Rory is too jacked...

[2over]

Wow, guess my OP was not clear. I used the word "jacked" only in reference to the article on the front page of GolfWrx a couple days ago. If you read the article it seemed clear (but, apparently, thinking people would read the article before they commented on the comment was silly of me) anyway: it seemed obvious the original article was using the term "jacked" in a relative not absolute sense. To spell it out: "jacked" here means adding on about 10-20% of your body mass in muscle from lifting heavy weights and/or using "supplements"--substantially changing your body fat percentage (dramatically lower) and adding muscle that you would never have without the heavy weight training. Golf experts (and some trainers) have long held that becoming unnaturally muscle bound is deleterious (some of you may have to look that word up--try dictionary.com) to your golf game. Camillo Villegas, Tiger, David Duval, and a number of other golfers of greater or lesser renown have all done this and seen their games tank. Most (not all) of the players of Johnny Miller's era and earlier steered well clear of becoming "muscle-bound" (the old term for "jacked")--Johnny accidentally got "jacked" (for him) doing ranch work and says it hurt his game. Rory's performance since his heavy weight training (and compare a 2011 Rory to the beach version in the pics above, and you'll see 2017 Rory is getting into Daniel Craig territory, a land that he was miles and miles away from when he was winning US Opens instead of going 6 over in the first round of them).

 

No one ever suggested Rory looks like an NFL DE. But that he has dramatically changed his physique to a much more muscle-bound (i.e. relatively "jacked") state is obvious. A guy like Koepka, is naturally muscular. He probably works out, but he hasn't added 10-20% of his body mass in muscle and drastically changed his physique--and he isn't injured all the time and is more consistence in his performance. That was the point. Oh, and that a guy like Sergio Garcia who is not lifting heavy weights either, and has maintained essentially the same physique as he had in his mid 20's has even more clubhead speed now than then and is playing the best golf of his career.

 

Flame away...

[Petunia Sprinkle]

Make Rory jacked again!

 

 

 

 

Looks like he has AIDS in that pic.

[SadTrombone]

Make Rory jacked again!

 

 

 

 

Looks like he has AIDS in that pic.

 

[dan360]

If the Tour's "jacked" were a lifted pickup it would be this one...

 

 

[b.mattay]

Wow, guess my OP was not clear. I used the word "jacked" only in reference to the article on the front page of GolfWrx a couple days ago. If you read the article it seemed clear (but, apparently, thinking people would read the article before they commented on the comment was silly of me) anyway: it seemed obvious the original article was using the term "jacked" in a relative not absolute sense. To spell it out: "jacked" here means adding on about 10-20% of your body mass in muscle from lifting heavy weights and/or using "supplements"--substantially changing your body fat percentage (dramatically lower) and adding muscle that you would never have without the heavy weight training. Golf experts (and some trainers) have long held that becoming unnaturally muscle bound is deleterious (some of you may have to look that word up--try dictionary.com) to your golf game.

 

Anecdotally, I know people who have gained 20+ pounds of muscle and got better at golf simultaneously. One (a bodybuilder) went from 160 pounds to about 220 pounds and dropped his handicap during that time (from 5 to 3). As long as you maintain a level of flexibility, I don't see how a bit of extra mass would interfere with athletic motion (eg. a golf swing).

[Argonne69]

Jacked? Hardly. Rory is 5' 9" at best.

 

[PowerPlayer]

Here are two things that Rory could do which would be much better for his golf game than weight lifting: badminton, or squash. Both require lots of running, and great hand eye coordination. Both can keep a guy really fit.

 

Let's face it: Rory was a better golfer when he was pudgy. He was long, and gifted, and could score.

 

I happen to think that weight lifting is not good for a golf swing. It is easy to do, but not helpful in the least.

 

There's so much factual wrong on this post that I'm glad it's just your opinion.

[PowerPlayer]

Jacked? Hardly. Rory is 5' 9" at best.

 

 

Are being 5'9" and jacked mutually exclusive? I'd argue that Mr. Olympia winners are fairly jacked and their average height is 5'9". So...

[gvogel]

Here are two things that Rory could do which would be much better for his golf game than weight lifting: badminton, or squash. Both require lots of running, and great hand eye coordination. Both can keep a guy really fit.

 

Let's face it: Rory was a better golfer when he was pudgy. He was long, and gifted, and could score.

 

I happen to think that weight lifting is not good for a golf swing. It is easy to do, but not helpful in the least.

 

There's so much factual wrong on this post that I'm glad it's just your opinion.

 

Jack won 18 majors over a long career, playing tennis to stay somewhat in fit.

 

You can stand by your own opinion on weight training, but I stand by my opinion that what Rory is doing is harmful.

 

By the way, anyone who would wear Baby Blue matching shirt and shoes in a US Open should have his decision making questioned.

[bscinstnct]

Jacked? Hardly. Rory is 5' 9" at best.

 

 

Looks like she'd serve him up a beating sangwich

 

With mustard ; )

[Krt22]

How come no talk of Koepka being jacked?

[norge5]

You know there is no such thing as "muscle bound?" Proper strength training increases flexibility. And, even if you buy into that, Mcilroy would never be considered an overdeveloped guy anyway. As one of the commentators said yesterday, when these big hitters start going bad in a round, they don't seem to know how to take their foot off the gas. They keep going at it full tilt. Maybe it's more mental than physical.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

Jacked? Hardly. Rory is 5' 9" at best.

 

 

Now THAT is hilarious.

[norge5]

Agree and disagree.

 

Disagree with your Sergio comparison. Sure, he's got 1 more green jacket than Rory, but he's also much older and has 3 fewer majors than Rory. I'd take a safe bet on Rory winning a green jacket by the time he's Sergio's age. I think a better comparison would be Jordan as he doesn't do a lot of heavy lifting and he's doing just fine at roughly the same age.

 

Agree that weightlifting can cause issues down the road and not do much for you on the golf course; Look at Justin Thomas for example. In the case of Tiger, he overdid it a little bit. I mean, the man was obsessed with Navy Seal training techniques and heavy lifting which ultimately wore his body down. But on the contrary, would you say the same about Louis Oosthuizen who has a bad back and carries a custom mattress around everywhere he goes? I haven't heard much about him doing heavy lifting like Rory does and he has always had issues. My point with Louis is that I think golf takes a strain on your body regardless, but I agree that heavy lifting will add to the cause...

You could make the argument that strength training prevented Tiger's body from breaking down sooner. If anything, it's the 5 mile runs that are more likely to contribute to degenerative conditions than strength training. The science says that, when done properly, strength training is one of the best things you can do for your long term health. Long distance running, one of the worst.

[chilllwave]

Someone get that stupid spider out of his hands, he clearly isn't comfortable with that style of putter. All time great if he could roll in some more putts.

[JasonFL]

And Rory knows more about golf than Johnny Freaking Miller. Him and Brandel are a couple of bitter old has beens.

 

You're insane. Johnny Miller knows more about golf that pretty much the whole freaking planet. He was the best golfer in the world from 73-75 . .gimme a break

I'm with you on Brandel but he is paid to opine and stir the pot, so he get's a pass of some sort

Love Johnny Miller. There's no mistaking what he says.

[ckwL]

These kids aint lifted a heavy day in their life. Come see me in the iron jungle

[youdamantiger]

Justin Thomas weighs 87 pounds. He sneezed once and blew himself back 10 feet. But he hits the ball a mile. Conversely John Daly is a lard arse, has been for most of his career, and led the Tour in driving distance most of his career. Point being athleticism and muscles don't mean much in golf.

[upndowninthree]

best thread i've read in a while, laughed out loud several times. And yes, there is a huge difference between the opinion of guys who have actually lifted weights and not(as if diet has nothing to do with it). As for Tiger he was about 6' and max, 145lbs when he left Stanford, two years later he's 50 lbs heavier and kept his body fat % the same? C'mon now, we all know why he's incurred all these injuries, the violent swing is the least of it. And Rory wears a size 8.5 shoe, nuff said.

[bscinstnct]

best thread i've read in a while, laughed out loud several times. And yes, there is a huge difference between the opinion of guys who have actually lifted weights and not(as if diet has nothing to do with it). As for Tiger he was about 6' and max, 145lbs when he left Stanford, two years later he's 50 lbs heavier and kept his body fat % the same? C'mon now, we all know why he's incurred all these injuries, the violent swing is the least of it. And Rory wears a size 8.5 shoe, nuff said.

 

This.

 

Here is TW is 2000, 4 years after Stanfurd. Way past 195. Gotta be at least 215.

 

[youdamantiger]

Rory definitely made a bogey here.

[SadTrombone]

best thread i've read in a while, laughed out loud several times. And yes, there is a huge difference between the opinion of guys who have actually lifted weights and not(as if diet has nothing to do with it). As for Tiger he was about 6' and max, 145lbs when he left Stanford, two years later he's 50 lbs heavier and kept his body fat % the same? C'mon now, we all know why he's incurred all these injuries, the violent swing is the least of it. And Rory wears a size 8.5 shoe, nuff said.

 

This.

 

Here is TW is 2000, 4 years after Stanfurd. Way past 195. Gotta be at least 215.

 

 

When Tiger and Butch did their impromptu Academy Live episode in April 2000 (some of the best programming TGC had...Academy Live, that is...BRING IT BACK) he said he came out on tour at 158 and "now I'm 180".

[soregongolfer]

Jacked? Hardly. Rory is 5' 9" at best.

 

 

Well duh. She's jacked, too!

[Valtiel]

Jacked? Hardly. Rory is 5' 9" at best.

 

 

Well duh. She's jacked, too!

 

 

1st round draft pick for the Denver Broncos. Outside/Middle linebacker if she slims down a bit.

[playa]

Jacked? Hardly. Rory is 5' 9" at best.

 

 

Are being 5'9" and jacked mutually exclusive? I'd argue that Mr. Olympia winners are fairly jacked and their average height is 5'9". So...

Agree. To look jacked you need to have a mesomorphic body shape, which is generally around the 5'9" range. Hulk Hogan being an obvious exception.

[glk]

Rory started dating Caroline in 2011 and by 2013 he was in the tank - dumped her in 2014 and won 2 majors. Started dating Erica in 2015, married her this year . . . Much more plausible than the he's jacked theory and best part is my wife offered this one up - when his love life is good his golf hurts. LOL. Either that or he has to channel his inner dick cause no one deserves the treatment he gave Caroline - my wife opening roots against him at all and any opportunity for it. Now Rickie . . . she's watched more golf this past 2 days than in the last year.

[Cicero]

If it weren't for the theory that too much weightlifting caused problems for Tiger, this wouldn't even be a story (which is ironic, since Tiger seemed to have popularized working out in high-level golf). It's amazing how ideas take hold and spread.

[misplacedtexan83]

As long as he keeps his flexibility up then mass is no problem. However, something is off and it could be his legs got to strong and his swing is off, etc.

 

He has the money and time to figure it out, so he will get balanced again.. Too much talent not too.

[KuroOuji54]

Rory is not that big. He's not muscle bound. He does functional lifting which is applicable to his golf swing. Yes some less chiseled guys hit the ball far, but that's also athleticism. Essentially you'd be saying babe ruth and cc sabathia aren't athletic because they have no muscle tone. Most of the young golfers lift now, spieth and Thomas included. It takes a long time and a lot of work to get "jacked". Rory is squating like 225 in the picture that everyone goes crazy over. Any guy who spends a little time in the gym can rep that a few times.

[youdamantiger]

Rory is not that big. He's not muscle bound. He does functional lifting which is applicable to his golf swing. Yes some less chiseled guys hit the ball far, but that's also athleticism. Essentially you'd be saying babe ruth and cc sabathia aren't athletic because they have no muscle tone. Most of the young golfers lift now, spieth and Thomas included. It takes a long time and a lot of work to get "jacked". Rory is squating like 225 in the picture that everyone goes crazy over. Any guy who spends a little time in the gym can rep that a few times.

 

If Justin Thomas is doing any lifting he needs to switch trainers. I've seen swimming pool noodles with more definition. As for the athleticism thing, you're conflating having insane hand eye coordination with being athletic. They are, in my opinion, two totally different things. I guarantee the average John Q.Public isn't looking at John Daly or J.B.Holmes and saying to themselves, "Now that....is an athlete!"