Golfers’ menus depend on the golfers

Deirdre Newman

Stroll around a golf course for four hours, and you’re apt to work up

an appetite.

And with the players on the PGA Champions Tour now encouraged to

abandon their carts and use their legs to get around, a steady supply

of stamina is a plus.

But when you’re confronted with an array of tasty temptations like

cheese blintzes for breakfast, cheesecake with lunch and candy bars

on the course, it takes nine-iron willpower to resist.

The golfers who compete in the Toshiba Senior Classic have varying

attitudes about what they eat and how often. The majority of them are

health-conscious, Graham Marsh said.

“One of the reasons why the standard of golf is particularly high

on the tour is because we have players in excellent shape,” Marsh

sad. “It’s really an example of what can be achieved in life.”

Marsh, who hails from Australia, said he tries to eat light and

healthy. For breakfast, he usually chows down on toast, fruit and

cereal to get his fiber. On days he knows he’ll be competing, he’ll

add some eggs for extra energy.

Planning a healthy eating schedule is also a challenge for golfers

who compete at various times each day, Marsh said.

“When you get done and you’re hungry and food is available at the

clubhouse and you have a late lunch, then you have to worry about

when you eat dinner,” Marsh said. “Spacing food into three to four

meals after breakfast throughout the course of the day is the

smartest way to go.”

Many of the golfers gravitate toward chicken, pasta and fish and

shy away from eating too much red meat, Marsh said.

Each venue provides a similar selections, said Dave Senko, tour

media official. On the days of the official competition at the

Newport Beach Country Club, a portion of the women’s locker room is

transformed into a dining area, with chefs whipping up made-to-order

omelettes, a wide range of hot and cold cereals, pancakes, blintzes

and a fruit tray.

Lunch brings a buffet with a variety of salads, cold cuts and

desserts like cheesecake, pie, cookies and cake. Most also provide

healthy snacks on the course and fancier choices in the late

afternoon like hot hors d’oeuvres. In Alabama, a cooler swings by

with Haagen-Daaz ice cream bars, Senco said.

Dana Quigley said he usually only eats two meals a day on the road

-- one before the competition and one after. And he doesn’t spend too

much time thinking about either one, he said.

“I eat whatever they have up on the table,” Quigley said. “I have

no conscious thoughts about what I eat to make me play better. My

adrenalin is flowing from the day I get into town.”

While others may be noshing as they meander through the holes,

Quigley said he has an apple or banana on the 10th hole and smokes a

few cigars throughout the course.

When the competition is over, many of the golfers like to indulge

in a glass of wine or beer to celebrate, Marsh said.

“If we played well, we would be looking for an opportunity to

share that with our friends,” Marsh said. “Everyone looks for an

excuse to party.”