Golf

I have been playing a lot of golf lately, a game that many say requires little to no atleticism. I disagree because there is a direct correlation between athletic people and golf skill(for the most part). It would be easy to just mention Tiger Woods and his training program and be done with the subject but Iwould like to take some of the more unfit looking golfers and describe what makes them athletic. Golf requires strength to hit the ball 300+ yards. I honestly hit the ball as hard as I can sometimes on my drives and can barely get it 300 which is pretty good for an amateur. Anyways, John Daly is my first example of a seemingly unfit golfer. If you look at his swing you will see that it takes amazing flexibility to be able to swing past parallel on the backswing(meaning that he takes the club back so far that is almost touches his left shoulder). Moreover, Daly also had some trouble in the past and was out of golf for a little while with drinking problems and was sort of a joke at one time. He had gained an extreme amount of weight and was not playing the way he normally does. He got the lapband surgery and lost 80 lbs in the process. He is now back on tour competing and doing quite well, making cuts and playing generally decent golf. Is there some correlation between his fitness and good play or is it him being used to weighing a certain amount and tailoring his swing to play at that weight? It really is hard to say but looking at the professional golfers, many of them have taken the time in the last few years to get in shape like any other athlete out there. They weight train, do cardio, and of course use those fast twitch muscles to play golf. That said, there are large americans who play golf and some may do so with success but that isn't to say that golf requires no athleticism, on the contrary the muscle memory alone required to play the game is learned through years of participating in athletic activity, learning how to learn if you will. I enjoy the game greatly and now understand the physical qualities required to play the game at such a high level. Uno Vez