This is how much water you should be drinking on the golf course

I moved to the U.S. in high school, from London to South Carolina. I never really thought about the basic question of how much water I should drink before then, but when you go from the temperate British climate to spending hours outside in the blazing hot southern sun, it’s something you start caring a whole lot about.

But let’s get down to specifics: What’s the specific amount of water golfers should drink before, during and after their round?

The short answer is that there is no correct answer. It’s slightly different for everyone based on their size and their environment, but a general rule of thumb recommended by US News and World Report is to drink half of your body weight in fluid ounces. Others suggest slightly more, suggesting you multiply your body weight by two thirds. If we follow that suggestion, here’s how much water you should be drinking, according to your size:

And keep in mind, that’s in a fairly standard climate. If you’re outdoors in hot weather — like on a golf course — you’ll need to drink even more water. And that’s not to mention whether you’re putting down any alcohol, which can dehydrate your system even further. All in all, it means that if you’re hovering around 180 lbs and playing in moderate temperatures, you should be drinking about four standard 32 fl oz bottles of water per day — and probably more considering all the walking you’ll be doing.

If that sounds like a lot of water to drink, just think about all the positive effects drinking lots of water has on your body. It can help your brain function more effectively, it can speed up your metabolism so you’ll lose more weight, and it’ll keep you generally healthy in other ways which will lessen your risk for diseases down the road.

Luke Kerr-Dineen

Golf.com Contributor

Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.

An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

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