Yes, golf players can burn anywhere from 300 to 600 calories per hour, depending on how much the player weighs. Golfers lose calories by hitting golf clubs, walking on the green to and from the tee box, as well as walking the fairways.
While some people debate calorie loss from walking, the fact is that the body needs energy for all complex chemical reactions that allow a person to move, think, breathe and function, no matter how little the activity is. Therefore, walking across a golf course does indeed burn calories and in great amounts as well if done repeatedly for many hours on the golf course.
300 to 600 calories per hour is quite substantial amount to burn in golf. But how does golf burn so many calories?
The fact of the matter is that there are several reasons why golfers burn so many calories on the golf course, but the most apparent reason is that it take a very long time to play the game. For example, two players can play an 18 hole round in little as 2 hours. When you compare 2 hours to other sports such as basketball, football or even rugby, it is far greater in time spent playing.
We can even take it up a notch. The game of golf can last more than just 2 hours. On a busy golf course with average to poor players, an 18 hole round may take up to 6 hours to complete. Six hours is enough time to burn 1800-3600 calories.
The typical time it takes for an 18-hole round of golf is 4 to 5.5 hours. A walking golfer can burn anywhere from 1200-3000 calories during this period.
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Is Golfing Good For Weight Loss?
Golf is absolutely great for losing weight. It’s one of those sports that requires little to no athletic prowess to burn calories.
Just by walking an 18-hole golf course in 4 hours can allow you to lose potentially 2000 calories or even more, given the terrain is hilly and that you are carrying equipment in your bag such as your golf clubs. 2000 calories can equate to losing 20-30 lbs. That’s quite a good number of pounds to lose if you are determined to getting in shape.
Players who wish to burn calories and lose weight should forgo the golf carts as there is little to no calories being burned when being transported by a golf cart, especially if you are not the one behind the wheels.
Yes, driving your golf cart burns a few calories because you are actively behind the wheels. However, driving any form of vehicle whether it be golf carts or motor vehicle remains a sedentary activity. Nothing beats walking on the golf course if your goal is to burn calories from the game.
You also find that hitting the golf clubs can be a good light weight exercise but not an intense one. Swinging your golf club falls under what we call ‘moderate activity’, a term used by the American Heart Association to define 150 minutes of average exercise per week.
Does Golf Tone Your Body
When we speak of toning, we mean to reduce the appearance of the body fat by tightening up certain muscles in the body and giving them shape. Note that this is quite different than going to the gym and bulking up to increase muscle mass. So does golf tone your body?
Yes, playing golf regularly can help lose weight and body fat which in turn improves muscle tone and endurance. Walking carrying your bag, and swinging are all moderately intense physical activities that helps to tone and get your body into good shape.
Even the spectators and the caddie who helps to carry your bag can potentially benefit from the game too.
Apart form just toning, there are several health benefits that comes with playing golf. It increases your heart rate and blood flow, which results in a healthy heart, improved balance and enhanced brain stimulation. This makes golf one of the best full work out sporting activities.
To ensure that you get the most out of golf, players should strive to swing 80 to 100 swings in a round. This is sure to work multiple muscles that will help you get toned, in the forearms, abs, glutes, chest, and back. These muscles allow you to control the force and rotation of your golf swing, giving you more power over the ball itself.
Is Golf Enough For Keeping Fit?
Yes. Golf is a great activity for playing your way to a healthy lifestyle. Whether you are looking to improve your skills or looking for a healthy excuse to get outside and get moving on a bright sunny morning, the game can be a great way to tone, sculpt and get moving.
If you think that golf is a low impact activity that is not enough for keeping you fit, then you might be mistaken. Golf is great for your upper body, including your forearms and your back.
Whenever you hit a ball with your golf club, there is a strong impact on your core and arm muscles. Over time, if your repeat this, you will gain a lot of strength and power. This is a great alternative if you are not into gym and lifting weights to gain strength.
5 Best Exercise Workouts That Golfers Use
There are sudden moments of exertion when playing golf. And if you didn’t know by now, it’s quite one-sided as players swing several times from one side of the body. This can range between 70-100 swings. This can cause overuse injuries and imbalances. But not everyone is ambidextrous and can avoid this overuse.
Therefore, it’s important that you take a closer look at your physical fitness so that these injuries will not show up.
Here I will give you 5 basic activities that will help loosen your hips, stabilize your shoulders and build power and strength in you golf strokes:
1. Seated Rotations
Seated rotations is a great workout to improve your rotational mobility of your golf swing.
This is done sitting straddling a bench or squeezing a towel between your knees. The next thing you will want to do is to hold your golf club behind your back so that it sits in the crook of your elbows.
Set the palm of your hands onto your stomach while keeping your posture and rotate your torso to the right without moving your hips. Hold this position for two seconds and then return to the starting position. Rotate to the left and hold for another 2 seconds. Repeat this rotation 10 times to complete the exercise.
2. Handwalks
To perform a handwalk, you will first need to start standing up on your two feet. Slowly bend forward at the waist until your two hands touch the ground. You should now be on all fours.
Get your body into a pushup position then walk your toes towards your hands ensuring your knees are straight.
Walk your hands back out whenever you feel a stretch and repeat this handwalk for 10 reps to complete the exercise.
Handwalks are good for preventing golfer’s elbow and decreases the possibility of any shoulder injuries.
3. Lateral Pillar Bridge
The reason why you should do a lateral pillar bridge is because it opens up your hips, thereby preventing any back pain or back injury on the golf course.
Back pains are quite common due to constant swinging of the golf clubs. Therefore, it’s critical that you perform this workout routine to avoid such injuries.
The starting position is reached by lying on one side of your body with your feet stacked and elbow under your shoulder supporting your weight.
Push your hip off the ground such that a straight line is formed from your feet up to your shoulder. Hold this pose for 5 seconds. Perform ten reps on each side. Ensure that your head is in line with your spine and you are not sagging or bending your body.
4. Medicine Ball Parallel Throw
The medicine ball parallel throw will allow you to store and release more energy, thereby improving the speed on your golf swing.
To do this exercise, stand facing a solid wall that is about 3 feet away from yourself. Hold the medicine ball just at the waist level and rotate your trunk away from the solid wall.
In one motion, initiate to throw the medicine ball by thrusting your hips toward the wall, followed by your trunk, arms and then the medicine ball. Catch the ball after it bounces off the wall. To catch the ball, you should use one hand under the ball, your next hand behind the ball while keeping your arms slightly bent.
Do 10 reps of this routine exercise and switch sides when finished.
5. Dumbbell Bench Press
Our last golf workout exercise features the dumbbell bench press, which you may be familiarized with. This routine helps to build strength and shoulder stability.
Lie down flat on a bench with your right half of your body hanging off the bench. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand while holding onto the bench with your left hand above your head. Lower the weight slowly until your elbow is horizontal with your shoulder.
Get back to the starting position and complete 10 reps of this routine. Switch sides so that your right glutes and right shoulder blade are on the bench this time.
