If you’re a coffee drinker, you probably have a morning coffee routine down pat. Whether you rely on French press, cold brew, instant, or a homemade latte, drinking a good cup of coffee is a common (and satisfying) way to start the day.
But even if you’re an avid coffee lover, you might not know that this savory beverage when consumed can have an impact on your golf game.
When ingested in small amounts, the caffeine in coffee could have a beneficial effect on your golf round by providing you with more focus and concentration. However, consuming too much of this stimulant may be detrimental to your game. That’s because the caffeine in coffee increases the brain’s production of dopamine. And dopamine can cause a person to feel a boost in energy while delaying feelings of tiredness Caffeine may also cause a person to become jittery, anxious, and have more trouble focusing. While golfing, focus and steadiness is imperative to place accurate shots. So, too much caffeine can negatively impact your concentration for producing proper swings and putting.
Also, do consider the type of coffee you consume before your round. You might think that because espresso is so concentrated, you’ll get more caffeine from it than from regular old drip coffee. But you’d be incorrect! One espresso shot has around 100 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of drip coffee has around 128 milligrams of caffeine.
A widely held misconception is that bitter, dark coffee contains the most caffeine, but the opposite is true. Light roast coffee has more caffeine because it’s roasted for a shorter time.
A good fact about consuming coffee before your golf round is that coffee is good for you (unless you load it up with sugar, that is). Coffee’s powerful antioxidants can help protect your body from disease. A new, large study suggests that drinking light to moderate amounts — up to three cups a day — may lower the risk of stroke, fatal heart disease researchers found.
“Regular coffee consumption of up to three cups per day is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and stroke,” said lead researcher Dr. Judit Simon, from the Heart and Vascular Center at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. These benefits might be partly explained by positive alterations in heart structure and function, she said.
