What happens during the PGA Tour offseason can significantly impact how the following season goes. Rising PGA Tour pro Aldrich Potgieter was expecting something similar after undergoing a physical transformation. However, he learned the hard way that a few things don’t change so easily.

“It’s definitely helped me play five weeks in a row. I think that’s huge. I didn’t really feel a massive difference because I lost it over a three-month period. It wasn’t just straight off,” Aldrich Potgieter told Bunkered while speaking on his weight loss journey. “I would say we expected some things to change, but it wasn’t too much.”

The 21-year-old South African lost 30-35 pounds during the offseason. He kept playing occasionally during that time, however. The only long break he took was between the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December and The American Express in late January.

While he looks leaner, Potgieter didn’t achieve much beyond playing consecutive weeks. Instead, he missed three straight cuts to open his PGA Tour season before managing a pedestrian T60 at Pebble Beach. However, he bounced back strong a week later at the Genesis Invitational, netting a T5. That’s also when his physical transformation caught the attention of most.

As he became a little slimmer, it changed his on-course posture. Instead of sitting down slightly early, Aldrich Potgieter was standing upright. This affected his golf swing, which he has been working on for the past couple of weeks.

He planned this weight transformation during the offseason.

“During the season it’s so hard to concentrate on a million things,” Aldrich Potgieter added. “You also don’t want to add anything that’s going to disrupt your consistency, especially if you’re doing a few things right.”

The idea was to keep it simple and focus on a few things that can be done correctly. So, he went home for about 2.5 months during the offseason and focused on his diet and exercise. To reduce calories, he went to the beach with his family every day and swam for about two hours.

The one-time PGA Tour winner revealed that it was initially difficult for a few days. However, the consistency did yield results. After a point, everything in the gym that was challenging initially seemed to get a little easier.

Aldrich Potgieter was the longest hitter on the Tour for 2025 season, averaging 325 yards off the tee. This year, he is 3rd, but has averaged 325.8 yards off the tee. Potgieter, however, is lacking mainly in his iron play. He is 95th in reaching Greens In Regulation, 133rd in Strokes Gained: Approach to Green.

He has now transitioned his body to better suit his golfing career. In fact, he did admit that being able to play five weeks in a row was huge for him.

While his body transformation has begun, his journey to mental strength commenced much earlier.

Aldrich Potgieter opens up about mental struggles

Potgieter turned pro in 2023 and won the 2024 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in just his second event. The biggest weapon he had in his arsenal was his immense strength. Since his body was well built, his drives averaged 337 yards off the tee. It is around a dozen yards longer than even PGA Tour leaders, including Rory McIlroy.

Despite that big weapon, he struggled on shorter courses. In fact, he missed 11 of 24 cuts in 2024 on the Korn Ferry Tour, including 10 after his victory.

“I missed a lot of cuts and slipped into a dark space,” Aldrich Potgieter told Golf Digest.

It was his family who took him out of that dark space. His father is a former rugby champion and has been his support pillar. He urged patience and reminded him that even if it did not seem like it at the moment, he belonged.

This motivation fueled his Korn Ferry success. This earned him a PGA Tour card via a top-60 finish on the money list. On the PGA Tour in 2025, he won the Rocket Classic. He led all four rounds in driving average at 337.2 yards.

His earlier battle with confidence shaped his resilience. And he now leans on that resilience during this physical transition. That mental toughness, built through setbacks, may ultimately prove just as important as the offseason body weight transformation.