovery. It’s not like a meal plan. It’s not like we’re telling them what to eat. But there are things that we recommend and a lot of it is coming from them.”
James described the goal of providing each group with food that is “nutrition dense”.
Chef Matt at TPC Sawgrass makes the plan
The nutrition program is in place at The Players Championship and eight other PGA Tour Signature events, and is expected to grow. TPC Sawgrass Executive Chef Matt Voskuil served 144 players and their families during The Players at an upstairs dining area in the clubhouse that can seat about 100 at a time.
Voskuil has been at TPC Sawgrass for a little over a year, coming from the Ocean House in Rhode Island, a Forbes three-star resort. He worked in restaurants early in his career but said he enjoys his current job.
“It’s a very popular destination and it feels like a hotel without rooms,” he said. “We’re doing so many things, with different unique customers and groups … it’s really fun and challenging.”
Voskuil and his team arrive at the TPC Clubhouse at 4 a.m. the week of The Players, with the dining room opening around 5:30. He said he had a staff of about a dozen cooks and food preparers, plus double the wait and cleaning staff for tournament week and was open mostly for breakfast and lunch.
He makes food orders based on the 144 players “times 1.5” to account for guests and family, which adds up to about 215 people each day before the cut is made, and a little more than 100 after the weekend pitch be lower than the 70s, plus ties.
Based mostly on breakfast and lunch, up to 1,000 meals can be added during the week.
Voskuil said the players’ wives and girlfriends are almost as interested in eating well as the Tour players. But he also said that concessions have been made for children: Mac and cheese is on the menu and there is an ice cream bar.
Voskuil also tried the chocolate pie recipe of Scottie Scheffler’s grandmother, Mary DeLorenzo, who lives in Atlantic Beach.
“She said it was really good,” Scheffler said of his grandmother’s birth when the two visited TPC Sawgrass a week before the tournament. “I also thought it was very good. It didn’t quite reach the level of the old lady, of course, but it was good.”
What do PGA Tour players eat?
Voskuil said if a player wants the usual clubhouse or grill fare, his team can make a burger or hot dog as good as anyone. TPC Sawgrass is also known for its fries, homemade potato chips and chicken tenders.
“We’ve put all this energy into crafting this program but at the same time, we’re not in a place where we tend not to tell anybody,” James said. “Our players will get what they ask for [for].”
But he said few players are looking for those items during tournament week as they try to be at their best.
To that end, the proteins are heavy on chicken and seafood and lean meat options. And at each food station on the buffet line or on the menu, there is information on the best foods for muscle mass, heart health, oxygenation and recovery.
James said players are in tune with vegetarian and vegan options, which are in plentiful supply during The Players: he estimates there were about 60 types of produce available to prepare in almost any way.
The wishes of international players, especially those from Asian countries, are also considered. The Nutrition Program recently added Kimchi, a Korean staple made from cabbage and pickled or otherwise flavored radishes.
There are also varieties of seared tuna and food with Japanese spices.
Voskuil said American players could take cues from their Asian peers.
“When you look at the typical Asian diet or maybe even in Europe, sometimes their cultural defaults are more healthy food traditions than what I grew up with,” he said. “I think we’ll probably key in some of those cuisines as starting points and inspiration for the dishes we create here.”
What are the food reviews from Tour players?
Players are giving TPC Sawgrass food rave reviews.
“It was very valuable for us, especially at the TPC courses,” said Akshay Bhatia. “Smoothie bars are huge because we can’t get enough nutrients. The food is great and freshness is key for us … the food tastes better, but cleaner.”
Billy Horschel admits he ate too much like the college student he was at the University of Florida deep into his professional career, but he has seen the benefits of the Nutrition Program.
“I learned as I went and it was really helpful for them to have the cards that go with each meal so you know what the benefits of each food are,” he said. “I never paid attention to nutrition … I still don’t. But the food here is a hell of a lot better than 15 years ago. It wasn’t that bad, but they’ve done a great job of giving us options and educating us.”
