After reviewing literature published in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) and PubMed journals, I wasn’t able to get detailed quality research on golf sport and nutrition.
I always prefer to base my research on primary, peer-reviewed research and my observation of limited data is similar to PGA and R&A’s conclusion that “golf courses are longer, yet strategies to train, fuel and supplement these athletes have been lacking in the literature that acknowledges this information.”
In this article, I have combed a few credible sources on the internet to put together this article with details on how many calories you can burn playing golf when walking, or when using a caddy or a pushcart. I have also provided the number of calories you can burn in a driving range or when playing mini-golf, 9-hole golf or 18-hole golf.
Table of Contents
What are calories?
Calories are units of energy. In nutrition, calories refer to the energy people get from the food and drink they consume, and the energy they use in physical activity.
The body needs a certain number of calories each day to carry out its basic functions. This is known as the basal metabolic rate or BMR. Physical activity, such as exercise, and digesting and metabolizing food also burn calories. The energy people use from these activities is added to their BMR to calculate the total number of calories they burn each day, which is known as the total daily energy expenditure or TDEE.
Factors that influence calories burned when playing golf:
- Body Weight: Your weight will have an impact on how many calories you burn playing golf. The more you weigh, the more calories you’ll burn.
- Course Terrain: If you’re playing on a hilly course, you’ll burn more calories than if you’re playing on a flat course.
- Playing Style: If you walk the course carrying your own clubs, you’ll burn more calories than if you ride in a cart.
- Playing With a Caddy: If you have a caddy carrying your clubs, you’ll burn fewer calories than if you carry them yourself.
- Type of Golf: Playing mini-golf or 9-hole golf will burn fewer calories than playing 18-hole golf.
- Metabolism: People with a faster metabolism will burn more calories than people with a slower metabolism.
How many calories does a person need?
The average person needs around 2,000 calories a day to maintain their weight. This varies depending on their age, sex, height, weight, and activity level.
For example, a sedentary woman aged 19-30 years old who is 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm) tall needs around 1,800 calories a day. An active man aged 31 to 50 years old who is 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) tall needs around 2,600 calories a day.
To say that there is a net burning, you need to be burning more calories than you take. If you burn around 2,600 as a 35-year-old golfer, you’ll need to eat food with less than 2,600 calories.
How many calories does playing golf burn?
The number of calories you burn while playing golf depends on the type of golf you’re playing, how much walking you do, and whether you carry your clubs or use a caddy.
In a full 18-hole game of golf, studies have shown that players can burn 800 to 1500 calories and this will vary depending on what you carry with you, whether you walk the course, whether you use a caddy, and many other factors as discussed above.
Considering that adult makes consume up to 2,800 calories per day and up to 2,200 calories per day for females, it is evident that golf can play a role burning your daily food intake and can be important in the recommended daily calorie intake.
| Exercise & Calories Burned per Hour | 130 lbs Person | 155 lbs Person | 180 lbs Person | 205 lbs Person | Average Calories Burned Per Hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golf, driving range | 177 cal/hr | 211 cal/hr | 245 cal/hr | 279 cal/hr | 228 cal/hr |
| Golf, general | 266 cal/hr | 317 cal/hr | 368 cal/hr | 419 cal/hr | 342.5 cal/hr |
| Golf, miniature golf | 177 cal/hr | 211 cal/hr | 245 cal/hr | 279 cal/hr | 228 cal/hr |
| Golf, using power cart | 207 cal/hr | 246 cal/hr | 286 cal/hr | 326 cal/hr | 266.25 cal/hr |
| Golf, walking and pulling clubs | 254 cal/hr | 303 cal/hr | 351 cal/hr | 400 cal/hr | 327 cal/hr |
| Golf, walking and carrying clubs | 266 cal/hr | 317 cal/hr | 368 cal/hr | 419 cal/hr | 342.5 cal/hr |
Calories burned Walking the course and carrying your clubs:
If you walk and carry your own clubs, you can expect to burn around 400-700 calories per hour, depending on your weight and pace.
If you walk the course, you will cover about 5 miles on average but this can drop to just 1 mile if you take a cart.
The table below shows various distances covered by various players with varying skill levels, you’ll see that PGA’s professional golfers cover less distance of up to 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) while less-skilled high-school golfers do about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles).
The study concluded that higher-skilled golfers hit the ball straighter more consistently than less-skilled golfers with higher dispersion. This results in these pro golfers walking less distance compared to the less-skilled golfers.
General Golf – calories burned on average:
Using a study on Exercise and Calories Burned by Valdosta State University, the average number of calories burned when playing golf is 342.5 calories per hour. This figure is an average of calories expended per hour for four different weights: 130 lbs, 155 lbs, 180, lbs, and 205 lbs.
Below are calories burned on average per hour for individuals of different weights;
- For a 130-pounds person: 266 calories per hour.
- For a 155-pounds person: 317 calories per hour
- For a 180-pounds person:369 calories per hour
- For a 205-pounds person: 419 calories per hour.
Calories burned for golding driving range:
Using the same results from Valdosta, the average calories burned by a person when playing golf driving range is 228 calories per hour, more than 100 less than what a general golfer would expend per hour. Driving range golf includes practicing one’s drive and other strokes without playing an actual game of golf.
Below are calories burned on average per hour for individuals of different weights;
- For a 130-pounds person: 177 calories per hour.
- For a 155-pounds person: 211 calories per hour
- For a 180-pounds person:245 calories per hour
- For a 205-pounds person: 279 calories per hour.
Calories burned playing mini-golf:
The number of calories burned playing miniature or mini-golf with 9 holes is similar to the amount expended when playing driving range golf. Using the same figures from the Valdosta State study, the amount of calories burned per hour is around 228, on average.
- For a 130-pounds person: 177 calories per hour.
- For a 155-pounds person: 211 calories per hour
- For a 180-pounds person:245 calories per hour
- For a 205-pounds person: 279 calories per hour.
Calories burned when playing Golf, using power cart:
Power cart golf is when you use an electric vehicle to move around the course rather than walking. The average number of calories burned when playing golf using a power cart is lower than if you were to walk and carry your clubs yourself. From the study referenced above, the calories burned per hour when playing golf using a power cart is 266.25 calories.
The average calorie expenditure for different weights are as follows;
- For a 130-pounds person: 207 calories per hour.
- For a 155-pounds person: 246 calories per hour
- For a 180-pounds person:286 calories per hour
- For a 205-pounds person: 326 calories per hour.
Calories burned when Golfing, walking and pulling clubs:
When walking and pulling clubs, you’ll be expending more energy than if you were to just walk the course. The average number of calories burned when playing golf and walking while pulling your clubs is around 327 calories per hour.
The average calorie expenditure for different weights are as follows;
- For a 130-pounds person: 254 calories per hour.
- For a 155-pounds person: 303 calories per hour
- For a 180-pounds person:351 calories per hour
- For a 205-pounds person: 400 calories per hour.
Calories burned per hours when Golfing, walking and carrying clubs:
If you decide to walk and carry clubs, you’ll expend more energy than walking and pulling clubs. The average number of calories burned when playing golf and walking while carrying your clubs is around 342.5 calories per hour.
The average calorie expenditure for different weights are as follows;
- For a 130-pounds person: 266 calories per hour.
- For a 155-pounds person: 317 calories per hour
- For a 180-pounds person:368 calories per hour
- For a 205-pounds person: 419 calories per hour.
Calories burned if I have a Caddy:
If you have a caddy, they will be carrying your clubs for you while you walk the course. Even though they are carrying the clubs, you are still walking so you’ll be burning calories. The average number of calories burned when playing golf with a caddy is around 1,226 calories for an entire 18-hole golf game. If you are playing mini-golf with a caddy, you can expect to burn 613 calories.
Carriage and Metabolic demands:
Zoffer’s study compared the metabolic demands of a golfer with a gas analyzer under three different conditions: Carrying clubs, pushcarts, and riding in a cart.
The physical demand increases based on the modality of club transportation so does the oxygen demand [22].
As you can see from the results table below, when walking the average heart rate (bpm) is 120 which is higher than when using a pushcart (100 bpm) and when riding a cart (88 bpm). Also, the expired VO2 in L/min is also higher when walking than when using a pushcart or riding a cart.
Oxygen required (ml/kg/min) is a measure of how much oxygen your body uses during physical activity. The average walking golfer requires 44% more oxygen than when riding a cart.
The table below displays the metabolic results from Zoffer’s study.
Zoffer’s study reviewed 19 studies on physical activity and concluded that Golf is primarily a moderate intensity physical activity. Moderate-activity sports are often criticized as not a real sports. In fact, some critics use it as a basis to make the case that golf is not a sport.
Ergogenic Supplements to Improve performance
Ergogenic supplements can aid/help enhance your performance during exercise. Some of the suggested options include;
Creatine:
Creatine is the most popular ergogenic supplement on the market and is often taken by athletes in an effort to improve their performance. However, there is no evidence that taking creatine will increase your performance if you are not already deficient in it.
A study on the effectiveness of this supplement found that the driving distance increased 13.9 yards (from 269.6 to 283.5) in the group that use this supplement. Read more here.
Caffeine:
Caffeine is another popular ergogenic supplement that is often taken by athletes to improve their performance. Caffeine works by stimulating the nervous system, which can lead to a temporary increase in alertness and energy.
Zoffer’s study quotes research showing that caffeine was shown to improve iron club accuracy, driving distance and overall score. Read more here.
Why does golf burn so many calories?
One of the reasons golf burns so many calories is because it is a walking sport and takes a long time to play. You are constantly walking from one shot to the next, which means you are burning a lot of calories. Another reason golf burns so many calories is because it is a very strategic game. You have to think about each shot and plan your next move carefully. This requires a lot of mental energy, which also burns calories. Finally, golf is a very social game. You are often talking to other players and enjoying the company, which can also lead to burning calories.
Sources:
- Broadie, M. Assessing Golfer Performance Using Golfmetrics. In Proceedings of the 2008 World Scientific Congress of Golf, New
- York, NY, USA, April 2012; Crews, D., Columbia University, Eds.; Energy in Motion Inc.: New York, NY, USA, 2008; pp. 253–262.
- Available online: http://www.columbia.edu/~mnb2/broadie/Assets/broadie_wscg_v_200804.pdf (accessed on 3 March 2022).
- Royal and Ancient & United States Golf Association. Distance Insights Report. Available online: https://www.randa.org/
theranda/distance-insights (accessed on 29 February 2020). - USGA & Royal and Ancient. How Golf Courses Change (No. R33). February 2018. Available online: https://www.usga.org/
content/usga/home-page/distance-insights-library.html (accessed on 3 March 2022). - Gabellieri, J.M. The Physiological Demands of Walking during Golf; University of Rhode Island: Kingston, RI, USA, 2011.
- Holland, C.J.; Godwin, M.S. The metabolic demand of external load carriage in golfers: A comparison of a single versus
double-strap golf bag. J. Sports Med. Phys. Fit. 2019, 59, 1963–1967. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Hi there! I am Justin, one of the founders here at Golf Bagsy. I have been golfing since I was 12 and have participated in over 50 tournaments since 2018. When COVID took over the golf tournament schedules during the lockdowns, I spent a good amount of time doing research and writing about golf. I also provide part-time coaching for those looking to learn how to play golf and can be reached at justin@golfbagsy.com.