Here Is How to Make Golf a Good Workout

Is golf a sport? A hobby? A good walk spoiled?  

Golf hasn’t always had the best reputation outside country clubs and retirement communities. But since the pandemic, it has experienced a boom in popularity, especially among people under 35. And many of these Millennial and Gen Z golfers are abandoning golf carts and walking the course. It turns out, golf can be a great way to get aerobic exercise, spend time outside and socialize with friends, all activities that have immense benefits for your well-being.  

How much exercise do you actually get while golfing? 

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, you should aim for 30 minutes of mild to medium aerobic exercise per day or 150 minutes per week.  

Even nine holes of golf will easily get you to that daily goal, and 18 holes can translate into four or five hours of walking, well over 150 minutes. The average golf course totals about 4 miles but can stretch as long as 6 miles — that translates to more than 7,000 steps, which researchers have found is the sweet spot for lowering your risk for early death. In fact, one study followed 300,000 golfers and found they had five more years of life expectancy than the average person of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status.

“It’s a great form of mild to moderate aerobic exercise, which is what most people should really be doing on a regular basis,” says Dr. Eric Chen, a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor at UW Medicine’s Harborview and South Lake Union sports medicine clinics, as well as a golfer himself. 

Research on the fitness benefits of golf is limited, but according to one review of studies on the topic, a round of 18 holes burns at least 500 calories while riding in a cart. Different estimates for walking the course range between 1,200 and 1,600 calories. 

Other health benefits of golf

Golf can also boost strength and balance for some age groups.

“For people who are older, there’s some evidence that it helps with improving their balance and proprioception,” says Chen. “For someone who’s young, there’s probably negligible gains.” 

That’s not to mention the mental health benefits of spending four or five hours in a green space, which is associated with reduced stress and improved cognitive function. Walking to your ball, for many golfers, serves as a mindfulness exercise: breathing deeply, calming your thoughts and preparing for the next shot. 

Finally, golf is a great way to spend time with friends, and a regular tee time can provide the sort of consistent social interaction that researchers say is key to combatting loneliness, which is associated with poor health, mental illness and even some diseases. 

How to make golf a better workout 

There are many ways to increase golf’s aerobic intensity — and fun quotient. Here are a few ideas. 

Walk, don’t ride 

Ever since the pandemic, when social distancing precluded riding in a cart with your partner, walking the course has seen a surge in popularity. Many courses have kept walking-only hours long after social distancing requirements were relaxed. 

If you’re physically able, walking the course dramatically increases the amount of time you’re moving and more than doubles the calories you burn. Of course, walking 18 holes versus nine will also double the amount of exercise you get.  

Carry your clubs 

While a flurry of new push carts has hit the market in recent years, thanks to the recent surge of interest in walking the course, consider going even more minimalist: throw your bag on your back to get even more bang for your buck. At that point, you are basically rucking, or walking with a weighted backpack. 

“It’s more work or load on the aerobic system,” says Chen. 

Make sure your bag fits you well, and don’t carry it if you have neck, shoulder or back pain. Walking with weight when you’re not in shape can also cause joint or ankle injuries.  

“The main injury pitfall is doing too much too soon or just doing too much in general,” says Chen. 

Choose a hilly course 

Another variable is the hilliness of the course you play. If you have access to one, book a tee time at a course with more undulation and steeper hills, which will increase the aerobic intensity of your round compared to a flat course. In Seattle, for example, Jackson Park Golf Course has a lot more elevation gain than the city’s other public courses.  

Mix it up with speed golf or disc golf 

If you don’t live in a hilly area or just want even more of an aerobic challenge, try speed golf. This new trend involves carrying a minimal number of clubs on your back, forgoing practice swings and running to your ball to get around the course as quickly as possible. Your final score is calculated by adding your total number of strokes for the round to the minutes it took you to complete it.  

Another way to mix things up, especially if you don’t have any interest in learning how to swing a club, is disc golf. This increasingly popular sport is like golf but involves throwing a frisbee into a large basket instead of hitting a ball into a hole. The Seattle area has three dedicated disc golf courses, and you can run between holes in disc golf, too, to increase your aerobic output.  

A lifelong pursuit 

One last great benefit of golf? You can play it well into your 70s or 80s. So taking it up now will give you a hobby — er, sport — to keep you active for decades.  

“One of the greatest things about golf is that it can be enjoyed and played by people of all ages,” says Chen. If you learn the skill early on, you can play for the rest of your life. You can continue to build your skills and still get the exercise and other health benefits from it.”