Lexi Thompson has spent a large portion of her life playing a sport that rewards patience, control, and the ability to keep emotions from interfering with execution. Her next competitive endeavor is going to ask her to show a little more of what she normally conceals between shots.
WTGL, the new women’s team golf league from TMRW Sports and the LPGA, launches this fall (Nov. 8) inside the tech-infused SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Thompson will represent Motor City Golf Club.
LPGA
The decision to participate didn’t require much deliberation on Thompson’s part. Living only about 30 minutes from SoFi gave her an opportunity to experience TGL firsthand, and what stood out most wasn’t the technology or the arena setting. It was how much more personality the format allowed fans to see.
“It’s something different, and it brings out a different fan base that we need as well,” Thompson said. “A lot of people don’t get to see our personalities. They only get to see what we do on the golf course.”
The timing also finds Thompson in a different space personally and physically. She is expecting her first child, and while training remains part of nearly every day, her approach has continued evolving from the heavier lifting she once gravitated toward to something much more deliberate.
After years of professional golf, Thompson’s focus is no longer proving what she can do in the weight room. She’s more interested in making sure the work she does there continues to allow her to feel powerful, mobile, healthy, and always ready for whatever comes next.
WTGL Lets Lexi Thompson Compete Differently
Professional golf can seem like an isolating exercise in responsibility. There is a caddie alongside you, but the number on the card belongs to only one person, and Thompson has lived with that reality since becoming a pro at just 15.
Team golf changes provides a different dynamic.
Thompson has experience in this arena from the Solheim Cups, International Crowns, and Olympic competition. Another exciting element for Thompson about the WTGL is the chance to make decisions with other players rather than spending an entire competition competing against her own thoughts.
“I love team events in general,” she said. “Golf is so individual, so to be able to have teammates and talk strategy behind each and every shot, I think that’s what also is so great about this.”
In WTGL, players are mic’d up. There are also real-time analytics and shot-clock pressure, which doesn’t sound as daunting to a pro golfer as one would think.
Traditional golf gives a player plenty of time to gather information, reconsider an approach, and allows one thought to become several. A clock makes every decision count.
“The shot clock is definitely something that’s very different, and I actually think it would be good in normal golf, too,” Thompson said. “Sometimes we don’t really think about how much time we’re spending on each and every shot.”
The format should also reveal a version of Thompson that traditional tournament broadcasts rarely capture. She describes herself as more sarcastic and bubbly around people who know her well and credits growing up with two older brothers for developing another useful skill.
“I’ve learned to trash talk quite a bit,” she said. “We’ll see if that gets brought out here, but I think it’s just great for the fans to see all our personalities.”
LPGA
A Change of Mindset When It Comes to the Gym
Fitness wasn’t always a major component of Thompson’s routine.
It took the first couple of years for her to notice something every athlete eventually has to confront: Talent doesn’t prevent fatigue.
She would get tired during rounds, so she hired a trainer and began taking conditioning more seriously. What started as a solution quickly became something she found enjoyment in.
“I got addicted to it,” Thompson said. “I love fitness and working out, and I plan my day around getting at least 30-45 minutes, if not longer, of a workout in.”
Her workouts look a little different at this current moment as she prepares for the birth of her first child, but movement remains a daily priority. Thompson still gravitates toward spinning, incline walking, core work, flexibility, and resistance training, with the emphasis now geared toward lighter weights and higher repetitions.
Years of golf have taught her strength has to serve the swing. Thompson’s power is one of the calling cards of her game, but generating clubhead speed isn’t just a matter of becoming all around stronger.
“A lot of the golf swing power is from the core and lower body, so making sure that I do a lot of the exercises that build and strengthen that,” Thompson said. “But at the same time, you don’t want to lose the flexibility.”
That is why her training includes lots of band work and movements that more closely resemble the rotational and explosive aspects of a golf swing. Speed and technique are a priority within these movements, as she wants the strength to transfer to what she does with a club.
But this wasn’t always her mindset. Just a few years ago, Thompson went through phases where lifting more became its own challenge.
“I probably lifted a lot more weights than I do now,” she said. “I went through spans where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to try to hit the highest weight of my life, and it was just like, ‘I don’t know really why I’m doing this.’”
These days, cardio, core work, resistance training, and swing-specific exercises are what she prioritizes, and not the weight on the bar. That evolution is partly due to becoming more seasoned and self-aware. Thompson says the longer she has trained, the better she has become at identifying when something isn’t functioning the way it should.
Earlier in her fitness journey, tests from trainers helped reveal weaknesses in her body she didn’t know existed. Now, she can often recognize those signals herself.
“My body tells me a lot more,” Thompson said. “’Oh, this is weaker. I’m not seeing this part of my body firing,’ or like, ‘This is sore. This is hurting. Something’s lacking.”
LPGA
Recovery and Longevity Are Now Part of the Workout
If you had to name a sport that requires extreme athleticism, it’s unlikely golf will be at the forefront of your mind.
From the couch, the sport can seem leisurely. What the television doesn’t convey is all the work that goes into what we see come tournament time.
“I think the normal viewer doesn’t realize how hard it is day in, day out,” Thompson said. “It’s a lot of time out practicing, a lot of hitting balls, rotating, putting our lower body and our backs through a lot of twisting and turning.”
She also made sure to mention another element that is often overlooked.
“Walking seven miles of a golf course on top of that,” she said. “Being in the Florida heat, going out there and practicing three to five hours a day. It’s pretty brutal in the summer.”
Those repetitions make recovery extremely important. Thompson’s approach isn’t built around a reliance on recovery technologies. She typically stretches and foam rolls after workouts, gets an occasional massage, and focuses on making sure she is ready to go again the following day.
Sleep also has become a critical priority. There was a time when Thompson believed four hours was what she needed to function. With years of competition under her belt, she now aims for a minimum of seven.
“Sometimes it’s just hard to really shut the brain off and get a good night’s sleep, especially with the quick turnarounds with tee times and everything,” she said. “But I think it’s a huge priority because then your mind doesn’t function the way you need it to, and neither does your body.”
Thompson also incorporates activation and breathing work before rounds. The exercises prepare the muscles she needs for her swing, while meditation helps settle her into the right mental state before competition.
Post-round recovery works in the opposite direction.
“Being able to shut down your body and being able to let it recover is huge, because you don’t realize what you’re putting your body through for that amount of hours,” Thompson said. “Meditation doesn’t hurt after, just to shut off the mind. That’s a part of the performance as well.”
Thompson’s perspective on fitness has changed over the past several years. Working out has moved past PR’s and physique gains. Today, the golfer says the measure has become more personal and more useful in helping her be ready for the next workout.
“Of course, waking up not having my body hurt helps,” Thompson joked. “Being out here for so many years and golfing since I was five, you feel it a little but more.”
