You burn about 100 to 300 calories per hour playing golf, but this number changes a lot based on how you play. Walking the course burns far more energy than riding in a cart.
Golf is often seen as a leisurely activity. It is great for socializing and enjoying the outdoors. However, it involves surprising amounts of physical activity. Deciphering your actual golf calorie expenditure requires looking closely at all the actions involved, from driving to putting. This article breaks down the energy used during a round of golf. We will look at what makes your golf workout intensity go up or down.
The Basic Energy Cost of Golf
The actual calorie burn during golf is not fixed. It depends on several key actions. These actions add up over 18 holes. The main contributors to calories burned swinging a golf club are the swings themselves, but moving between shots is a huge factor.
Swing Mechanics and Energy Use
Swinging a golf club uses muscles throughout your body. Your core, legs, shoulders, and arms all work hard. This is not a light activity.
- Swinging: A powerful, full golf swing requires significant effort. It engages fast-twitch muscle fibers.
- Repetition: Over 70 swings in 18 holes add up. Each one uses energy.
However, a single swing burns only a small number of calories compared to the time spent walking or waiting. For example, a full 3-wood swing might burn only 5 to 10 calories per swing, depending on power and body weight.
Walking While Golfing Calorie Burn: The Biggest Factor
The most significant part of your golf energy requirements comes from moving around the course. Walking adds a steady burn throughout the four to five hours of play.
Comparing Walking to Riding
This is where the biggest difference in golf cart vs walking calories occurs. A standard 18-hole course covers about 4 to 5 miles.
| Activity Level | Estimated Calories Burned (Per Hour) | Total Calories Burned (4.5 Hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Riding in a Golf Cart | 150 – 200 calories | 675 – 900 calories |
| Walking (Leisurely Pace) | 250 – 350 calories | 1,125 – 1,575 calories |
| Walking (Carrying Bag) | 300 – 400 calories | 1,350 – 1,800 calories |
Note: These estimates are for an average person weighing around 155 pounds (70 kg). Heavier individuals will burn more calories.
When you ride, your activity level drops sharply. You are only walking a few steps from the cart to the ball and back. When you walk, you maintain a sustained, low-to-moderate intensity cardio workout. This constant movement drastically increases the walking while golfing calorie burn.
The Impact of Carrying Your Bag
Carrying your golf bag adds resistance training to your walk. This increases the demand on your body.
- If you carry a standard 35-pound bag, you increase the metabolic cost of walking significantly.
- This extra weight forces your legs, core, and shoulders to work harder with every step.
Carrying the bag boosts your overall golf energy requirements compared to using a pull cart or riding.
Factors Affecting Golf Calorie Burn
Several key factors affecting golf calorie burn determine where you fall on the calorie spectrum. These elements interact to create your total energy output for the round.
Body Weight
Weight is a primary driver for all physical activities. A heavier person requires more energy to move their mass around the course.
- A 200-pound person burns more calories walking the same distance than a 140-pound person.
- This applies to the static effort of standing and the dynamic effort of swinging.
Course Terrain and Weather
The physical landscape plays a huge role. Hills dramatically increase the work required.
- Uphill Lies and Walks: Climbing steep inclines, especially while carrying a bag, is very demanding. This spikes your golfing heart rate and calorie burn.
- Soft Ground: Walking on wet, sandy, or muddy turf requires more pushing power from your legs. It slows your pace and raises energy use.
- Wind: Battling strong headwinds increases the effort needed to swing and maintain balance.
Golf Workout Intensity and Pace of Play
How fast you play and how hard you focus affect the burn rate.
- Quick Play (Fast Pace): If you walk quickly and minimize downtime between shots, your heart rate stays elevated. This mimics a higher golf workout intensity.
- Slow Play (Long Waits): Long waits between holes or shots allow your heart rate to drop back toward resting levels, lowering the average calories burned per hour.
Estimating Golf Activity Calories More Accurately
To get a better measure of your estimating golf activity calories, we need to look beyond simple time spent. We use metabolic equivalents (METs). A MET value represents the energy cost of an activity compared to resting (1 MET).
MET Values for Golf Activities
| Activity | Estimated MET Value | Relative Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Riding in a Cart | 2.0 – 2.5 | Low |
| Swinging a Club (Practice Swings/On Course) | 3.0 – 4.0 | Moderate |
| Walking (Level Ground, No Bag) | 3.5 – 4.5 | Moderate |
| Walking (Hilly Terrain, Carrying Bag) | 5.0 – 6.0+ | Moderate to Vigorous |
To calculate calories burned (using a simplified formula based on METs):
$Calories \ per \ minute = (\text{MET value} \times \text{Body Weight in kg} \times 3.5) / 200$
Let’s apply this to a person weighing 170 pounds (about 77 kg) for a 4.5-hour round:
- Walking and Swinging (Average MET 4.5):
- Calories per minute: $(4.5 \times 77 \times 3.5) / 200 \approx 6.04$ calories/minute.
- Total for 270 minutes (4.5 hours): $6.04 \times 270 \approx 1,630$ calories.
- Riding in a Cart (Average MET 2.5):
- Calories per minute: $(2.5 \times 77 \times 3.5) / 200 \approx 3.35$ calories/minute.
- Total for 270 minutes (4.5 hours): $3.35 \times 270 \approx 905$ calories.
This example clearly shows how much more energy is required when walking compared to riding.
The Physical Demands of Golf
Far from being sedentary, physical demands of golf are surprisingly high when you consider the entire event duration. Golf is an intermittent sport. It involves short bursts of high effort followed by long periods of low-to-moderate activity.
The Burst of Power: Swinging
The actual swing requires explosive power. This is where the calories burned swinging a golf club come from.
- Muscle Activation: The kinematic chain starts from the ground up. Leg drive, core rotation, and powerful shoulder movements generate club head speed.
- Heart Rate Spike: During the backswing and downswing, your heart rate will briefly spike significantly, often reaching 120-140 BPM for a few seconds.
Endurance Component: Walking
The endurance aspect is often overlooked. A typical 18-hole walk is comparable to a long, brisk hike. Maintaining this activity level for four to five hours taxes your aerobic system. This sustained effort is what builds the general fitness benefit of golfing.
Golfing Heart Rate and Calorie Burn Correlation
Monitoring your heart rate provides the most personalized insight into your golfing heart rate and calorie burn. Wearable technology makes this easier than ever.
Zone Training in Golf
While golf isn’t usually structured like traditional cardio, different phases place you in different heart rate zones:
- Zone 1 (Resting/Waiting): Heart rate is low. Minimal calorie burn.
- Zone 2 (Walking Calmly): Heart rate increases slightly. Good steady-state calorie use.
- Zone 3 (Walking Uphill/Fast Pace): Heart rate is elevated. This is where the main walking while golfing calorie burn happens.
- Zone 4 (The Swing Moment): Brief, high spikes as the body exerts maximal effort for 3-5 seconds.
If you can keep your average heart rate above 100 BPM throughout the round (by walking briskly and minimizing idle time), you are maximizing your calorie burn.
Improving Your Golf Workout Intensity
If you play golf primarily for fitness benefits, you can maximize your caloric output by making deliberate changes. These changes boost your overall golf energy requirements.
Strategies for Higher Calorie Burn
- Ditch the Cart: Commit to walking every round. Use a pull cart if carrying is too much strain.
- Take the Stairs/Hills: If your course has options, always choose the path that involves more elevation change.
- Speed Up Play: Walk with purpose between shots. Don’t linger waiting for slower groups ahead. Maintain a steady rhythm.
- Add Weight (Safely): If physically able, carrying your bag on flatter courses can increase the intensity.
- Practice More: Spend dedicated time on the driving range or putting green. Hitting 100 extra balls adds significant muscle work and caloric use, separate from the round itself.
Comprehending the Total Golf Energy Picture
The total energy spent on a round of golf is a blend of maintenance energy (just being alive) plus the energy used for movement and effort.
A typical 4.5-hour round burns a baseline amount just by existing, usually around 400-500 calories for an average person, even if sitting. The physical activity adds the rest.
- Riding Golfer: Baseline burn + minimal activity calories. Total often falls in the 700-900 range.
- Walking Golfer (Carrying Bag, Hilly): Baseline burn + significant walking calories + resistance calories. Total can easily exceed 1,500 calories.
This variation highlights why simply asking, “How many calories do I burn golfing?” gives an unreliable answer without context.
Fathoming the Energy Used in Specific Golf Actions
We can break down the energy usage of specific parts of the game to provide a clearer picture of where the energy goes.
The Act of Hitting the Ball
While the swing is explosive, its duration is short. The calories are burned through muscular effort rather than sustained cardiovascular output.
- Driver Swing: High power, utilizing large muscle groups (legs, torso). High initial calorie demand for those few seconds.
- Chip/Pitch Shot: Lower power, more finesse. Relies more on arms and shoulders. Lower peak calorie output.
Putting and Waiting
These are the lowest energy activities. When putting, the effort is minimal, similar to standing still or light bending. Waiting time is pure recovery, allowing the body to cool down metabolically before the next burst of activity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is carrying a pull cart the same as carrying my bag?
A: No. Carrying your bag directly on your back or shoulder requires more core stabilization and engages stabilizing muscles more intensely, leading to a higher calorie burn than pulling a cart, even if the actual walking distance is the same.
Q: Does drinking alcohol during golf affect calorie burn?
A: Yes. Alcohol consumption can interfere with fat metabolism and hydration. While alcohol itself contains calories, its presence may slow down the body’s ability to use fat stores efficiently during exercise, potentially lowering the overall effectiveness of your workout.
Q: How do professional golfers maintain such high fitness levels if the game seems easy?
A: Professional golfers practice intensely. Their “rounds” often involve practicing shots repeatedly, walking very fast between them, and performing dedicated gym workouts before and after play. Their actual playing intensity is much higher than the average recreational player. They treat the course like a high-intensity practice field.
Q: Can I use a fitness tracker to accurately measure my golf calorie burn?
A: Fitness trackers are good estimates, especially for heart rate. They use algorithms based on your personal data (weight, height) and track movement (steps, elevation gain). They capture the walking while golfing calorie burn well, but their estimation of the calories burned swinging a golf club is usually based on general “moderate activity” settings and might be slightly off for the explosive nature of the swing. They are better than guessing, though!