Walking the course a great way to stay in shape
By CAROL STUART
For Brentwood Home Page
Golf at first glance might not seem like a big fitness adventure, but it's one way to enjoy the outdoors and stay active.

The Little Course at Golf House Tennessee

That is, if you walk.

"If you walk an 18-hole round of golf, you can walk between 5 and 7 miles. That’s a pretty good workout," said Scott Flynn, director of golf at Golf House Tennessee near Cool Springs.

And Flynn says he sees more people either pulling a cart behind or actually even carrying their own bags -- now made of lighter, high-tech materials -- rather than going for a ride to their next shot.

"There's actually a bigger trend over the last five years or so toward walking again," Flynn said. "It went through a period where we saw tending toward taking electric carts.

"But there’s an awful lot of people, that golf is really a key part of how they get their exercise."

The nine-hole Little Course at Golf House Tennessee Learning Center, is one of the closest courses open to the public near Brentwood. A lot of the instruction focuses on youth golfers, but also is open to all ages of adults up through seniors.

Brentwood Country Club, which requires membership, has an 18-hole championship golf course in the heart of the city.

Flynn says the trend since the emergence of Tiger Woods and other players coming out of college recently also is to "take fitness very seriously."

Brentwood Country Club golf course

"Golfers definitely have become athletes," he said.

The Titliest Performance Institute has even developed a comprehensive golf conditioning program in the past decade that most competitive players have become devoted to, Flynn said.

He says being in good shape physically can help a golfer stay injury-free and play longer.

In addition to cardiovascular exercise, flexibility and core stability are important in the game. He said there's no reason for golfers to have back injuries if they take a little time to get in shape.

"So we work a lot on the core -- hips and back -- to stay healthy, but also it’s really what allows the player to hit it the farthest," Flynn said.

A junior camp just finished at the Little Course with about 50 players age 7-17, and senior golf runs at the same time.

"It’s a great thing about golf -- you can play it at any age," Flynn said. "... You can play it forever.  I think the more you do walk, the longer you're going to play it."