Golf courses are a popular place for people to get outside and get moving. According to the National Golf Foundation, 28.1 million Americans played golf on a course in 2024 — the highest number since 2008 and the seventh consecutive annual increase — accounting for 545 million rounds played, the third record-setting rounds total in the last four years.
People love to play golf because it’s challenging and competitive and is typically considered a safe, low-impact activity for people of all ages and abilities. It’s important, however, not to underestimate the impact golf has on the body. Failing to properly prepare for the rigors of 18 holes or of playing multiple rounds in a short period of time, such as while on vacation, can lead to injury.
Golf injuries can range from sudden, acute injuries to more long-term, overuse injuries. Both types can be prevented with proper conditioning and training.
Golf injuries are more common than most players expect. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine — covering more than 9,000 golfers across 20 studies — found that lifetime injury prevalence was 56.6% in amateur golfers and 73.5% in professionals, with the lower back, hand, and wrist as the most common injury sites, and soft tissue injuries from overuse as the overwhelming majority.
Learn more about injury prevention, mobility, and golf fitness in our full Golf Resource Hub.
3 steps every golfer should take to stay healthy and play better
The first step is realizing that golf is a ballistic power sport, not just a leisure activity. You can’t simply pick up the driver and start swinging without facing potential consequences. To reduce your injury risk and improve your performance, you must get your body in shape for golf — both before the season and every time you walk onto the tee box on the first hole on game day.
A golf fitness routine that addresses flexibility, balance, strength, power, and more goes a long way. But it starts with three foundational commitments.
Step 1: Get a golf fitness screen from a TPI-certified physical therapist
A good place to start is to have a Titleist Performance Institute Functional Screen before the golf season is in full swing. The screen, part of our Golf Fitness and Performance Program, is done by a TPI certified expert who will conduct a detailed analysis of your mobility and stability as they relate to the movements specific to the golf swing. It’s an ideal way to learn about your own personal bodily limitations and how they can not only negatively affect your swing, but also potentially lead to injury.
A full physical assessment from a TPI-certified PT can help a golfer identify imbalances in strength and stability, flexibility and mobility, from which that PT can provide a plan toward addressing specific limitations — with an eye toward injury prevention as well as improving performance.
Step 2: Warm up before every round — 80% of golfers skip this and pay the price
If you are one of the 80 percent of golfers who spend less than 10 minutes warming up, you will be more prone to injury. Instead, develop a regular and reliable dynamic (movement-based, NOT static stretching) warm-up routine for use prior to each round or practice session. A proper warm-up promotes movement awareness, proper timing and rhythm, balance, and activation of your decelerators and gradually works your body up to swinging the driver.
Step 3: Understand how your swing mechanics affect your body
Your swing is not just important for accuracy and length.
Proper swing mechanic instruction keeps you from placing too much strain on your back, elbows, and shoulders by creating efficient movement and transfer of energy through your entire kinetic chain from your feet to your hands.
Most golfers don’t realize that swing faults and physical limitations are directly connected. When one part of the chain can’t do its job — limited hip rotation, a stiff thoracic spine, a weak core — another part compensates, and that’s where injuries develop over time. Understanding your own body-swing connection is one of the highest-value things a golfer at any level can do.
Golf injury keeping you off the course? We can help.
From sudden, acute injuries due to faulty movement ability or lack of awareness with bending and lifting mechanics, to the development of long-term, overuse injuries caused by excessive play, lack of flexibility, or poor swing mechanics — a round of golf can turn from leisurely to debilitating without proper training and conditioning. Whether you’re an avid golfer or someone who hits the course every now and then, optimal fitness can improve your golf performance and help you prevent golf-related injury.
Physical therapists with specialized training have been working with golfers for decades. Take your game to the next level with physical therapy.
Get ready for golf season with PT
Whether you are an elite athlete or weekend warrior, physical therapy can help you avoid injury, optimize your performance and recover from injury quickly and safely. We focus on the unique needs and goals of the individual and create customized care plans designed to keep every athlete active and engaged in the sports they love.
