Golf is a hot, long-duration marathon where sweating causes significant electrolyte loss. Dehydration impairs mental sharpness, reaction time, and causes muscle cramps. Start each tournament day fully hydrated with electrolyte-rich fluids and replenish throughout to maintain focus and power.
If I were Rory McIlroy's nutrition coach, here's one thing I would have had him focus on during the Masters. Golf is a marathon. It's hot, you walk a lot, and you're still sweating. So I would have made sure that Rory was dialed in on his electrolytes, and here's why. Dehydration causes brain fog, causes low reaction time, and can also cause cramps. Now, golfers, you gotta have focus, you gotta have mental edge, your reaction time has to be well, you gotta be able to have power. If you are dehydrated, it's gonna take that edge away. I would have had him drinking electrolytes from the get-go in the morning, so he's coming into it with fluids and electrolytes. And throughout the day, I would have been watching and monitoring and making sure that he's hydrating with electrolytes throughout the entire tournament so he could keep the edge, keep his brain sharp, and perform really well.
