Why golf is actually a physical sport

When most people think of golf, they picture a relaxed afternoon on the course, with players leisurely walking from hole to hole, enjoying the outdoors, and perhaps sipping on a cool drink. That’s fair.

Golf is often perceived as low-impact, requiring little more than a steady hand and a good eye. However, this perception couldn’t be further from the truth. Golf is, in fact, a highly physical sport that demands a unique combination of strength, flexibility, endurance, and mental focus. The golf swing alone is a complex movement that engages multiple muscle groups, from the core and legs to the shoulders and wrists. All of these movements require years of conditioning to perfect.

Beyond the swing, walking 18 holes, managing the physical strain of carrying clubs, and maintaining focus for hours on end also demand cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance that most would never associate with the sport. Despite the stereotype, golf is not just about hitting a ball; it’s a full-body athletic effort that requires rigorous physical training, mental toughness, and sustained energy. In reality, golf is as physically demanding as any other sport— it just takes a deeper understanding of the game’s intricacies to see it.

At its core, golf is a sport that revolves around the golf swing, which is a complex movement requiring strength, power, and coordination.

The golf swing engages the core muscles more than most people realize. A strong core allows players to generate power while maintaining balance and control.

The lower body is critical in the swing. Golfers use their legs not just to stabilize themselves but also to generate power through the hip rotation and drive force into the ball. The explosive leg push-off from the ground is where a lot of the kinetic energy for the swing originates.

While it’s not as intense as lifting weights, the shoulders, arms, and wrists are also heavily involved in the swing. Swinging a driver or a long iron requires considerable shoulder stability and wrist strength, particularly to control the club face and prevent injury.

There are also training implications.

Golfers train with a focus on strength, especially in the core, glutes, quads, and shoulders. Exercises like medicine ball throws, rotational exercises, and squats are crucial to building the power and coordination needed to create an efficient swing.

Flexibility and mobility are key to a fluid, powerful swing. Golf requires the ability to rotate and extend the body in a controlled way, and without a proper range of motion, a golfer can’t generate maximum power or maintain consistency.

The ability to rotate the hips and spine during the swing is crucial. A golfer’s ability to coil the upper body and then explode through the ball relies on both hip flexibility and spinal mobility. Having shoulder flexibility is critical to making a full backswing and then executing a smooth follow-through. The wrists need to be flexible and strong, as they play a significant role in controlling the club’s face angle at impact. Golfers incorporate a variety of flexibility and mobility exercises into their routines, such as dynamic stretching, yoga, and foam rolling.

These routines help improve range of motion, maintain joint health, and reduce injury risk. Golf isn’t typically seen as an endurance sport, but spending four or more hours on your feet, walking long distances (often 5-6 miles or more), carrying clubs, and maintaining mental focus over 18 holes requires a surprising amount of cardiovascular and muscular endurance.

Golf requires highly developed fine motor skills—the ability to control small, precise movements while maintaining focus and consistency. The precision needed to hit a small ball with a club, often from a variety of different lies (grass, sand, rough, etc.), demands a level of coordination that goes beyond basic strength.

Hand-eye coordination is utilized through repetitive practice and by using tools like putting aids, alignment trainers, and visual drills. Many also train their grip strength through squeeze exercises and forearm exercises.

While not traditionally considered a “physical” aspect, the mental aspect of golf can affect physical performance significantly. The ability to maintain focus, deal with pressure, and manage frustration directly influences how well the body performs. The mental stress of a missed putt or a tricky lie in the rough can affect the body’s mechanics, tension, and overall performance.

Keeping focus for long rounds is physically taxing on the brain. As mental fatigue sets in, physical movements (like the golf swing) can deteriorate. The mental component is important because maintaining a relaxed, fluid swing is difficult when you’re under stress. Mental relaxation techniques (like breathing exercises and mindfulness) can reduce muscle tension and help golfers swing more freely.

Golfers often practice mental conditioning alongside physical training, using techniques like visualization, meditation, and breathing exercises to maintain a calm, focused state during critical moments of the game.

The sport is undoubtedly a physical one, albeit in a different sense than high-impact or team sports. Golf requires a blend of strength, flexibility, endurance, precision, and mental focus. The swing itself is a highly intricate movement that engages multiple muscle groups, and playing a full round demands cardiovascular stamina and mental resilience.

While golf may not always appear to be physically demanding, it’s clear that top-tier golfers invest as much time into building their physical fitness and mental toughness as athletes in any other sport. So, next time someone says golf isn’t physical, you can remind them that it’s not just about hitting a ball— it’s about how you hit it and the long-term physical demands it places on the body.