I've been a fairly avid golfer for over 20 years now. I was still about a 13 handicap when I was up to 360-70. I'm down about 115 pounds now and I've only golfed twice since surgery (not at all in the last 5 months) Does anyone have any suggestions for getting back out on the course. I'm worried my swing will be completely different and was hoping someone had been in the same boat and might have some suggestions for regaining your swing after a major weight loss. Cheers and congrats to everyone who's gone through this....such a better life so far!

I was just sleeved, but was talking to a running coach when I bought some running shoes, and he said all of your biomechanics will change after losing weight, which makes absolute sense. There are layers of cushion/fat between joints, which makes the joint move a certain way. I can see us having to regain our golf/bowling swing throughout the process. But, like me, I'm just gonna use it for an excuse to get out on the course more, and spend more time in the alley.

I have not had my surgery yet but have played since I was young . I think if you start with the fundamentals such as grip,stance, posture and tempo you will learn to swing well with your new and still changing body. Taking a few lessons would be great too as you can have some guidance on what you specifically should be working on during your range sessions. Ii think the biggest istake most make is not practicing with a purpose. I hope you enjoy your golf more in your new bod.

BC

Well i know this my swing speed has dropped from 117 down to 98 all my shafts are stiff so unless i can regain the speed by working out it's gonna suck golfing this year cause I've lost distance but my posture is better and i can turn all the way through my swing which i could never do before because of my gut. Keep us updated on progress

Good Morning,

I lost a good bit of weight a few years ago. I had been playing for probably 5 years or so and had gotten fairly confident in my game. Not great by any means but I had learned what I could and couldn't do and when I felt comfortable hitting a shot. You have done it so you know what I am saying lol! The one thing that I noticed is that I was pulling the ball badly after the weight loss. I suppose it was do to clearing my upper body more easily and a faster rotation thru the shot. After a couple trips noticing this, it was off to the range. A couple buckets and a couple mental notes and things came back around to what I wanted. Like others have said, if you have a good understanding of your basic mechanics, which you probably do with playing that long, you shouldn't have any major issues. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

It's way easier to control my swing now. When everything weighs less, I am finding I am able to make my misses less dramatic so I stay in play a lot more often. I lost a little distance, but that's simply because I have lost a lot of muscle too. I am certain the muscle will come back over time as the diet slowly increase back to a higher caloric level.

I also had a bit of an over swing, now I can stop a parallel when I make a conscious effort. That may also explain the better control.

I am still trying to find a downside to the sleeve but have to keep looking.

You guys have me wanting to go hit some balls now!

Thanks LOL!

I haven't played golf since high school, well I probably played a few rounds in college, but just horsing around. I need to get some new clubs fitted and get out there again.

So I finally got out there...man was it rough. The ball striking seemed to be decent yet highly inconsistent, but putting was a whole new problem. I'm just so used to resting my arms against my stomach for support that now it feels weird with a lot of my gut gone. My arms feel like they're floating and I have no consistency in my stroke. On the plus side, I walked 18 without feeling like I wanted to die....so I got that going for me. I guess I just need to practice...but I feel like Allen Iverson about practice. Practice?

_Shady,

_{I am still fat so I have my armrests lol. With the weight I did lose I did feel better and didn't mind walking but the small packed courses suck and the cart makes it faster and more enjoyable as far as not hurry up and wait....}

_{Luckily I never lost any muscle when I had lost my weight so between that and getting thru the shot cleaner my distance actually seemed a bit better. Maybe not 30 yards better but maybe 10-15 on average. I really struggled a bit with a seriously nasty snap hook! I would be lined up nicely and comfortable, nice take away, clean and clear, good follow thru and that bastard would absolutely scream to the left. I am not talking a little left. I am talking about killing people on the next tee box left kinda stuff. After a handful of those and a bunch of WTFs, I quit and went to the range. Those couple hours on the range were some of the most eye opening and encouaging hours I have ever spent in golf. Seriously. Another buddy of mine that is slightly larger was watching me. He got me started with golf when I was way overweight and he said that he could tell a huge difference and helped to straighten me out. Once I got that "feel" back..... game on!! You will get it, I am sure.}

I have been out a few times this year and I have noticed a difference in my swing. I have lost right around 90 lbs so far and the biggest thing I have noticed is that I still tend to swing like I am trying to clear my big gut. The problem is that it is not there anymore so I am swinging outside-in and putting serious side spun on the ball. I have been trying to pull my arms in sooner and has made a big difference in distance and angle. My ball flight is much straighter and I'm getting about 20 more yards in my drives. I am also able to do 9 holes without a cart (working towards 18).

I have been playing every weekend since I was 1 month out so that's about 2 months now. At first I was really weak and I had lost about 40 -50 yards off my driver and was 2-3 clubs shorter. I didn't have any pain. Over the course of the first month back my distance worked it's way back. I did have some issues with some pain in my mid back that I think came from my being able to make a good turn back and through for the first time in many years. With weight loss that is as quick as it can be in the initial stages of the sleeve I think the body goes through so much change and the flexibility that we see improving might allow us to make moves to the ball that we can't really handle right away. Over the past 3 weeks now that mid back pain is gone, my handicap is back to where it was pre op (2) and my only problem is now I am hitting the ball 1+ club longer with the irons and about 10 yards more with the driver. I was worried that losing weight would rob me of my game, now I think I'm going to see it will prolong how long I can play the game and likely I'll improve as my fitness level improves. Best wishes to all who are losing weight and getting back out on the course. Hit em straight!

My swing speed has gotten faster with the weight loss....but my balance is all over the place. I"m hitting fat and thin like crazy.....but if I slow my tempo and back off the swing, I can find my balance better at the cost of length. Hopefully once the weight loss levels out...so will my swing. Keep strikin 'em all.