Fitness: what golf does for you, and how to prepare for it.

If you have a health condition, are returning from injury or are starting a new exercise programme, talk to a doctor first. This page reports what studies found; it does not prescribe exercise.

Golf and health: the 2018 consensus

The 2018 International Consensus Statement on Golf and Health, led by Andrew Murray and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, combined a systematic review of the research with a structured agreement process among an international panel of experts. Among the points the panel agreed:

• Regular golf is associated with longevity and can improve cardiovascular risk factors such as blood lipids and body composition (100 percent agreement).
• It is likely to lower the risk of conditions including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, depression and dementia (96 percent agreement).
• Golf can provide moderate-intensity aerobic activity, varying with terrain, conditions and the player's age, sex and fitness. For older adults it is likely to bring strength and balance benefits.
• Walking the course likely brings more benefit than riding a cart, though riding still offers some activity, social and nature benefits.
• The panel recommended at least 150 minutes a week of golf or other moderate to vigorous activity, and golf can count toward the World Health Organization's physical activity guidelines.
• Too much sun raises golfers' skin cancer risk; the panel recommended sunscreen, protective clothing and limiting direct sun exposure.
• Staying hydrated matters when playing in the heat.

Warming up

The consensus recommendation

The 2018 panel recommended a warm-up in three stages: aerobic exercise first, then golf-specific mobility work, then practice swings. It agreed that this can improve performance and reduce injury risk, and that appropriate strength and conditioning can reduce the risk of injury and illness.

A warm-up trial

Andrea Fradkin, Craig Sherman and Caroline Finch ran a controlled trial of a golf-specific warm-up and conditioning programme with ten male golfers and ten matched controls (British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2004). Summaries of the study report a large rise in clubhead speed in the warm-up group over seven weeks while the controls barely changed. We could not read the full paper, so the exact size of the gain is not confirmed here.

Static or dynamic stretching?

Two 2009 studies tested stretching before hitting:

• J. C. Gergley (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research) tested 15 young male competitive golfers. Adding 20 minutes of total-body passive static stretching before an active dynamic warm-up significantly reduced driver clubhead speed (by 4.19 percent), distance (5.62 percent), accuracy (31.04 percent) and consistency of ball contact (16.34 percent). Gergley recommends avoiding total-body passive static stretching before practice or play, in favour of a gradual, active, dynamic warm-up with clubs.
• K. A. Moran, T. McGrath, B. M. Marshall and E. S. Wallace (International Journal of Sports Medicine) found dynamic stretching produced higher 5-iron clubhead speeds (by 1.9 and 1.7 metres per second) and higher ball speeds than either static stretching or no stretching, along with straighter swing paths and more central strikes. They recommend dynamic stretching in a golf warm-up.

Both studies recommend a dynamic warm-up or dynamic stretching before golf. They differ in a detail: Gergley found static stretching plus an active warm-up worse than the active warm-up alone, while Moran and colleagues found no significant difference between static stretching and no stretching at all.

Strength, power and clubhead speed

Keogh and Hume's 2012 review in Sports Biomechanics lists physical conditioning, greater wrist strength and flexibility, and X-factor training among the factors that may raise clubhead speed. The swing mechanics behind that list are on the full swing page.

A 2024 meta-analysis in Sports Medicine by Brennan, Murray and colleagues is reported to have found that clubhead speed correlates most strongly with upper-body power and lower-body strength, and hardly at all with flexibility. We could only read summaries of it, so treat that as unconfirmed, and note that a correlation does not show that training one quality will raise your speed.

The body-swing connection

The Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) was founded in 2003 by Dr Greg Rose and Dave Phillips and operates inside the Acushnet Company's test facility in Oceanside, California. It offers certification in Golf, Medical, Fitness, Power and Junior Development.

TPI's central idea, which it calls the "body-swing connection", is that physical limitations can produce swing faults and may lead to injury. A continuing medical education presentation built on TPI material lists faults such as C-posture, S-posture, early extension, sway, slide, chicken wing, casting, over the top, hanging back and reverse pivot. This is TPI's own model; we found no independent study validating it. Whether a physical limitation is behind your own swing pattern is a question for a qualified professional who can assess you, and any pain is a question for a doctor.

Related pages

For injury research, including how warm-up habits relate to injury, see injuries. For older golfers and juniors, see juniors and seniors.