I think 3-6 months is fair if you are fully committed to the starting strength routine… but it also means that you’ll be sore more often and will likely hurt your weekly golf game (at least in the first few months)…
Everyone is different, of course. But Starting Strength is only 3x per week, and those workouts should only take 1.5-2 hours to complete. This is what I’m basing that 3-6 month timeline on.
But, again, there are a lot of variables. A lot of us are older, which impacts your ability to build muscle, recover, avoid injury, etc.
Also, you shouldn’t be sore regularly other than your first week or two. If you’re sore, especially in pain, you need to look at your recovery. I think some people really underestimate how important recovery is.
Plus, walking the golf course, swinging the clubs, etc. should HELP in your recovery, as that will keep the blood flowing to different areas (which helps you to recover).
When I last trained heavy (16 years ago) I’d take the week off from lifting when I had a golf event.
Not trying or meaning to armchair QB this, but I’d be more inclined to “peak” a week or two before (if I have my terminology correct) and take a deload week the week of a major golf tournament. That way you still keep some baseline strength and don’t set yourself up for an EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL first week back to weight training.
But, in general, I agree. There are a lot of considerations. It’s definitely not as straightforward as “3-6 months and you’ll be strong AF.”