The Masters fitness game turns a workout into a round of golf: nine holes, each hole an exercise with a par, and your score on each hole is the number of sets it takes you to finish the work, with the lowest total winning. Do 100 pushups in one unbroken set and you card a one; break it into five sets and you card a five. In this Physical Friday, part one of my fitness games series, I lay out the full nine-hole card my friend Rick Hart shared with me and how to build your own.
Watch now: press play on the video above and follow along.
You build a scorecard of nine exercises, each one a hole with a par, just like golf. Your score on each hole is the number of sets or attempts it takes to complete the prescribed work: finish 100 pushups unbroken and you score one, take five sets and you score five. After nine holes, lowest total score wins. The minimum possible score on nine holes is nine, and you can extend to 18 or 36 holes for a longer session.
My nine-hole card: 100 pushups (par 3), a 50-foot handstand walk (par 5), 30 back squats at 135 pounds (par 3), 100 double unders (par 3), 50 kettlebell swings at 53 pounds (par 3), 30 pull ups (par 3), 15 handstand pushups (par 3), a five-minute plank (par 3), and 50 dips (par 5). Every hole is swappable; use any movements that fit your group and your equipment.
Estimate how many sets it would take most people to finish the work. One hundred pushups is about three sets for most, so par 3. A 50-foot handstand walk in ten-foot chunks is five attempts, so par 5. Thirty back squats at 135 done ten at a time is par 3. The pars give everyone a benchmark to beat, exactly like golf: finish under par and you are having a great day.
It is perfect for groups. Print scorecards, set up nine stations, and run it on a Saturday like a tournament. Everyone plays the same course, everyone keeps score, and the lowest total wins, though you will probably want a tiebreaker. My friend Rick Hart's workout group ran it right around the Masters, which makes it even more fun when everyone is watching the tournament that weekend.
Because fun keeps you showing up, and showing up is what makes progress. The same program week after week breeds boredom, and boredom is where consistency dies. A golf scorecard, a deck of cards, a dice game, or a bracket adds competition and novelty while you still sweat, raise your heart rate, build strength, and work on balance and skills. Eliminate boredom and you stay on the path.
The deck of cards is my favorite travel workout, since each suit is an exercise and each card a rep count, and I keep a deck with me at all times. There is also the dice game, where rolls build the workout, and you can find it back in the Physical Friday archives. Next week is Fitness Games Part 2: how to turn March Madness, or any tournament bracket, into a workout for your group.
Here is the nine-hole course I lay out in the episode, with pars. Your score per hole is the number of sets it takes to finish the work. Lowest total wins.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play above.
My friend Rick Hart shared this format with me. He has a workout group just like I do, and they ran the nine-hole course right around the Masters. I do not know if his group invented it, but they showed it to me, so as far as I am concerned they get the credit. I tell the story and what his group's round looked like in the episode, so press play above.
Every hole is a variable: swap in skill work, barbell movements, gymnastics, or pure bodyweight depending on your group and your gym. A five-minute farmer's hold makes a great hole, with every drop of the kettlebells adding a stroke. Make it harder with tougher movements, or longer with 18 or 36 holes. I walk through course design and how to set fair pars in the episode, so press play above.
Having more fun means you keep showing up, and showing up means you make progress. That is the entire philosophy behind this fitness games series. You are still sweating, still getting your heart rate up, still building strength and balance, but a scorecard and some friendly competition erase the boredom that kills consistency. Next week I cover the March Madness bracket workout. I explain the whole approach in the episode, so press play above.
Print some scorecards, set fair pars, and run this with your group the next time a big golf weekend rolls around. Lowest score buys nothing; bragging rights are the purse.
If you come up with a good course of your own, text it to me at (305) 930-7346, and come back next week for the bracket workout. Press play above for the full nine holes.
the Masters · Rick Hart · fitness games · golf scoring workout · deck of cards workout · dice game workout · March Madness bracket workout · handstand walk · double unders · kettlebell swings · farmer's hold · back squats
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen, where I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep me ready to fish, hunt, and live hard for the rest of my life.
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