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 “There’s not a lot of caffeine research in golf,” said lead author
Petey W. Mumford of Auburn University in Alabama. Most studies focus
on endurance sports.
Professional golfers may walk up to five miles over four hours for a
round of golf, which is physical activity, though not intense
exercise, said senior author Dr. Kaelin C. Young of the Edward Via
College of Osteopathic Medicine, also on the Auburn campus.
A golf tournament involves physical and mental fatigue, Young said.
The researchers studied 12 male golfers with a handicap of three to
18 as they played an 18-hole round of golf on two consecutive days
for a 36-hole tournament.
The golfers were already used to consuming caffeine in their daily
lives.
On each day of golf, the participants were told to avoid any other
sources of caffeine and to eat a meal two hours prior to play. On
arrival they provided a urine sample and were fitted with a device
to monitor their health throughout the day.
The players were randomly assigned to take a caffeine supplement of
155 milligrams (roughly equivalent to one cup of coffee) or a
placebo. They took their first dose before being driven to the
tee-off point by a research assistant who collected in-round golf
data and transported their clubs.
The golfers completed an energy and mood questionnaire before
playing. After the first nine holes, which they walked without using
a golf cart, they were given another dose of caffeine supplement or
placebo. They also ate a standard meal to offset any dips in blood
sugar, and filled out a second energy and mood questionnaire.
After the final nine holes, the golfers filled out a third
questionnaire.
For each round of golf, the players in the caffeine group had an
average score of almost 77 strokes compared to more than 79 for the
placebo group, as reported in Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise. Men in the caffeine group also reported more energy and
less fatigue on their questionnaires.
“Getting your total score lower by even one stroke, that could be
the difference between getting into a tournament and not,” Mumford
said.
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“For a skilled golfer who plays two days in a tournament just to get
into the earnings rank, two strokes is huge,” Young added.
In an accuracy assessment, the researchers found that players in the
caffeine group tended to get more balls on the green and have less
distance remaining to the hole than the placebo group.
Before caffeine supplementation, players should try more training
and practice, said David Bishop of the Institute of Sport, Exercise
and Active Living and College of Sport and Exercise Science at
Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia.
“For those who have reached a plateau in their performance, and are
confident their training or practice can’t be improved, they might
want to consider it,” he told Reuters Health by email. “I would
however, recommend that athletes first speak with their doctor or
sports dietitian.”
Two to three milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of individual body
mass will produce a noticeable performance effect in most
individuals, said Bishop, who was not involved with the new study.
But high doses can increase heart rate and blood pressure, he said.
“Other common adverse effects of caffeine include insomnia, tremors,
headaches, anxiety, dependency, withdrawal, and occasional
gastrointestinal distress when drinking strong coffee,” Bishop said.
“The effects of caffeine might also be altered when taken in
combination with other supplements.”
Many athletes, including elite ones, do use caffeine to improve
performance, Mumford said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1PAMj2l Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise, online August 17, 2015.
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