How Scott Stallings rebuilt sleep, recovery, and golf fitness

Originally published on July 9, 2019

Golf performance improves when sleep, recovery, and training habits work together, and Scott Stallings explains how he rebuilt all three after a serious health decline. In Episode 030 of the WHOOP Podcast, the three-time PGA Tour winner breaks down how poor sleep, inflammation, heavy travel, and trial-and-error training left him struggling, then walks through the changes that helped him turn things around.

Stallings does not present the process as one magic fix. He describes a series of measurable steps, including better testing, major sinus surgery, a more deliberate training week, and close attention to WHOOP data such as HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep performance.

Note: This article covers WHOOP 3.0. For the latest hardware, see WHOOP.

To listen to episode 030 in full, head to the WHOOP Podcast on Spotify.

How did Scott Stallings use recovery data during tournament weeks?

Stallings did not treat one Recovery score as a prediction of how he would play. He looked for trends, especially in HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep performance, as practice volume, travel, and tee times changed through the week.

He said a low score on a tournament morning could become a mental trap, so he focused more on whether his body was moving in the right direction. That approach fit the advice he discussed with Kristen Holmes, Global Head of Human Performance, Principal Scientist at WHOOP. It also reflects a broader pattern seen in golf conversations across the Locker, including Rory McIlroy's episode on training and sleep.

In the conversation, Stallings made his priorities explicit.

“HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep performance are the 3 biggest things that I look to the most.”

What you should take away

• WHOOP Recovery can be more useful as a pattern than as a single-day verdict.
• HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep performance were the main metrics Stallings watched during tournament weeks.
• Stallings tried to avoid letting one low morning score shape his mindset before a round.

If you want to hear Stallings go deeper on how he used HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep to manage tournament weeks, listen to the full episode on Spotify.

What triggered Scott Stallings' health reset?

Those daily metrics became more important because Stallings was dealing with much bigger problems than ordinary tournament fatigue. He described 2015 as the period when he realized something was seriously off.

Stallings said two sleep studies showed just 15 total minutes of REM sleep across two nights. He also described extremely high inflammatory markers, food reactions identified through MRT testing, and follow-up work with a diagnostician at the University of California, Los Angeles. A major sinus surgery then changed how he breathed and slept, and he said the improvement was immediate enough that cardiovascular work felt entirely different afterward. For more background on that stretch, see this earlier Locker article on Stallings' health journey.

His most specific description of the low point was simple.

“Combined in 2 nights’ sleep, I had 15 minutes of REM sleep.”

What you should take away

• Severe fatigue can have multiple drivers, including poor sleep, inflammation, breathing issues, and diet.
• Stallings used testing to move from guessing to identifying specific problems.
• A breathing-related fix, including sinus surgery, changed both his sleep and exercise tolerance.

If you want to hear Stallings unpack the testing, surgery, and sleep issues behind his health reset, listen to the full episode on Spotify.

How did Stallings lose 50 pounds and rebuild his body for golf?

Once Stallings understood what was driving the problem, the next step was rebuilding with more structure. He said the goal was not aesthetics. It was creating a body that could handle family life, training, and a PGA Tour schedule.

Stallings credited better nutrition, removing inflammatory foods, and guidance from Rich Froning and the team at Renaissance Periodization, led by Nick Shaw. He said that on January 8 of the previous year he was just over 230 pounds at 26.5 percent body fat. By the time of the interview, he said he was between 185 and 188 pounds at about 10 percent body fat. That shift helped reduce back pain, improved movement, and made his power feel easier to access.

The numbers were one reason the story carried weight.

“At that time I was just over 230 and 26.5% body fat. That was January 8th of last year. Now I’m 185 to 188 and about 10%.”

What you should take away

• Stallings treated body composition change as a performance project, not a cosmetic one.
• Nutrition structure mattered because it followed specific testing and clear targets.
• Less excess body weight reduced stress on his back and helped him move more freely.

If you want to hear Stallings go deeper on weight loss, body fat change, and the role of nutrition planning, listen to the full episode on Spotify.

What kind of training carried over to golf performance?

That body change then altered how Stallings trained. His point was that golf does not require one narrow training style. It requires a method that matches how a golfer creates force and handles a long season.

He described a weekly structure with heavier, slower sessions early in the week, a metabolic reset in midweek, and lighter, faster work closer to competition. He also said he experimented with nasal-only running after his sinus surgery, used kettlebells and mobility work, and thought carefully about whether a golfer is more of a rotator or a pusher when generating speed. That broader shift in golf culture also shows up in WHOOP and the PGA Tour and in episodes with Dylan Frittelli and Scott McCarron.

Stallings summed up the principle clearly.

“You can go through basically every methodology in fitness and figure out a way to apply it to the game of golf.”

What you should take away

• Stallings organized training around tournament timing, not around a long offseason block.
• Golf training can include strength work, conditioning, mobility, and skill-specific force production.
• He believed the right method depends on how an athlete moves, rotates, and creates power.

If you want to hear Stallings unpack how heavy lifting, nasal breathing, and rotary work fit into tournament prep, listen to the full episode on Spotify.

How did Stallings manage pressure and reset between shots?

Training helped Stallings arrive healthier, but he also described a clear mental system for playing under pressure. His rule was that every shot required a reset, whether the previous shot was great or awful.

He said practice-round scores were irrelevant, visualization mattered most when a specific tee shot demanded commitment, and nerves could feel stronger on a Friday cut line than on a Sunday in contention. One example he gave was visualizing the fifth hole at Colonial, a demanding driving hole he used as a reference point when he needed to commit to a fade. That same reset logic carried off the course too. A good lift in the gym did not mean skipping the warmup next time.

His description of tournament nerves cut against the usual assumption.

“I’m way more nervous on a Friday afternoon when I’m hitting it everywhere and trying to make the cut than on Sunday when I’m in contention.”

What you should take away

• Stallings treated every shot as a fresh process rather than riding momentum from the previous one.
• Visualization worked best for him when tied to a specific hole and a specific ball flight.
• Cut-line pressure can feel more stressful than contention because the round feels less automatic.

The bottom line

• Scott Stallings used WHOOP trends, especially HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep performance, to judge how his body was handling tournament weeks.
• Stallings said severe fatigue in 2015 included poor sleep, inflammation, and breathing issues that required formal testing and treatment.
• Two sleep studies showed just 15 total minutes of REM sleep across two nights at the low point of his health struggle.
• A major sinus surgery changed how Stallings slept, breathed, and handled cardiovascular training.
• Stallings said he moved from just over 230 pounds at 26.5 percent body fat to 185 to 188 pounds at about 10 percent body fat.
• His golf training week moved from heavier, slower work early to lighter, faster work closer to competition.
• Stallings viewed golf power as athlete-specific, with some players creating more speed through rotation and others through force into the ground.
• His mental rule on the course was simple: every shot required a reset, regardless of what happened on the previous one.

Frequently asked questions about things discussed in this episode

How does WHOOP help golfers monitor recovery during tournament weeks?

WHOOP helps golfers monitor recovery by showing daily trends in HRV, resting heart rate, sleep, and Recovery so travel, training, and competition can be judged against how the body is actually responding.

What did Scott Stallings look at most closely in WHOOP?

WHOOP gave Stallings several metrics, but he said HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep performance were the three he watched most closely.

How does WHOOP fit into a heavy travel schedule?

WHOOP fits into heavy travel by showing whether late flights, schedule changes, and practice volume are pushing sleep and recovery in the wrong direction.

What does WHOOP do for people trying to improve sleep consistency?

WHOOP helps people improve sleep consistency by making bedtime, wake time, and overnight sleep performance visible from day to day.

How does WHOOP support training decisions for golf?

WHOOP supports training decisions for golf by helping athletes compare harder early-week sessions, lighter pre-competition work, and recovery trends across the same tournament cycle.

What can WHOOP show after a stressful day outside training?

WHOOP can show the effect of non-training stress because sleep, resting heart rate, and Recovery often reflect travel, moving, family demands, and other disruptions as clearly as workouts do.

For golfers dealing with long travel weeks, inconsistent sleep, or stalled progress, WHOOP turns the same daily signals Stallings watched into a clearer record of what is helping recovery and what is pulling it down.