Nelson Snapshot

- 10 PGA TOUR Titles
- 16 Champion TOUR Titles
- PGA Title 1981, 1987
- U.S. Open Title 1983

The Comeback Kid: Larry Nelson

If the world hadn’t been watching Tiger rewrite the history books, the season Larry Nelson had on the Senior PGA Tour in 2000 would have been the hot topic in locker rooms around the country. Nelson had the best year of his career, with six victories and almost $3 million in official earnings.

This benchmark performance came six years after Nelson hit bottom, when his tour earnings were less than $40,000 and he had slipped into such poor physical condition that he couldn’t even touch his toes. So, what changed in those six years after Nelson’s 47th birthday? Diet and exercise. Nelson realized that he had fallen out of golf shape, and that he needed to retool his conditioning before embarking on a senior career. He contacted me and asked for help on his overall fitness, with his ultimate goal as being ready to play the Senior PGA Tour. It took almost three years, but Larry did, indeed, improve his strength, flexibility, and endurance through a steady fitness regimen, not a stop-and-start, on-again, off-again program.

The key to Larry ’s fitness success comes, not because of the individual weight-lifting, stretching, or diet programs, but because he is consistent and diligent in working his individual program on a daily basis. Fitness in golf is like fitness in any other sport: It’s not a short-term solution. The best players in the world recognize that and do what it takes to keep up with their workouts no matter how hectic their schedules are.

Larry Nelson: he put the bite back in his swing