Golf exercises: a warm-up, strength for clubhead speed, and protecting your back and wrists

Walking golf is moderate exercise

Walking 18 holes takes about 11,000 to 17,000 steps, against about 6,300 if you ride a cart. Experts suggest at least 150 minutes of activity a week, and walking the course if you can.

Sources 1, 2

Strength and power add clubhead speed

Where trials found an effect, clubhead speed rose by about 4% to 6%. Gym lifts combined with fast, golf-like movements for 8 weeks worked best.

Sources 3, 4

Flexibility doesn't predict speed

Leg power and upper-body strength go with a faster swing; flexibility doesn't. Keep hip and upper-back turns for comfort and swing positions (our reading).

Sources 5, 6

Back pain: past pain matters most

A previous episode, older age and higher body mass went with golfers' back pain. Swing style and hip range weren't consistently linked.

Source 7

Warm up before every round

Easy aerobic exercise, golf mobility, then practice swings. A golf warm-up cut low back pain episodes in one trial in teenagers, and long static stretching before you hit slows your swing.

Sources 2, 8, 9

Stay safe on the course

Leave the course when you hear thunder, keep children well away from swinging clubs, and with osteoporosis keep your swing smooth and comfortable.

Sources 10, 11, 12

Moderate activity, mostly walking

Studies put golf at about 4.5 metabolic equivalents (METs) on average, with a range of 2.5 to 8; 1 MET is the energy you use sitting still. Walking 18 holes covers 4 to 8 miles. Our calories calculator uses 4.5 METs for golf when you walk and pull your clubs. Harder exercise builds more fitness than golf does, so golf works best alongside it.

Source 1

The swing: a short, all-out turn

Each full swing is a fast rotation through the hips, trunk and shoulders, repeated through a round and on the range. In golfers from juniors to tour players, clubhead speed went with leg power in jump tests, upper-body strength and power, and leg strength.

Sources 6, 5

Where the load falls

For a right-handed golfer (swap the sides if you play left-handed):

• The low back: the commonest site of pain and of golf lost in amateurs.
• The lead (left) wrist, mostly on the little-finger side, especially in professionals.
• The lead elbow, usually tennis elbow, and the lead shoulder.
• The lead-side ribs, in beginners who suddenly practise much more.

Sources 13, 14, 15, 16

What to train (our reading)

A hip-hinge posture held over the ball, turning through the hips and upper back, balance through the finish, grip endurance, and walking hills. Carrying your bag went with back pain in one study, so a trolley is worth considering if your back complains (our suggestion).

Source 7

How often golfers get hurtEmerging evidence

Injuries are uncommon per round but add up over a golfing life:

• Per round: about 2.5 injuries per 1,000 rounds of 18 holes across 7 studies; 1.3 in amateurs (5 studies) and 8.5 in professionals (1 study).
• Per golfer per year: 15.8 injuries per 100 golfers a year in 588 Australian amateurs. When 910 amateurs reported every complaint each week, they logged 3.79 a year each, most of them minor.
• Over a lifetime: 57% of amateurs and 74% of professionals had had a golf injury (20 studies, 9,221 golfers).
• Women: 35% of 522 women in an Australian club competition reported a golf injury in the past year, mostly strains and most often of the low back.

Sources 17, 18, 13, 19, 20, 21

Low back painEmerging evidence

The biggest burden in amateurs: 1.26 episodes per golfer a year and about 6 days of golf lost per player a year in the 910 amateurs. It was 18% of injuries in Australian amateurs and 22% to 34% in professionals. In a survey of 1,170 male golfers, 37% had had low back pain in the past week, and their complaints were much the same during golf as in everyday life.

What raised the risk: a previous episode (about 10 times the risk in novice golfers), older age and higher body mass. Less than an hour a week of full-shot practice went with lower risk in one study, and carrying the bag with higher risk in another. Swing style and hip range weren't consistently linked. Our back pain guide has exercises and the warning signs.

Sources 13, 18, 22, 23, 7

The lead wristEmerging evidence

In 128 European Tour professionals, 30% had had a wrist problem, two-thirds of them in the lead wrist, most often on the little-finger side, where the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon runs; that tendon slipping out of its groove cost the most tournaments. Professionals had about three times the risk of hand and wrist injury that amateurs had, while the 910 amateurs logged 0.12 wrist injuries per golfer a year. Heavy practice and hitting the ground hard ('fat' shots) are the mechanisms described. Our wrist pain guide covers it.

Sources 14, 19, 13

The elbow: tennis elbow more often than golfer's elbowEmerging evidence

Elbow and forearm injuries were 17% of injuries in Australian amateurs. A review describes tennis elbow on the lead arm as the leading upper-limb injury in amateur golfers, and most golfer's elbow doesn't come from golf. Practice volume, grip and technique are the suspected causes, from narrative reviews rather than trials. See our tennis elbow and golfer's elbow guides.

Sources 18, 15

Shoulder and kneeEmerging evidence

In the 910 amateurs, the shoulder cost the second-largest amount of golf and the knee the third. Osteoarthritis roughly doubled the odds of an injury (odds ratio 1.97), and older age and a previous injury raised the risk too. The lead shoulder is hurt most often. See our shoulder pain and knee pain guides.

Sources 13, 15

Rib stress fractures in beginnersEmerging evidence

In 19 golfers with rib stress fractures, 18 were beginners and 16 fractures were on the lead side, after a sudden jump in practice. Two were taken for back strain for 6 to 8 months. We have no rib guide yet: see a GP for rib pain that lasts, or hurts sharply when you breathe or swing (our wording).

Source 16

Head injuries from clubsEmerging evidence

Rare but serious. Thirteen children aged 10 or under who were hit by a swinging club had depressed skull fractures, and 12 needed brain surgery; none of them was being supervised.

Sources 11, 1

Playing more raises the riskEmerging evidence

More play went with more injury in Australian amateurs (odds ratio 3.73), and amateurs who played more than 3 or 4 rounds a week had more injuries in 2 studies. Golfers doing 'injury prevention exercises' had more injuries in two studies, probably because injured golfers are the ones who start them.

Sources 18, 19, 13, 23

A golf warm-up cut back pain episodes in teenagersEmerging evidence

The Golfers' Low Back Pain Exercise Prevention programme (GLEP) was tested in a double-blind trial against a sham warm-up in 45 high-school golfers from 3 Japanese schools (average age 16; 36 boys and 9 girls). Before every golf session for 12 weeks, they did at least two sets of: a lead-hip stretch, turning the trunk round the lead leg so the lead hip rolls in, 10 times; hip and trunk turns with a club behind the back, feet wider than the shoulders; bending and straightening at the hips holding a club; side bends with the club in both hands; and a forward lunge holding the club level, then a turn each way (5 each side for these four); then 5 squat jumps, bending the knees to about 90 degrees. They moved through their full range without using momentum. A physiotherapist taught it in groups of 1 to 3, with a video on players' phones.

Low back pain episodes fell from 100 to 16, or from 95.1 to 15.8 per 1,000 days of golf (odds ratio 0.157; 95% confidence interval 0.092 to 0.266), in figures corrected in 2026. The number of golfers who had any back pain didn't differ significantly: 5 of 23 against 8 of 22 (odds ratio 0.49; 0.13 to 1.82). Players did the warm-up before 71% of their golf sessions, and no harms were reported.

The episodes clustered in a few sham players (one reported 39), the pain included minor twinges, and the trial lasted 12 weeks. Hip range and trunk endurance improved in both groups, and golf performance didn't differ. Trialled in teenage golfers; untested in adults.

Sources 8, 24, 25

Warming up and injury in adults: mixedMixed evidence

In 522 women club golfers, those who didn't warm up regularly were far more likely to report an injury in the past year, but that survey asked about the past year at one point in time, so it can't show cause. In two larger studies that followed golfers forward, 588 Australians and 910 American and Swiss amateurs, warm-up habits weren't linked with injury. A review called the evidence mixed and inconclusive. Experts still agree you should warm up, and it does help you hit better.

Sources 21, 18, 13, 26, 2

Strength training to prevent golf injuries: untestedMixed evidence

No trial has tested it in adult golfers. Experts agree that strength and conditioning can lower injury risk, and in people generally, our back pain guide reports that exercise with education roughly halved the risk of a new episode of back pain.

Source 2

Build up practice graduallyEmerging evidence

Less than an hour of full-shot practice a week went with less back pain in one study, playing more than 3 or 4 rounds a week raised the risk in 2 studies, and rib stress fractures followed sudden jumps in practice. Build range sessions up step by step, especially as a beginner or after a break (our suggestion).

Sources 7, 19, 18, 16

Long static stretching before you play: noEmerging evidence

In 15 young competitive golfers, a 20-minute stretching routine before hitting cut clubhead speed by about 4%, and accuracy too, for up to 30 minutes. Stretching doesn't prevent injuries in other sports either, as our warm-up guide explains. Keep any stretch short.

Sources 9, 27

Fixing hip range to prevent back pain: not shownMixed evidence

Golfers with back pain had less lead-hip inward rotation in two small studies, but pooled studies don't link hip range with back pain, and in the warm-up trial hip range improved in both groups, so the hip doesn't explain the result.

Sources 7, 28, 29, 25

Changing your swing to prevent injury: untestedMixed evidence

Reviews suggest swing changes, but no study has tested whether they prevent injuries.

Sources 30, 15

Strength and power add clubhead speedStrong evidence

Two reviews of 20 and 25 small trials found that strength and power training raised clubhead speed, ball speed and distance by about 4% to 6% where it worked. Programmes combining gym lifts with golf-specific movements averaged 4.1% more speed and 5.2% more distance; general training alone, 1.6% and 4.8%. Eight-week programmes with fast golf-specific movements, 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 15 reps, worked best. On a 90 mph driver swing, 4.1% is about 3.7 mph (our arithmetic).

Most trials were small and in male club and college golfers, so the direction is clear and the size modest.

Sources 3, 4

What goes with a faster swingStrong evidence

In two analyses of golfers from juniors to tour players, leg power in jump tests, upper-body strength and power, and squat strength went with clubhead speed, with moderate to strong correlations. Flexibility didn't: its correlation with speed was about zero in both.

Sources 5, 6

Women and older golfersEmerging evidence

In 6 small studies of female golfers, training raised clubhead speed by a moderate amount. In 18 men aged about 71, 8 weeks of flexibility, core, balance and strength training raised driver speed by about 5% (from 127.3 to 133.6 km/h), while the control group didn't change.

Sources 31, 32

Mobility: for comfort and positions, not speedMixed evidence

Foam rolling and dynamic stretching of the lead hip added lead-hip rotation and carry distance in 22 men, but not clubhead speed. A rotation warm-up didn't change trunk separation (the X-factor) in 36 golfers aged about 64, and 8 weeks of corrective exercise improved an overhead squat but not the swing. Keep hip and upper-back turns in your warm-up, and put most of your training time into strength and power (our reading).

Sources 33, 34, 35, 25

The right warm-up helps you hitEmerging evidence

Dynamic and band warm-ups helped performance in a review, and static stretching didn't. Adding band exercises to a dynamic warm-up improved distance and strike, though not clubhead speed, in 15 elite men. In 21 young golfers, a dynamic warm-up plus club swings raised clubhead speed where swings alone didn't. Weighted-club swings added 2.6 mph on the first tee only.

Sources 26, 36, 37, 38

Most golfers barely warm upMixed evidence

When 1,040 amateurs were watched before play, 54% did any warm-up, mostly air swings, and over 70% of surveyed golfers said they never or seldom warmed up. In a small study of 20 men that wasn't randomised, a golf warm-up programme done 5 times a week for 5 weeks was linked with 24% more clubhead speed, but its exercises aren't described in the summary.

Sources 39, 40, 41

Walking golf and fitnessEmerging evidence

In sedentary men aged 48 to 64, walking golf 2 or 3 times a week for 20 weeks improved fitness, waist size and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the 'good' kind, against men who didn't play (a controlled trial, not randomised). Harder training builds more fitness; our high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and zone 2 guides cover it.

Sources 42, 1

Fitting it around golf

Our editorial plan, built on the trials:

• Build: 2 strength and power sessions a week for at least 8 weeks, in the off-season or a quieter spell. The trials ran for 8 weeks, mostly 2 to 4 sessions a week.
• In season: 1 session a week to hold your gains, as our runners' strength plan does.
• Not the day before a competitive round, and power work first in a session, while you're fresh.
• The golf warm-up before every round or range session.
• Over 65: the same structure with lighter weights and balance work, as our older adults guide sets out.

Sources 3, 43, 44

Keep playing within the pain rule

Back pain is common in golfers, as in everyone, and most of it isn't serious. Keep moving, keep pain mild and settling, and cut back range sessions before rounds while it settles (our suggestion). Our back pain guide has exercises and says nothing is banned.

Source 23

Warm up with the golf warm-upEmerging evidence

It's the only warm-up shown to cut back pain episodes, though only in teenagers so far. Our golf warm-up workout runs it twice through in about 10 minutes.

Source 8

Osteoporosis: smooth, not forcefulStrong evidence

The UK consensus on osteoporosis says twisting should be safe if it's smooth and comfortable; vertebral fractures mid-swing appear only in a few case studies. Shorten and smooth your swing, and after a spinal fracture ask a physiotherapist, as our osteoporosis guide says.

Source 12

Rib pain isn't always your backEmerging evidence

Rib stress fractures in beginners have been mistaken for back strain for months. Pain over the ribs on the lead side after a jump in practice is worth a GP visit.

Source 16

Golfers live longer, on averageEmerging evidence

In 300,818 Swedish golfers, death rates were 40% lower than expected for their age, sex and social group, which the authors equate to about 5 extra years of life. It's an association: healthier people may be the ones who play.

Sources 45, 1

Strength and balanceEmerging evidence

Golfers aged 65 to 79 had better grip strength and balance than non-golfers, and golfers over 80 matched non-golfers aged 65 to 79 on grip and standing balance. These are associations. Experts agree golf is likely to help strength and balance in older adults.

Sources 46, 47, 2

MemoryEmerging evidence

In a trial of 106 adults over 65 in Japan, 24 weeks of golf training improved a memory test but not grip strength or walking speed.

Source 48

After a joint replacementEmerging evidence

80% of golfers returned after a hip, knee or shoulder replacement (hip 90%, knee 70%, shoulder 80%), on average 4.4 months after surgery. Our knee replacement guide starts golf with chipping and putting at about 8 to 12 weeks, and our hip replacement guide has golf by 3 to 6 months, both from one hospital trust in the UK's National Health Service (NHS); follow your own surgical team's timeline.

Sources 49, 2

Golf isn't your strength training

Add strength and balance work on at least 2 days a week, as our older adults guide says; the strength and power workout below has bodyweight and light options.

Everyone: seven questions

The PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or fainting, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your GP or a qualified exercise professional first. If you're over 45 and not used to hard exercise, ask a qualified exercise professional before the strength and power workout, and delay if you're ill.

Source 50

Heart disease, or new or worsening chest symptoms

Experts agree that people with heart disease can usually play golf with acceptable safety, but should see a doctor if their symptoms increase or become unstable; sudden heart events during golf have been reported. Walk at your own pace or use a cart, and see our heart disease guide.

Sources 2, 1

Osteoporosis or a past spinal fracture

Keep your swing smooth, shorter and comfortable, and ask a physiotherapist after a spinal fracture, as our osteoporosis guide says.

Source 12

After a hip, knee or shoulder replacement

Most golfers return, on average about 4 months after surgery. Experts advise a graduated return: follow your surgical team's timeline, starting with chipping and putting.

Sources 49, 2

Back pain now

Nothing is banned: keep pain mild and settling, as our back pain guide says, and check the warning signs below.

Beginners, or a sudden jump in practice

Rib stress fractures followed sudden jumps in practice, mostly in beginners. Build range sessions up gradually.

Source 16

Children near golfers

Supervise children around golf, and keep them well clear of anyone swinging a club.

Sources 11, 2

Pregnant

The PAR-Q+ asks you to talk to your midwife, doctor or a qualified exercise professional before becoming more active in pregnancy. Our pregnancy guide has more.

Source 50

Call 999 for chest pain

The NHS says to call 999 if:

• You get sudden pain or discomfort in your chest that doesn't go away; it can feel like squeezing or pressure, burning or indigestion.
• The pain spreads to your left or right arm, or your neck, jaw, stomach or back.
• You have chest pain and feel sweaty, sick, light-headed or short of breath.

Source 51

Hit by a ball or a club

Call 999 if someone hit their head and was knocked out and hasn't woken, can't stay awake, has a fit, has problems with their vision or hearing, has clear fluid coming from their ears or nose, has new numbness or weakness, has problems walking, speaking or understanding, has a dent in their head, or their behaviour has changed.

With suspected concussion, stop playing: 'If in doubt, sit them out'. The UK grassroots guidance says no sport for at least 24 hours, contact NHS 111 within 24 hours, and no return to competition before 21 days.

Sources 52, 53

Thunder and lightning

When you hear thunder, you're already within range. Leave the course, keep away from golf clubs and buggies, and shelter in a car if you can. If you're caught in the open, squat low with as little of you touching the ground as possible, and don't lie down.

Source 10

Heat

Heat exhaustion should improve within 30 minutes of resting somewhere cool, cooling down and drinking. Call 999 if it doesn't, or for a very high temperature, hot skin that isn't sweating, fast breathing, confusion, a fit or loss of consciousness.

Source 54

Sun

Golfers spend hours in the sun and have a higher risk of skin cancer. Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or more and at least 4-star protection against UVA (ultraviolet A) light, reapplied every 2 hours, and seek shade from 11am to 3pm between March and October.

Sources 55, 1

Back pain with other symptoms

Call 999 or go to A&E if back pain comes with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or anus, or changes in your bladder or bowels. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or contact NHS 111 if you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or the pain is severe and started suddenly or is getting worse quickly.

Source 56

Rib pain in a beginner

See a GP for rib pain that lasts or is sharp when you breathe or swing, especially after a jump in practice (our wording; the NHS has no golf rib page).

Source 16

"Golf isn't real exercise"Emerging evidence

Walking 18 holes averages moderate intensity and 11,000 to 17,000 steps, and experts count it towards your 150 minutes a week.

Sources 1, 2

"Lifting weights will ruin your swing"Strong evidence

Strength and power training raised clubhead speed and distance in trials, and after an 8-week golf conditioning programme, 15 golfers swung faster and drove further (a study without a control group).

Sources 3, 4, 44

"You need to be more flexible to hit further"Strong evidence

Flexibility didn't go with clubhead speed in pooled studies; strength and power did. Three small studies in women found a link, so it isn't settled for everyone.

Sources 5, 6, 31

"Stretch before you tee off to avoid injury"Emerging evidence

Stretching doesn't prevent injuries, as our warm-up guide explains, and a 20-minute stretching routine slowed the swing. Warm-ups that move and activate help you hit.

Sources 9, 26

"Tight hips cause golfers' back pain"Emerging evidence

Pooled studies don't link hip range with back pain; a previous episode, age and body mass do.

Source 7

"Golfer's elbow comes from golf"Emerging evidence

Most cases don't, as our golfer's elbow guide says, and in amateur golfers, tennis elbow on the lead arm is described as the more common elbow problem.

Source 15

"Golf adds 5 years to your life"Emerging evidence

Swedish golfers died 40% less often than expected, which the authors equate to about 5 years, but the study can't show that golf caused it.

Source 45